There are some days that are so exceptional that we remember them for the rest of our lives. A lot of the time, boating days fall into this memorable category. Here are a few stories from our readers about their best and most memorable days on the water.
Talented Tubing Dog
Jenny Salvo has many fond memories of days out with her family on their 2015 Sweetwater 2286SLC pontoon. However, her favorite memory is when they took their boat out and realized their dog Rocky could tube.
Rocky is a rescued pup from their local humane society in Edgerton, Wis., and he’s proved dogs can learn almost any kind of trick. Jenny described how he would swim and play in the water every year and would use their Big Marble tube as a resting spot while they were at the swimming hole.
“We knew Rocky was smart and loved his tube,” shared Jenny. “So we pulled him on it just a little the first time… then a little faster. He refused to get off, so by the end of the day he was an expert.”
Nowadays, Rocky spends his summers cooling off from the spray of the `toons as he cruises behind the boat in his tube at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. Jenny and her family can’t get enough of their dog’s unique aquatic skills and they’ve made countless memories since discovering Rocky’s hidden talents.
Contagiously Fun
Last year Annitta and Roy Rothenburger did something that would change their perception of family fun forever: they rented a pontoon for the first time and created some of their best family memories.
The Rothenburgers live in Tennessee and decided to hop over to Greers Ferry Lake in Arkansas. Their party consisted of Annitta and Roy, their son and his fiancé, their daughter and her husband, and their two granddaughters.
The entire family had a blast and ended up falling in love with the lake and pontooning. The experience was so contagiously fun that the Rothenburgers went out the following month and bought their own pontoon. They’ve been living it up at the lake with their 2018 South Bay triple pontoon ever since.
“It is a dream come true,” enthused Annitta. “That day sealed the deal.”
Seizing Precious Moments
One of John Marrlett’s favorite boating memories is when he took his kids fishing on his pontoon boat with his mom. Being out on the lake is one of his favorite things, and he had such a lovely time with his family that day, getting away from it all.
“The world seems to stop when we’re on the lake having a good time,” described John.
John works a job at a utility company where the hours can be unpredictable, making it so he often doesn’t know when he’s going to be called into work or when he’ll make it home. Describing himself as an average blue collar American worker, John explained that he and his wife try to raise their kids to enjoy every moment because there are no promises of tomorrow. Taking his family out on his pontoon allows him to step away and relax with the people he loves.
“We seize every moment we can cherish with our family away from work,” shared John.
Changing The World
Chris Topp’s most memorable day out on his boat was when he invited his best friend to join him and his wife Lisa for a cruise on the pontoon they bought last year. They planned on relaxing, but Lisa didn’t end up relaxing too much because she’s on an important mission.
“She’s in with trying to save our planet by picking up trash off the ground and out of rivers and lakes,” said Chris proudly. “She never stops and was grabbing trash out of lake. That moment was very special in my eyes.”
Lisa tries her best to keep all the lakes she visits clean, and she’s set a goal to pick up litter in all 50 states. So far she’s got 28 states down and she isn’t stopping anytime soon.
John couldn’t be more proud of her goal to make the world a better place and he’ll always remember the time when they went out for a relaxing day on the lake and she ended up cleaning the lake instead.
You can check out Lisa’s cleaning progress on Facebook at QC Pollution Solution or on Instagram at KeepYourJunk_InTheTrunk.
Joining The Boating Lifestyle
Every day on her pontoon is good day for Amber Cox, but the day they took delivery of their pontoon stands out as the best. Her family ended up having to drive an hour to get their Sun Catcher V20FC and then another hour back to their home. Not wanting to wait a moment longer to get their new boat in the water, they decided to drive an additional hour in the opposite direction to the lake, and it proved to be one of their favorite boating memories.
“It was the best day ever when we started living the boating life,” shared Amber.
Ear-To-Ear Grins
For Ronnie Stepp, it’s all about family. That’s why his best day on the water was when he took his two daughters and three grandchildren out on his pontoon boat a year ago. His favorite moment was when his grandkids Bentley and Kylie, ages 5 and 7 at the time, went tubing.
“It was their first time on the water and they were grinning from ear to ear,” remembered Ronnie. “They had no fear whatsoever. Now all they can talk about is when Papa is bringing his boat again.”
Ronnie had a 22-foot pontoon at the time but has recently made the switch to a 24-foot Bayliner Rendezvous with a 250hp Mercury engine. So far he loves his new deck boat and his kids and grandkids always look forward to him taking them out for fun-filled days of boating.
