Houseboating in the Delta

[jayjoans]

I hope that guy bought the $2 insurance when he signed up... ouch.

[jeffmx]

That sucks. I am sure you will have a great time anyway...

[Pistol Pete]

The delta is full of submerged objects.

[obski]

We had a great time in the Delta. We could find glass everyday, all day. We ended up getting two houseboats and for a few days we also had a patio boat with a slide for the kids. We anchored by Mildred Island and stayed in that general area the entire time. Dawn patrol every morning on the slalom ski and then wakeboarding, wakesurfing and tubing the rest of the day, with another slalom set in the evenings.

I ate so much that I think I gained 5 pounds. What a great vacation.

I still have to work out some of the details with Herman and Helen's on the cost of the houseboats. Basically, they owe me some money as the two houseboats were less expensive than the one fancy one we were supposed to have for the week.

I could go on and on about all of the things we did and saw. I can understand why the Delta has a reputation for good water for watersports. Pretty interesting place.

[D-GOOSE]

Glad you had a blast and found a little smooth water. LOL Post some pics if you could.

[SacRiverRat]

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Glad you had a great trip. The weather on your first couple days was pretty breezy, but looks like it shaped up the last couple days. I sure wanted to get out to see you, but just couldn't swing it.

[Birm]

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Yes you will! Far too treacherous if you have never been to the Delta....Better to just stay away.

[Malibudude]

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Yes you will! Far too treacherous if you have never been to the Delta....Better to just stay away.

Not to mention the delta sharks and the infections from the infested water.

[SacRiverRat]

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Yes you will! Far too treacherous if you have never been to the Delta....Better to just stay away.

Not to mention the delta sharks and the infections from the infested water.

Yea, Pete wore plenty of protective gear while riding last weekend, I think it was to keep the water off his skin.. and Stewart mentioned having 'the plug' in .... but I took his word for it

[obski]

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Yes you will! Far too treacherous if you have never been to the Delta....Better to just stay away.

Not to mention the delta sharks and the infections from the infested water.

Yea, Pete wore plenty of protective gear while riding last weekend, I think it was to keep the water off his skin.. and Stewart mentioned having 'the plug' in .... but I took his word for it

I could have used a plug in a few times last week.

While there was plenty of green algae floating around, it was just fine. The boat looked pristine after a week in the water. I can assure you that it would not have looked that way after a week in the Willamette.

We hardly saw anyone the entire time there during the week. It does get a little crazy on the weekends. Last weekend they were having cigarette boat races. They were practicing and going 120 mph. It does get noisy at night with crickets, bullfrogs, birds, otters, and jumping fish.

[obski]

Glad you had a blast and found a little smooth water. LOL Post some pics if you could.

I'll try to put up some pics when I get home. I took around 270.

that smooth water is pretty uncommon David... and if you aren't careful, you'll ski right into the rocks!

Glad you had a great trip. The weather on your first couple days was pretty breezy, but looks like it shaped up the last couple days. I sure wanted to get out to see you, but just couldn't swing it.

The first day was a bit windy and we were wondering if it was like that every day, but then it was flat clam the rest of the trip. It would have been nice to hook up with your crew. Let me know when you'll be in Portland and we'll hit the river.

[stewart]

Glad to hear you had a great time. That back channel behind Mildred Island can yield some smooth water. You were also pretty close to the Hilton House on the main channel. Every year the Hilton's put on a huge fireworks display there. Usually a few thousand boats anchor around that vicinity just to see it. And then at about midnite it looks like the L.A. freeway with all the boats heading back to the ramp

We were out last Saturday and were wondering if you guys were still around. But, we didn't exactly know where you ended up, cuz as you saw the delta is a BIG place.

Did you make it to Lost Isle and have a Mai Tai or 2

[jeffmx]

Glad to hear you had a great time. That back channel behind Mildred Island can yield some smooth water. You were also pretty close to the Hilton House on the main channel. Every year the Hilton's put on a huge fireworks display there. Usually a few thousand boats anchor around that vicinity just to see it. And then at about midnite it looks like the L.A. freeway with all the boats heading back to the ramp

We were out last Saturday and were wondering if you guys were still around. But, we didn't exactly know where you ended up, cuz as you saw the delta is a BIG place.

Did you make it to Lost Isle and have a Mai Tai or 2

Every 4th of July, I am on the lookout for Paris!!

[obski]

Glad to hear you had a great time. That back channel behind Mildred Island can yield some smooth water. You were also pretty close to the Hilton House on the main channel. Every year the Hilton's put on a huge fireworks display there. Usually a few thousand boats anchor around that vicinity just to see it. And then at about midnite it looks like the L.A. freeway with all the boats heading back to the ramp

We were out last Saturday and were wondering if you guys were still around. But, we didn't exactly know where you ended up, cuz as you saw the delta is a BIG place.

Did you make it to Lost Isle and have a Mai Tai or 2

We made a 6am slalom run, then pulled up anchors and left for the marina at 8am on Saturday. The Delta is a really big place. I really had no idea just what it was like beforehand. We never made it to Lost Isle. We did get down to Discovery Bay to ogle the homes there. We got most of our gas at Bullfrog marina. There are some interesting dichotomies in terms of marinas, homes, and boats in the Delta. We motored through one marina that demonstrated where houseboats and boats go when they've outlived their usefulness. It wasn't Discovery Bay that's for sure.

[stewart]

Glad to hear you had a great time. That back channel behind Mildred Island can yield some smooth water. You were also pretty close to the Hilton House on the main channel. Every year the Hilton's put on a huge fireworks display there. Usually a few thousand boats anchor around that vicinity just to see it. And then at about midnite it looks like the L.A. freeway with all the boats heading back to the ramp

We were out last Saturday and were wondering if you guys were still around. But, we didn't exactly know where you ended up, cuz as you saw the delta is a BIG place.

Did you make it to Lost Isle and have a Mai Tai or 2

Every 4th of July, I am on the lookout for Paris!!

me too!

[jeffmx]

We were out there on Saturday, out of BW, and the water was great, until the poker run, where we had to relocate to another slough...I am not sure some of those guys know what they are doing out there. We saw one cigar boat miss a turn, and because his bow was so high, almost ran into the levee.

Needless to say, we got the hell out of that area.

[obski]

Those cigarette boats are crazy. I saw one go into Mildred Island, come out and 30 seconds later was all the way on the other side of the island. They run on 110 octane fuel. The marina we were gassing up at was emptying all of their 92, selling it at 87 price, so that they could stock up on the 110 to sell to the cig boats. We saw one hitting $700 and still pumping. I was told they burn up $800/hour in fuel. Makes my VLX look downright fuel efficient.

[stewart]

We were out there on Saturday, out of BW, and the water was great, until the poker run, where we had to relocate to another slough...I am not sure some of those guys know what they are doing out there. We saw one cigar boat miss a turn, and because his bow was so high, almost ran into the levee.

Needless to say, we got the hell out of that area.

We launched @ BW on Saturday as well....... Went up the Mokulmne (?) to Walnut Grove and then by the Ryde. Kind of blown out a bit and lot more traffic than I've seen in months Around 5:00pm when we were ready to leave it got real nice Oh well, there is always this weekend

[Big Dubya]

We launched @ BW on Saturday as well....... Went up the Mokulmne (?) to Walnut Grove and then by the Ryde. Kind of blown out a bit and lot more traffic than I've seen in months Around 5:00pm when we were ready to leave it got real nice Oh well, there is always this weekend

heading to that place up around Wimpy's that you're hiding from me?

[stewart]

We launched @ BW on Saturday as well....... Went up the Mokulmne (?) to Walnut Grove and then by the Ryde. Kind of blown out a bit and lot more traffic than I've seen in months Around 5:00pm when we were ready to leave it got real nice Oh well, there is always this weekend

heading to that place up around Wimpy's that you're hiding from me?

Yup!

[jeffmx]

We were out there on Saturday, out of BW, and the water was great, until the poker run, where we had to relocate to another slough...I am not sure some of those guys know what they are doing out there. We saw one cigar boat miss a turn, and because his bow was so high, almost ran into the levee.

Needless to say, we got the hell out of that area.

We launched @ BW on Saturday as well....... Went up the Mokulmne (?) to Walnut Grove and then by the Ryde. Kind of blown out a bit and lot more traffic than I've seen in months Around 5:00pm when we were ready to leave it got real nice Oh well, there is always this weekend

Stewart,

I remember you saying that you launch there, and I thought I saw you Saturday, but it was another blue and black VLX (color combo of the year !).

I have a white GMC truck, and you know what the boat looks like, so I will keep an eye out for you.

Jeff

[stewart]

We were out there on Saturday, out of BW, and the water was great, until the poker run, where we had to relocate to another slough...I am not sure some of those guys know what they are doing out there. We saw one cigar boat miss a turn, and because his bow was so high, almost ran into the levee.

Needless to say, we got the hell out of that area.

We launched @ BW on Saturday as well....... Went up the Mokulmne (?) to Walnut Grove and then by the Ryde. Kind of blown out a bit and lot more traffic than I've seen in months Around 5:00pm when we were ready to leave it got real nice Oh well, there is always this weekend

Stewart,

I remember you saying that you launch there, and I thought I saw you Saturday, but it was another blue and black VLX (color combo of the year !).

I have a white GMC truck, and you know what the boat looks like, so I will keep an eye out for you.

Jeff

Ditto. And I saw that BU as well.....

[jeffmx]

I tried to wave to the guy, as I wave to everybody, but he wasn't too friendly.

Must have been a newby, as he had no wakeboards, and a boat full of people, so we figured he was breakin it in.

[obski]

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Delta.

Sunrise at our houseboats

Me trying to slalom ski.

My friend showing me how it is done.

[obski]

More pics

My son wakeboarding

and wakesurfing.