Im in coastal SC. we have shark and gators in some of these waters and rivers. <BR> <BR>Ive seen a few dolphin right near us a few times, pretty cool. <BR> <BR>Anyone else board in salt water rivers or waterways? <BR> <BR>

I live on Oahu (for the next 3 years), I have hammerhead sharks around where I go. I've seen them on several occassions. However, they don't mess with you and the boat usually scares them away. I board on the Ocean and it's not bad. I would prefer to be on a lake, but I'll take what I can get.

Padre Island, Texas baby!!! Luckily where we ride, we don't get sharks. I have had the privy of riding w/dolphins though. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/proud.gif" border=0>

I ride salt in San Diego. I've never seen dolphins from the boat but I have riding waves with them while surfing! Scary and fun at the same time.

Eric where are you at in SC. My husband and I just moved from there, and to be honest, we can't wait to get back. We lived in the Charleston area. Are you familiar with the area near the NWS in Goose Creek? If not, just skip the next bit, but if you are, you might find this helpful. <BR> <BR>We went riding in an area called Bushy Park, it was located at right before the main gate to the NWS, by the Redbank Club. The road separated it into salt and freshwater sides, with fresh being on the left. It's really nice to ride there. We would occasionally see 'gators, but they never bothered us. In fact, we used to have some really cool shots of us wakeboarding near them. If you go there on a weekend, you won't even see them due to the boat traffic. Just make sure to start heading in around dusk, that's when they get active. <BR>Sometimes, a dolphin would swim around to the freshwater side, but I never saw them while we were wakeboarding. <BR>I went boating on the InterCoastal Waterway a few times, but we tried really hard to avoid saltwater. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps some.. I am going to attach some pics of Bushy Park. <BR> <BR>If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up <BR><a href="mailto:timandjesi@cox.net">timandjesi@cox.ne t</a> <BR>

Here are two pics... one is of a gator that like to hang around the dock, and the other is my favorite thing about Bushy Park. <BR>Enjoy <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/241607.jpg" alt=""> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/241608.jpg" alt="">

Jess is your profile PIC from there also? O...the butter! <BR> Mother Neptune loves to eat boats.

Steve, <BR>I had to re-look at my profile pic, but yeah... that is the same spot... Now you can see why San V just doesn't compare!!! <BR>See you later, <BR>Jesi

Thanks Jessica... <BR> <BR>Im actually right around there, we stay mostly in the upper wando around daniel island, rivertown and dunes west area...right around where hwy 41 goes over the wando in mt. pleasant. The water is somewhat calm back there but pretty salty/brackish. Alot of times we cruise from there over to the harbour. The harbour feels a little choppy for my boat at times, but i think its just me not being used to it. The ICW is nice too, I've put in a few times at IOP and went to capers and dewees. My little boat seems to do OK, I do flush it out after every use. Im already thinking of my next boat but not sure what would make a great all-purpose boat for these waters, cruising, boarding, harbour, ICW, etc. If you have any ideas on what works, let me know. <BR> <BR>we have not ventured out to the lake yet. I want to check it out. I've heard theres alot of wakeboarding going on out there. Im just learning how to do it...so far its a blast. <BR> <BR>I recently worked at the NWS. <BR> <BR>Where are you guys now? <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by trout on July 19, 2005)

We put in at IOP a couple of times. I don't think we ever went up around Daniel's Island. <BR> <BR>As far as the lakes go, the only one we ever went to was lake Moultrie, way past Monk's Corner. You can get good water there early in the morning, but it gets really, really bad once the afternoon winds pick up. It's almost impossible to put you boat back on the trailer. <BR> <BR>That's way cool that you started wakeboarding, I started when I was in Charleston, too. IMHO, Bushy Park is the way to go, although it may be a bit of a drive for you. We used to live in Summerville, off of Old Trolley -- I think it was about a 1/2 hour drive with traffic. <BR> <BR>Now, we are in San Diego. The weather is okay, but it is way too expensive out here, plus there are no, close freshwater rivers, and we don't have a flushing system in our new boat. We've got about three years left here, and then we will, hopefully, be back in SC. <BR> <BR>Take Care <BR>jesi

Is that gator real?

Like TSO, I too live in San Diego and ride in Mission Bay (salt). The only thing I hate about salt water is the mess it makes out of your boat. Nothing like coming home from a day at the bay only to have to wash the boat and all the gear. <BR> <BR>As a kid surfing in SoCal, the porpoises would scare the s**t out of me. This was around the time of Jaws and any fin sticking our of the water was a shark to me! <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/blush.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>~J. <BR>

Steve, <BR> <BR>Yep, that is a real gator. <BR> <BR>jesi

I'm in New Jersey and I ride in a salt water bay. John is right. Everytime we come back I flush the engine with fresh water, wash the whole boat and rinse all the gear. It's just part of riding in salt water. At least there isn't any large anfriendly marine life in the bay. The sharks and jellyfish stay in the ocean.

Is it just me or is the guy standing next to his truck thinking twice about getting in the water? You wouldnt find me anywhere even close to that gator he is freaking huge..my theory is if there is a chance of something bigger than me bein in the water i aint gettin in!! I wouldnt even be in a boat with things like that swimmin around!

It's funny you should mention that. That guy is actually a retired Chief Warrent Officer that my husband and I used to work with. He was actually pulling his bass boat out of the water. <BR> <BR>That was probably on of the biggets 'gators I saw. Usually, only the smaller ones (5-6 ft) ventured out in the channel, and they didn't even bother when traffic was high.

I Wake board in kuwait, it is like jumping into a salt bowl, jelly fish are a nightmare, especially when they are spawning, but the water is like glass for a quater of the year, and about 40 degrees c, its a crazy place, but no gators or sharks, just lunatic kuwaitis on the jet skis and scarabs, i think i would prefer the gators