relaxing and romantic black watch sailing charters | lake ......at lake grapevine has kayaks and...

18 PANACHE May 2011 www.panachemagazine.com

North Texas may be home to cow-boys and prairie, but a lot of us like

to exchange our boots for topsiders or waders,drop a fishing line or float along with the lakebreeze.

Whether you are a landlubber who ven-tures to a lake only occasionally or a salty dogwhose boat is the lake house – or somewherein between – you can find plenty of water-front entertainment within a short drivingdistance. That easy access makes local lakesappealing, say those who live to sail andthose who make their living selling lakesideproperty.

“Just 25 minutes from your Fort Worthhome, you can be in a different universe,”said Michael Lattimore, commodore of theFort Worth Boat Club on Eagle MountainLake. “Boaters cross all economic lines. Wedon’t discuss what we earn, but the lake level.”

Lakes are social places, said Steve Stinson,who is on Lake Grapevine most of the year.

But you don’t have to own a boat. As boardchairman of the Grapevine Convention andVisitors Bureau, he noted that there are manylake activities – boat rentals, camp grounds,restaurants, weekly fireworks displays anddeck parties – to entice those who might visitonly occasionally.

Whether you just want to dip your toes in-to lakeside living or jump in all the way, hereis a small sampling of life on the water.

For water babies only

� Where to get a boat. For the occasionalboater, you can test the water by renting. Justfor Fun at Silver Lake Marina at Lake Grape-vine offers pontoons, ski boats, jet skis andparty boat rentals.

Tranquil Sails and Black Watch offer sun-set dinner cruises and charter parties whereyou sit back and enjoy the lake and leave the

On the waterArea lakes offer visitors, residents variety of fun.

By Patsy Miller

Couples enjoy a cruise onBlack Watch, a charteredsailing boat on Lake Grape-vine. Photo by Alx Eller.

Black Watch, a 38-foot sailing sloop, offers avariety of chartered cruises. Photo by Alx Eller.

Darwin German, left, Tari Newtonand Kyle Newton enjoy the German’sentertainment area on Eagle Moun-tain Lake. On dock, Brooke Newtonwith German family dog Buddy andBlake Newton on watercraft. Photoby Steve Edmonds.

www.panachemagazine.com PANACHE May 2011 19

sailing to them.The Vineyards Campgrounds and Cabins

at Lake Grapevine has kayaks and paddleboats for rent.

Marine Quest operates three marinas atEagle Mountain Lake (Harbor One, LakeCountry and Eagle Mountain) with rental of-ferings including standup paddle boats, pon-toons and speed boats.

Dale Ledbetter, general manager of thethree Marine Quest Marinas, has seen an in-crease in boat purchases, even by occasionalvisitors.

“Boats are becoming more affordable andit is good family fun. Rather than storing theboat in the driveway and towing it from laketo lake, families are choosing to rent a boatslip. We have valet service, so they call uswhen they are coming and we will gas up theboat, provide a cooler of ice and have the boatready for them. We have both wet and drystorage.”

Meanwhile, Possum Kingdom Lake hasbecome the meeting spot for families and

friends coming from Fort Worth-Dallas andWest Texas. Its popularity has resulted in newboat rentals and outfitters for camping, bik-ing and fishing, said Pam Wheat with thePossum Kingdom Lake Chamber of Com-merce.

� Where to get experience. If you want toget some sea legs before plunging into boat-ing, the Arlington Yacht Club and the FortWorth Boat Club, among other venues, offerboth youth and adult boating classes.

Kevin Williams, commodore of the Ar-lington Yacht Club at Lake Arlington, en-courages those fresh from boat classes to crewfor awhile. It gives experience and a chance totry out a variety of boats.

� Where to stay. For an additional out-door living experience, several area lakes havecampgrounds, RV sites and cabins such as theVineyards Campgrounds and Cabins at LakeGrapevine previously mentioned. Mead-owmere and Murrell Parks, also at LakeGrapevine, offer camping facilities as do West

Tranquility can accommodate romantic cruises to small intimate weddings on Lake Grapevine.

Crew dog Hatch in Black Watch cabin. Photo byAlx Eller.

Photos above and below courtesy of TranquilSails.

The Vineyards Campgrounds on Lake Grapevine features furnished cabins along with kayak and paddleboat rental. Photos courtesy of the Vineyards.

Hide-Away Cabins By the Lake offers cabins withviews of Possum Kingdom Lake.



4898 Little Rd., Arlington, TX 76017 | 817-483-7400texstarpoolspabilliard.com

Bay Marina, Creek HarborCamp and Twin Points Marinaat Eagle Mountain Lake.

At Possum Kingdom Lake,there are a variety of housing op-tions for the occasional visitor.The lake is surrounded by cliffs;lake views abound, although notall housing options are lake front.There are hotels, bed and break-fasts, cabins and houseboats torent, campgrounds such as Pos-sum Kingdom State Park andThe Inn at The Cliffs and TheHarbor’s Inn Hotel for a luxuri-ous retreat.

� Where to eat. If your favor-ite lake experience is enjoying awaterfront view while you eat,area lakes offer several dining andentertainment options. Watchthe sunset over Lake Grapevine atThe Glass Cactus at the GaylordTexan Resort. For more casualdining, try Big Daddy’s at Scott’sLanding Marina and Little Pete’sat Twin Coves at Lake Grapevine.Both have bands on the week-end.

There is a variety of dining onEagle Mountain Lake includingThe Spot at Harbor One Marina

The Glass Cactus on Lake Grapevine offers dining, dancing and entertainment. Courtesy of the Gaylord Texan.


and Scampi’s at Lake CountryMarina, also with weekend enter-tainment.

There are many eateries closeto Possum Kingdom Lake suchas The Wildcatter Ranch and Re-sort and The Stuffed Olive, butmost are not near the water. Therestaurants at The Cliffs and TheHarbor, both private develop-ments, are open to the public.

Weekenders

For some Metroplex residents,their weekend home is on thelake. Jack Hattendorf, an Arling-ton Yacht Club member, is athird-generation sailor with threeboats. His 9-year-old and 7-year-old daughters are following in hisfootsteps. He lives a mile fromLake Arlington, so it isn’t neces-sary to live on the lake.

For Steve Stinson, the Grape-vine CVB board chairman, anylength of time off finds him andhis wife living on their 42-footeron Lake Grapevine. A sign reads“Welcome to our lake house.”

“Often several families willdrop anchor in a cove and peoplewill go from boat to boat socializ-ing. There are no pretensions,just regular Joes in cutoffs and flipflops,” he added.

Ledbetter with Marine Questnotes that many boaters – eventhe occasional ones – rent boatslips larger than their boat andbuild 10-foot decks.

“They add patio furniture, mi-crowaves and refrigerators. It’s anextension of their boat. Showers

and restrooms are close by and wehave 24-hour security.”

Boat Clubs

For many, a boat club helpsthem connect with others wholove the water.

� The Fort Worth Boat Clubat Eagle Mountain Lake. Estab-lished in 1929, the FWBC is oneof the oldest yacht clubs in Texas.Its members include novices tothose with generations of boat-ing.

“We have members who useour boats to cruise the lake bythemselves and others who sail

their boats in the races,” saidCommodore Michael Lattimore.

Eagle Mountain has hosted anumber of national champion-ship races and champion sailors.The Fort Worth Boat Club in-cludes a full-service restaurant,pool, tennis courts and boat slips.

Next to surfing, Jim Edenfield,a Fort Worth Boat Club mem-ber, finds sailing one of his threeboats – and a couple of kayaks –nirvana. It is a passion he shareswith his wife, Lynette.

“It’s indescribable, the freemovement, the energy of thewave and what you are going todo with that energy.”

� The Eagle Mountain LakeClassic Boat Club. The club wasformed in 1989 to promote the

restoration and enjoyment ofclassic and wooden boats. Butyou don’t have to own a boat tojoin, says Nick Maggio, vice pres-ident. The group has adoptedPelican Island and hosts otherevents. It also participates in aclassic car and boat show.

� The Arlington Yacht Club.Founded in 1966, the AYC pro-motes both camaraderie andcompetition, according to itswebsite. While Lake Arlingtondoesn’t have amenities such asboat rentals and restaurants, theArlington Yacht Club offers plen-ty of social opportunities.

“We eat more than we sail,”jokes Commodore Kevin Wil-liams.

But there is plenty of sailing

Jim Edenfield and Lynette Edenfield prepare Wildfire for a sail on Eagle Mountain Lake from the Fort Worth BoatClub marina. Photo by Steve Edmonds.

The Harbor marina on Possum Kingdom Lake. Courtesy of the Harbor.

Arlington Yacht Club member Jack Hattendorf sails his MC Scow on LakeArlington with his daughters Aubin, 9, and Ava, 7. Photo by Steve Edmonds.


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“We have a mix of experiencedand new. What I enjoy about sail-ing is that it is very cerebral as wellas physical. You have to contendwith weather and water. It takesyears to become proficient,” Wil-liams explained.

Lakeside living

It’s a fine line between theweekender and full-time lake liv-ing. Most of the former try tostretch out their time on a lake aslong as possible.

The Harbor gated communityat Possum Kingdom Lake, most-ly sells its homes, villas and con-

dos to Dallas-Fort Worth resi-dents as second-home getaways.But Larry Anton, manager ofsales and marketing, is noticingmore buyers are taking early re-tirement or starting a second ca-reer that can be based anywhere.

Anton estimates that 60 per-cent are boat owners. The Har-bor has its own marina, open to

the public, and a concierge ser-vice that will obtain rental water-craft for residents.

Stack Bowers, vice president ofhospitality for Double DiamondCompanies, owner of The CliffsResort at Possum KingdomLake, sees that development as asecond home for those with plansto retire. The golf and boating

The Harbor features condominiums, villas and homes on Possum Kingdom Lake. Photos courtesy of the Harbor.

www.panachemagazine.com PANACHE May 2011 27

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community offers home lots,condos and villas. Its marina of-fers a variety of boat rentals.

LuAnn Chapman-Gatts, aGrapevine CVB board member,has lived on Lake Grapevinesince 1992. While husband Jasonand two sons may get out on thelake more often in the familyboat, she loves sitting out on their

large deck and watching the Fri-day SummerBlast fireworks showheld Memorial Day through La-bor Day. She notes that LakeGrapevine has become an addi-tional destination for city visitors.

“Lake living is great. Youcouldn’t pry me away.”

Lake Worth has been BobCrow’s home since 1950. The

Courtesy of the Harbor.


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Where everyday is like living at a resort

former Lake Worth Sailing Clubcommodore has seen this once-vibrant lake community take aback seat to newer area lakes, butmore improvements are plannedby the city of Fort Worth. Duringthe week there are fishing tourna-ments and the sailing club hostsraces almost every Sunday.

Crow owns 15 boats of alltypes.

“Boating is just a fun thing todo. It has given my wife and I the

opportunity to visit at least 10other lakes on the racing circuitthat I probably wouldn’t have.You are continually trying to im-prove your skills.”

The Cliffs hotel offers a weekendgetaway on Possum Kingdom Lake.

Right, overlooking Possum KingdomLake. Photo by Russell Madden.

Patsy Miller is anArlington-based freelancewriter with more than 30years experience innewspapers, magazines andcorporate communications.

relaxing and romantic black watch sailing charters | lake ......at lake grapevine has kayaks and...

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