The 2017 Campbell Boat Owners annual Spring Round Up, dropped anchor on Friday, May 19 th in Lake Havasu City. On Friday afternoon, an informal run to Havasu Springs for lunch was made to conduct some pre Spring Round Up water testing. A couple of these boats had not been in the water since late last year, so a small trip was in order to make sure everything was seaworthy.
Five boats left Thompson Bay Friday Morning "Pre Round Up Fun Run" in search of burgers and refreshments. Triple Sec, Orange Blossom Fizz, Steele Reserve, Lucky 14 and Lite Brew made the run south to the Outer Harbor at Havasu Springs resort. To our disappointment, the deck BBQ does not fire up on Fridays until after Memorial Day! After our crew was properly hydrated on the deck of the Outer Harbor, the group took the short walk to the restaurant for an outstanding lunch. Since this was a test run for the weekends festivities, I'm happy to report that the five boats that went on the journey, all returned home under their own power.
The weekend"s first official activity was a meet and greet that kicked off Friday evening at the Javalina Cantina. Approximately 70 people made an appearance at Javalina a great time was had by all. I'd like to take a minute to thank them for not only having an awesome venue to host our group, but going out of their way with attentive service, great appetizers and cold drinks.
Saturday morning the group met in Thompson Bay for the run to Park Moabi (Pirates Cove) for a yardbird and sausage roast. Something like 30 boats gathered in the Bay to run north. While the appointed time to leave Thompson Bay was 10:00, a few boat captains were eager to get the best spot on the beach and left early. Not a problem as the rest of the boats that left on time did not have to deal with the additional wakes and rough water that can sometimes come with running with too large a group. Beautiful weather greeted everyone going up river and we could not have asked for a better day on the water and the cove.
Once again 85-90 people assembled in the group area of Pirates for BBQ and loud games of cornhole. Several new boats were in attendance and several that we have not see in a while. The 35ft "Electric Blue" made the trip up river and looked regal as ever along with George Follmer's "Racer Chaser" (which happens to be for sale if anyone is interested in a classic with a ton of history!) and Vickie Cowin's recently completed restoration of "Rat Roaster" now renamed to "American Trilogy". The boat now has a monster Whipple charged motor in it that is in the process of getting "dialed in." The Cowin's are a two-Campbell family. Dan Cowin owns the infamous "Tangerine."
No return trip to town would be complete without a stop in the channel for additional story swapping, and eyeballing the hardware in attendance. Almost all the boats made it back to town under power. It would not be a true Campbell event if at least one boat did come home "on the hook". Thankfully, the Campbell Towing Service was in full effect and the pretty little blue boat will live to see another day on the water.
Sunday, once again began in Thompson Bay, with the group heading south to Havasu Springs for brunch. Several boats with their favorite
four legged crew members peeled off from the group and stopped at 3 Dunes for much needed pit stops and play time.
While we all love the Havasu Springs Restaurant which is known for their delicious Bloody Mary?s and Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, boat parking there can be a challenge in an old school V-Drive. One particular boat Captain had several well intentioned handlers running up and down the dock trying to help the Captain pick the perfect slip in which to park. I am still not clear if said boat Captain just enjoyed watching the helpers running up and down the docks chasing his boat or was he really having trouble parking. If I'm being honest I believe it was the former.
After another awesome meal, most everyone met up at 3 Dunes to continue the story telling. Even more food was consumed and the leaders of the tribe gathered to assist a beached House Boat. After much deliberation the elders walked away, scratching their heads with the houseboat still perched high upon the sand. There was rumors circulating that it might still be stuck there for next years "Round UP" and they could address it then.
Dogs and kids chased each other from one end of the beach to other while Ron Fasola chased his dog on and off of his awesome party barge. Sunday is usually the day reserved for boat inspection. This is a long standing tradition in the Campbell family where everyone gets to check out everyone else's hardware. Most everyone's boat was boarded and inspected to insure it met the proper Campbell standard. I am happy to report that each boat passed with flying colors including the Fasola's new Mercury Racing equipped 29 ft. Playcraft Pontoona aptly named "Kraken".
It is hard to find a Campbell that has cool and previously unseen custom touches. The Campbell group is fairly tight nit and most of these boats are 40+ years old. This year though, a pretty 24ft CC, named Purple Tux (owned by Kyle Merriam) showed up at 3 Dunes. With a cut down-bow rail that slanted inboard instead of out, a windshield that was flipped around and of course sporting custom paint by Billy B, with a small strip of pearlescent accenting the pretty color. Subtle touches that put a very nice spin on this classic, and sent everyone's heads spinning into potential future upgrades to their own boats! Kyle managed to save this boat from being sold after his family lost interest in it with the passing of his mother. The boat is a show stopper, and the back story of the build and how he came to save it is extremely interesting and we will cover it further in a "feature" on the boat at a later date.
An interesting and cool trend I have noticed is that there seems to be new Campbell Owners popping up all the time. The age of these new Campbell Owners is rather surprising as well. While some may have the opinion that Campbell Owners are white haired codgers, the fastest growing segment of owners is surprisingly young! Just when we thought all was lost on today's younger generations, I find myself pleasantly surprised to know that there's still people out there with refined taste, and the understanding that boats are boats, but a Campbell has "soul."
There are several boats in various stages of restoration and upgrades that we look forward to seeing at our next event which will be Sept 29-Oct 1st!