Boating and Lakes in/near Orlando

[EditorJul]

Way back in the day, I was at a summer camp in Ocala, and we canoed over a fairly large spring-fed lake to a small island in the lake to camp overnight. At night, if you took your flashlight out and aimed it at the water at eye level, you could see all the little glowing specks of alligator eyes. In the morning, it was very foggy as we canoed back. I was in the deepest part of the lake and suddenly hit something that I thought was a rock or a log. I looked back and it was a very sleepy alligator. Although I don't expect he was too thrilled to have been whacked in the head with a canoe paddle, he didn't seem to care enough to move either.

We used to swim in that lake up there all the time. The fish getting into people's swimsuits were far worse than any problems with gators.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

I honestly think bears and moose are more dangerous to people. They are much smarter than gators and lose their fear very easily.

I'd tend to agree. A gator that isn't hungry will generally stay away from humans.

[Eric1026]

I think I need to put this in perspective just because :-)

There are more professional water-skiers and wake boarders in Florida then any other state and it is not even close. In particular Central Florida and Orlando has the most within Florida. Two of the largest ski boat manufacturers are in Orlando. They hold so many professional water ski events in Orlando that you could go to one about every other weekend on average. There are over 20 "lakes" or should I say bodies of water that were dug out and made just for competitive water ski-ing. One example: There is a lake called Lake Hancock in Winter Garden that has 3 "sections" or parts to it. There is a community called Isles of Lake Hancock and about 50 houses on the lake and more then half the people in that community are professional or really good at skiing or wake boarding. They dug out two extra waterways right alongside Lake Hancock and hold professional and amateur events out of there a few times a year. Drew Ross is a pro that lives there and runs a professional ski school.

Gators: There are gators in almost any lake and in most lakes there are anywhere from a few to probably dozens of them. I have lived my entire life in Florida and have been on lakes skiing, wake boarding, Jet-skiing and swimming the whole time. We have never had issues with Gators. It is such a rare experience. There has been anywhere from 12-17 alligator deaths in Florida since 1954 and none have been while someone was out on the water near a boat that was pulling them in the water. The few bodies of water in Florida that have a "large" concentration of gators are not ski lakes anyway (Lake Jesup, Lake Okeechobee, etc).

Florida Alligators

[MovingtoFL2014]

Originally Posted by idr591

Yes and Yes. Shouldn't necessarily deter you; just be aware.

Shouldn't deter you? I'm afraid to walk by a puddle here in FL! LOL

Being from up North, funny the things we're afraid of down here!

And bears, moose, coyotes .. We can run from them or hit 'em with a rock or stick ... you won't know when a gator is coming and once he grabs a hold of your leg and spins and spins ... You're done!!