Boating Archives - Canyon Lake California

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Canyon Lake ShowCal Skiers Getting Ready for Season

By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Recreation

ShowCal Skiers LogoCanyon Lake has a new club dedicated to the sport of show skiing called the “ShowCal Skiers”.  If you’ve ever seen a ski show at Sea World, Cypress Gardens, or Magic Mountain, then you’re familiar with the excitement and crowd pleasing action these show skiers provide.  And in fact many of the members of Canyon Lake’s newest club have performed professionally at those ski show venues.

Show Skiing has been called the most entertaining discipline in the sport of water skiing.  It is fast-moving, exciting, graceful, and most of all, fun to watch.  Virtually all aspects of the sport – barefooting, jumping, slalom, tricks, wakeboarding and kneeboarding – are choreographed into one grand performance.  Unique to show skiing are ballet/swivel skiing, adagio doubles, adagio trios, freestyle jumping and human pyramids.

It makes sense to have a club like this in Canyon Lake since it’s already considered a classic water skiing community, and home to numerous national and world champion skiers, boarders and hydrofoilers.  ShowCal Skiers bring yet another dimension to the already popular sport.  They plan to perform several Ski Shows for our community throughout the summer.

CalShow Skiers

And anyone can participate in this new club even if you don’t have any experience – the club is open to all members of the community.

“The biggest advantage to joining ShowCal Skiers, is that you and your family will have the ability to utilize Canyon Lake’s Greatest Amenity – The Lakes – without having to own a boat or water ski equipment.  It truly is an organization where all members of a family can participate together.  Age and skill are not factors since ski club performers can range from young children to grandparents and beginner to expert.”

Dry land practice is usually on Sundays at Holiday Harbor and rumor is there may be a wet practice on the jump lagoon March 23rd.  Best to check out their calendar to confirm dates and times for all practices.

If you would like to get more information about the club membership or upcoming events, you can visit their website at showcalskiers.org or contact Mary Tortomasi at 951-722-2010 or Cherie Schiafone at 239-707-6002.

Check back here for updated photos of the ShowCal Skiers in action.

 

Boat Parade of Lights Shines Bright for the Holidays

By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events

Canyon Lake Boat ParadeEvery year this event gets better and better as Canyon Lakers come up with more creative lighting displays for their vessels.  Growing by a few entries each year, the parade keeps getting bigger and makes for a great evening of entertainment and not surprisingly coincides with a lot of local Christmas parties.

The parade starts at 5:00pm on Saturday at the East Bay launch ramp and makes a full run down the East Bay through the boat tunnel, all the way up to the north end of the Main Lake and back down to finish at Holiday Harbor.  If you live on the water or are partying with friends on the water, then you’ll have a front row seat almost anywhere on the lake.

If you don’t have a back deck to view from, here’s a list of public areas that are excellent vantage points:  On the East Bay, Indian Beach, Roadrunner Park and Diamond Point Park all offer great views and lots of space to get comfortable with lawn chairs and a thermos of hot cocoa.

On the Main Lake, Holiday Harbor is a great venue and also happens to be where the boats finish the cruise at.  Additionally, you can get refreshments and hot cocoa at the park while you’re watching.  Sunset Beach offers the largest area to spread out and bring the family and offers the opportunity to see the parade twice as it passes by that area of the lake on it’s route.  The boardwalk around the lodge and pool area near the Lighthouse is also a great area to get up close and personal.

If you live on the west side of Canyon Lake, then Moonstone Beach off of Whirlaway  Ct. is a great viewing area.  If you’re new to Canyon Lake or just visiting, refer to our map below for viewing locations.

If you are planning on photographing the parade, here are a few tips.

  • If your camera has a night setting or fireworks setting, they sometimes also shoot holiday lights well.
  • You can choose the action setting and you can adjust your white balance to “tungsten” if your camera has it.  If burst mode is available, that sometimes make it’s easier to capture at least a few good shots out of the series.
  • Try turning off your flash to really capture the brightness of the lights from the boats.  Leaving the flash on, may wash out the lights.
  • Use a tripod if you have it because most night settings on a camera will increase exposure and can cause blurriness if you don’t hold still.  If you zoom in to catch a far away boat, it just makes the problem worse so use the tripod for best quality photos.

Want to catch some other fantastic Holiday Light Boat Parades this year?  Try a few of these (click the links for more details and routes):

Marina Del Rey Boat ParadeNewport Beach Boat Parade | Dec 18th-22nd – known as the oldest Holiday Boat Parade in the US at 105 years strong.

Dana Point Harbor Parade | Dec 13th & 14th – 39 years running and a pretty easy drive from Canyon Lake over Hwy 74.

Naples Long Beach Boat Parade | Dec 21st – always a fun event and close to Second street shopping and dining.

Marina Del Rey Boat Parade | Dec 14th – this long running event features a fireworks show (same day as Canyon Lake parade unfortunately).

San Diego Bay Parade of Lights | Dec 15th – almost 100 boats participate each year.

Remember to dress warm and bring a blanket and maybe some warm drinks to sip on.  It’s cold down by the water.

 

Photo credits: MDR Boat Parade, Naples Boat Parade & Port of San Diego via Flickr.com

 

Post Update

Well, it was a great boat parade this year with even more entries than last and some very creative efforts.  We even had a fire breathing dragon!  Here are a few photos taken from Indian Beach.

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You Might be a Canyon Laker if…

By Justin Bevins | Featured

Canyon Lake sure is a one-of-a-kind community and if you live here you know that Canyon Lakers have their own language, customs, and idiosyncrasies.  Wondering if you’ll fit in here or if you truly are a Canyon Laker?

You might be a Canyon Laker if…

  1. Your golf cart has more miles on it than your car.
  2. You can back up a boat or recreational vehicle better than most people can back up their cars.
  3. You park your car outside in the weather so you can fit all your toys inside the garage.
  4. You know what any of the following are: Lily Pad, Sky Ski, Dredger, Solar Bee, Causeway, Goetz Hill, Algae Bloom, Boat Tunnel
  5. You always check the lake level and temperature page first when the Friday Flyer comes out.
  6. You have to explain to everyone you meet where Canyon Lake is.
  7. You’re an expert at removing decals from your car windshield.
  8. Your boat cost more than your truck did.
  9. Paddle RegattaYou own more than one set of any of the following: golf clubs, fishing poles, water skis, wakeboards or paddleboards.
  10. You can drive 35mph continuously without looking down at your speedometer.
  11. You have more than one Canyon Lake sunset stored in your smart phone photo album.

See you around the lake.  Happy Holidays!