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The BUTLER CHAIN OF LAKES SUMMER CRUISE, A SECRET WATER PARADISE – by Gerald Dake
SHAQUILE O’NEAL, TIGER WOODS, MARK OMERA, and many more…… What do they have in common? They all live on the Butler Chain of lakes in west Orange County, Florida surrounding the quaint little town of Windemere. Never heard of it? You are not alone. Ask anyone you see and they do not know where it is.
Want water as clear as a spring? Manicured lawns to the waters edge?…big homes? I mean really BIG HOMES.. 20,000 SQ.FT…30,000SQ.FT…. 50,000 SQ.FT. …. 80,000SQ.FT. WOOOOOW!!!
The Butler Chain of 13 lakes is located 20 miles or so south east of Mount Dora in and around Windemere. You can see the Magic Kingdom from these very private lakes that will remind you northerners of your clear water in the lakes of the cold country. There are only a few boat ramps on this chain and to make sure no one uses them, there is no parking anywhere near the ramp. As a young boy of 12-16 years of age, I used to water ski on these lakes that were lined with citrus groves and only the scattered weekend cottages of Orlando residents. My family was lucky enough to know an old Orlando family who had a rustic cottage they used only on weekends in the summer. It was always a welcomed experience to be invited to this paradise of clear water, having spent most of my water skiing time on the brown tinted water of Lake Dora.
It is now 60 years later and once again we were lucky enough to have a family member living on the Butler Chain of Lakes. The Swatkowsky family moved to Windemere from Chicago in the 60’s and located on one of the small lakes on the chain, and Mike Swatkowsky, some call him “Mr. Windemere”, made it possible for a small group of Sunnyland boaters to cruise the lake system on a midweek day in August. Mike arranged for us to use the very private city owned ramp which is locked tighter than a bank vault when not in use, and provided us with parking one block away on one of his private lots. The City police and park employees made us feel like real dignitaries with all the attention they gave us. It was real special.
When we arranged the trip, we were asked to keep it to a small group so my grandson Austin Hamilton, Terry and Bobbi Fiest and Steve Heitman were the crew on Odyssey. The other boats were Jack and Elizabeth Magri, Yvonne and Roger Wolfe and Jim and Freddie Goodrich with Lance Wilson on board. Jim and Freddie live on one of the lakes and were our tour guides.
It was hot, I mean really
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