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LIFESTYLES &
RECREATION
- May 2000 Feature Article
Liquid
Refreshment "MY family had a camp on Lake Herrington when I was a kid," recalls David Hulett, a native Lexingtonian who’s worked with Merrill Lynch for 21 years. "We had a little runabout with a motor and went fishing. We’d play in the outdoors, and I was with my family – what neater thing could there be?" Today his daughter Haley, 6, might be thinking the same thing. That’s because Hulett, like more and more busy executives, loves going to an un-busy place, especially if it’s on his 31-foot Formula cabin cruiser. "We find a nice cove in the evening, anchor the boat, and in the morning you wake up in the middle of the national forest … it’s great." Hulett, his wife Beth, and their daughters get down to the lake every chance they get and have been since 1990. Only this year they and a bunch of their boating comrades are making the switch from Laurel Lake to Cumberland. Most of those friends have been made on the water. As Hulett and many like him have discovered, the boating lifestyle encourages its own brand of networking. They’ve made enough good friends on the water to form the occasional flotilla, rafting their boats together and watching their kids swim, or trading tips about boat minutiae – a neverending hobby. Among them you might find Frank Henry on his houseboat, or Winchester’s Taylor Jennings, who spends his week working for Skywalker Communications. Or you might encounter the retired Navy man and Berea resident whom everyone knows as "Captain Ron," who fishes off his party hut and knows no off-season. Like Hulett and other waterbound compatriots, Lane Hait and his wife, Phyllis, (owners of Howard H. Hait &Associates, dba Beltone Hearing Aid Service) treasure their lack of contact with the outside world (although the subject of an onboard TV was recently introduced for discussion). The constant hum of workplace communication gives way to the sporadic splash of a swimmer or a fish, the buzz of an engine, the unwinding of a fishing cast. Hait indulges his passion for tinkering, the boat acquiring more individuality with each passing week. It’s not all lake action for the water-hooked however. How about a 1936, 112-foot sternwheeler houseboat, a "magnificent floating mansion" with 1,600 square feet and hickory cabinetry? Anchored in Louisville, it’s called the Winnie Mae and it’s selling for only $550,000. That boat’s just one of many promoted by Jerry Hay, former professional photographer and former owner of a specialty printing company. Now he operates Boat Connection right from his own vessel, the Wabash Queen, often found traveling the Wabash River. He is also the director of the Indiana Waterways Association, and has written a book called Beyond the Bridges, about river culture and people. Whether river, lake or pond, bodies of water bring some peace to the bodies and minds of those who might feel a little wrung out by a frenetic working lifestyle. "When I’m in Lexington, I feel like I should be working or working around the house. Down there is the only time I get to totally relax," explains Hulett. "I want to raise my girls spending time with each other on the weekends where they learn a lot about nature instead of going to a mall," he continues. "When we’re down there, almost every minute is together as a family, and I think that’s meaningful. Haley can’t wait to go to the lake on Fridays." Apparently she’s not alone.
Adam Bruns (adambruns@lanereport.com) is editorial director of The Lane Report.
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