By Keith Bush
My companions looked at me as if they had just discovered I was a
Martian. Seated on a personal watercraft, floating on clear, placid
water between verdant hillsides, I had just made a statement that
seemed perfectly sensible to me, but had struck them as utterly alien.
"I've never been on a real lake before," I said.
I can understand how it could have seemed odd to them. Here I was,
claiming to be the associate editor of Personal Watercraft Illustrated,
visiting Upstate New York to cover round seven of the IJSBA National
Tour in Rochester, blithely confessing that I had never been on a real
lake. Was I a fraud? An imposter?
Let me clarify. I am not from Mars. I was born and raised in Southern
California. Although the distinction may be a small one to the
residents of Upstate New York, it's important to me. Also, I have
ridden personal watercraft on rivers, oceans, bays, inlets and lagoons.
I have even ridden at Lake Havasu, Lake of the Ozarks and other bodies
of water with the L word in their names. Until my recent visit to the
Knickerbocker state, however, I had never, in a sense, ridden on a real
lake.
In much of the arid Southwest United States, just about every waterway
of note has been cemented, drained, diverted and/or dammed. To me,
there's a difference between a lake formed by natural forces over
millions of years, and a reservoir formed by some government agency
with billions of dollars.
According to legend, the Great Spirit rewarded the bravery of the
Iroquois people by bringing part of paradise down to earth. The Finger
Lakes were formed in indentations left by his hand as he pushed the
land down from heaven. The fact that there are six of them will be left
to Native American theologians to sort out. (I'm not even counting
several smaller lakes in the same area.)
According to geologists, these are glacial lakes, meaning that long
ago, huge sheets of ice moved slowly but inexorably across the
landscape here, gouging out long troughs in the earth. The region is
still more hospitable to snowmobiles than to personal watercraft in the
dead of winter, but from Memorial Day to Labor Day, this is boating
country.
However these lakes were formed, the important thing is that they're
here now for people to enjoy - and people do. The region's natural
beauty and quaint, historic villages help make the lakes popular summer
playgrounds for swimmers, fishermen and boaters. Although the Finger
Lakes have much in common with one another, each also has
characteristics that set it apart. It is possible to visit all six
lakes in one day, or to take as much time as you want and discover what
is unique and special about each of them.
Canandaigua
Canandaigua means "The Chosen Spot." The lake is 15 1/2 miles long and
1 1/2 miles wide with just less than 36 miles of shoreline. The
half-acre Squaw Island is a landmark at the northern end of the lake. A
free public launch site is located at the northeast corner of the lake
at Canandaigua Lake Marine State Park. A swimmer's beach is also found
here at Kershaw Park. Public beaches can also be found on the west and
east side of the lake. At the south end of the lake on Route 21 is
another launch site, and rental watercraft are available at Jansen's
Marina.
Tony Barbagallo, president of the Finger Lakes Personal Watercraft Club
and (along with his wife Christa, and friend Mike Allen) my guide on my
visit to the region, has been personally involved in a battle to keep
this area open to personal watercraft.
"There was a coalition trying to ban PWC on the lake," Barbagallo said.
A few weeks before a race was scheduled to take place off the beach, a
lakeside homeowner started an anti-personal watercraft campaign to
pressure city officials into canceling the race. Then his nephew, a
state senator, sued the city. As a compromise, both sides agreed to
test the water after the race and at various times during the season.
"The contaminant levels were actually higher during the rest of the
season than they were right after the race," Barbagallo said.
The city of Canandaigua is the site of the Ontario County Courthouse
where suffragette Susan B. Anthony was tried for the crime of voting.
The courthouse dome is visible from a portion of the lake.
Keuka
Seneca is the deepest and widest of the Finger Lakes. It was named for
the Seneca, one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The
word is derived from an Indian term meaning "stony place." Seneca has
the steepest shoreline of the six lakes, particularly at its south end.
Seneca Lake and Sampson state parks both have launch sites, as well as
campsites and picnic areas.
The village of Watkins Glen at the south end of the lake is known for
both its state park and its racecourse. Watkins Glen International
Racing Circuit is the site of an annual NASCAR Winston Cup event and is
known as one of the premier road racing facilities in the United
States. Visitors who hike the 1 1/2-mile gorge in Watkins Glen State
Park will climb 600 hundred feet and pass numerous waterfalls and
erosion-carved grottoes.
Cayuga
At 38 miles long and up to 2 miles wide, Cayuga is the most expansive
of the Finger Lakes. At a relatively low elevation of 384 feet, it has
many marshes, and was known to native peoples as "lake of the marshes."
Launch facilities can be found at the northwest end of the lake in
Cayuga Lake State Park. Taughannock State Park, on the southwest side,
has a launch site as well as one of the outstanding natural attractions
in the area, a waterfall that plunges 215 feet into a canyon. Ithaca,
at the south end of the lake, is the home of Cornell University
Owasco
Owasco, 10 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point, is the
smallest of the six lakes. Its name derives from a word meaning
"bridge" or "crossing place." Auburn, at the north end of the lake, has
historic and picturesque houses, as well as the Emerson Park launch
site.
Skaneateles
All morning I expected to be taken to "Skinny Atlas" lake, because
that's how the name sounded to me. It derives from an Indian word
meaning "long lake." It is almost 14 miles long and its width varies
from one-quarter to 1 mile. It is considered exceptionally pure and
supplies drinking water for the city of Syracuse. At 867 feet above sea
level, it is the highest of the lakes. There is a state launch ramp
located on the northwest side of the lake.
The scenic lakefront village of Skaneateles has a historic downtown
with restored buildings dating as far back as the end of the 18th
century. President and Mrs. Clinton vacationed here last summer. 
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