Eight friends cruise the canals of Naples Island

OUT AND ABOUT

by Dave LaCascia

LW contributor

Eight good friends and golfing/ gameplayingbuddiesdecided to get away from it all for an hour or two and took a Duffy Boat ride in Alamitos Bay. The weather was sunny with a nice breeze and around 82 degrees.

At 5 p.m. on a beautiful Thursday afternoon, a boat was rented from London Boat Rentals (LBR) and the group left from the dock at Alamitos Bay Landing to venture out into the great watery beyond. After getting instructions from a high school-bound boat attendant they soon discovered that the great beyond was going to be restricted to the waterways around and through Naples, and the Belmont Park/Shores area. He mentioned going out to sea was out of the question as well as forbidden and please be back on time!

Unfazed by these limitations, the nautical crew ventured out and stuck the nose of the boat into the wind. Getting up to a top speed of almost 10 knots, the eight had snacks, drinks and dinner while cruising on the bay, all the time piloted by the intrepid Captain Marv Jones and his first mate Marilyn Hewitt. Conversation ranged from Leisure World activities, to golf, families and current events.

Dozens of paddleboarders, kayakers, swimmers, other Duffy boaters were spotted on the water, which was also shared by larger motor and sailing boats. Mother’s Beach was quite crowded, and several other smaller beaches were remarkably busy. The homes along the water are spectacular to see and the area around the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club is particularly fun to look at with its string of consecutively numbers sailing vessels. Along the various marinas were several huge craft— larger than some homes. The variety of humorous names on the boat sterns gave them plenty to laugh about.

All too soon the cruise came to an end with everyone feeling refreshed and charged up. Coming back to Leisure World was a bit of a let-down, but everyone was pleased to know that they would be doing it again soon.