Havasu 4th of july

[wedge45]

So I'm taking the family to Havasu for the 4th of July for the first time.... literally, in 24 years of owning a boat, we have always gone to Bass Lake for the 4th, but 2 years ago, I hit an "unseen submersed object (boulder) that caused $7300 in damage to the drive, so with water even lower this year I'm Passing on Bass Lake... ergo Havasu, the question is, we have always watched the fireworks from the lake, so at Havi is it better to watch from the lake or the beach at Rotary Park????

All suggestions taken ... Wedge

 

[robby dmax]

Be ready for a zoo!!!:smackhead
Thinking I may pass for the forth this year..

 

[rvrrat350]

I go for the 4th every year
always watch from the water
always a few more people on the water watching when its on a Friday or Saturday (Friday this year)

hang out for awhile after the show and let the traffic die out or head over to the turtle beach it and have a cocktail :thumbsup

 

[SJP]

It has been a number of years since I have boated on Bass Lake - cool place. Not sure of the age of your crew but I have spent numerous Havasu holiday weekend on the water before kids and yearly for last 6 with. To give you a serious recommendation your going to need to give us a few more details of what you want the weekend to look like.

I would:

* Consider launching South at Cattail (this will be the least busy pubic ramp). I guess it depends on where you are staying and if you have access to a private ramp.
* I would boat and hang out towards the south of the lake. Wide open boating, plenty of beaches and places to go.
* If you are going to hang out in the party scene - launch super early 6 am if you are going to hang in the channel. A lot of people park their boats there overnight and take the $300 ticket. On a holiday weekend the channel is a complete scene. Not sure if you have read the recent threads on this. The members are spot on in crabbiness attitude.
* All this being said there are a ton of spots to get away from the crowd if you are heading North towards Topock / Moabi just be prepared on a holiday weekend to encounter traffic on the water.
* We have watched the fireworks both on and off the water and prefer to have the boats out. Not sure if you have a slip, are camping, or planning on leaving boat on beach but we pull the boats out daily no matter what. After a long day on the water, the gals like getting cleaned up, boys need good food, and we watch the fireworks from land. That being said watching from the water is pretty cool. Goes back to age and expectations of the crew.
* Have fun - I am sure other members will have plenty of suggestions.

 

[Hye Power]

We watch from the water but don't think the show is any worse from the shore, we are just usually out on the water so makes no sense to pull the boat out just to go sit on the shore.

 

[fmo24]

We watch from the water. Last year was the first time we got a slip at the marina and it was much easier than dealing with Windsor ramp in the dark. As said if kids are young it can be a long evening out on the water. I like the idea of launching south at cattail to avoid the after math at Windsor.

 

[TCHB]

Fireworks are always nice from the water but it can be a hassle getting the boat out at night.

I like the no hassle way and watch from the shore.

 

[Paul65k]

Watching from the boat is the absolute best way to do it, without a doubt.

That being said the issue is not getting to the show but getting out after the show.

Everything depends on where you will be staying in town and iif you plan to launch and retrieve everyday. If you're doing this I would NOT recommend launching at Cattail. I can tell you from many years experience of heading south after the fireworks are over.....it's a complete "Shit Show" of every swinging D**K flying down the lake in the dark at 50 MPH with lots of intoxicated idiots all trying to get to where they are going at the same time. It got so dangerous that we finally called it quits a few years ago. Imagine the boat wake and depending on the moon that night you may or may not be able to see the Chop/shoreline on the way down.

If you are staying at on of the hotels or condos in the channel and can leave the boat there overnight then no issues.

My recommendation is to get a slip in the Marina and then the show and return to the marina is a piece of cake (all in the no wake zone) and while there might be a little traffic getting back in it's all at 3-5 MPH so completely manageable.

Bottom line.........Get a slip in the marina, get to the show and find a place to park/raft up about 30 minutes before sundown, enjoy the show and the 10 minute Putt back into the Marina:thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[HPBoats83]

We stayed on the water last year for the show. We anchored on the outside edge of the group close to the marina and as soon as the "grand finale" was done we pulled anchor and went in, we were off the water 10 minutes after the show was over

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[wedge45]

It has been a number of years since I have boated on Bass Lake - cool place. Not sure of the age of your crew but I have spent numerous Havasu holiday weekend on the water before kids and yearly for last 6 with. To give you a serious recommendation your going to need to give us a few more details of what you want the weekend to look like.

I would:

* Consider launching South at Cattail (this will be the least busy pubic ramp). I guess it depends on where you are staying and if you have access to a private ramp.
* I would boat and hang out towards the south of the lake. Wide open boating, plenty of beaches and places to go.
* If you are going to hang out in the party scene - launch super early 6 am if you are going to hang in the channel. A lot of people park their boats there overnight and take the $300 ticket. On a holiday weekend the channel is a complete scene. Not sure if you have read the recent threads on this. The members are spot on in crabbiness attitude.
* All this being said there are a ton of spots to get away from the crowd if you are heading North towards Topock / Moabi just be prepared on a holiday weekend to encounter traffic on the water.
* We have watched the fireworks both on and off the water and prefer to have the boats out. Not sure if you have a slip, are camping, or planning on leaving boat on beach but we pull the boats out daily no matter what. After a long day on the water, the gals like getting cleaned up, boys need good food, and we watch the fireworks from land. That being said watching from the water is pretty cool. Goes back to age and expectations of the crew.
* Have fun - I am sure other members will have plenty of suggestions.

Thanks for the input.... that being said... we most always launch Cattail, we often stay at friends house at south end of town so Cattail always works best for us, this year his brother is at the house so we are staying at the Hampton inn, never considered a slip but I've done a slip at Bass Lake several times, at the Zoo, I pull the boat everyday no matter what, unless we are the Nautical Inn, then I beach, so I will either do a slip and watch from the water or pull the boat and watch from shore.... I see the inherent dangers of driving to cattail at night, so that is out....
BTW ... kids age on boat will range from 21, 16, 11, 10, 8 with 3 adults, and everyone will want to eat before the fireworks and shower.... thanks WEDGE

 

[wedge45]

btw... what's the cost of a slip at Hava ZOO Marina ????

 

[headshothills]

btw... what's the cost of a slip at Hava ZOO Marina ????

Last I was there was $30 a night... But make sure you Reg and Insurance have your name on it or the person whose name on it is present, otherwise they wont let you get one... The registered Owner and Insurance card holder has to be present... Saw some dudes fighting with the lady about it and someone from here gave me the same heads up....

 

[Bobby V]

btw... what's the cost of a slip at Hava ZOO Marina ????

Its about $30 a night butyou will probably need to be in Havasu by the 1st or 2nd to get a slip.