butler chain of lakes

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02 Jun 2020

Can we visit Bird Island?

By Mike Germond

YES! A 10-acre plot of uninhabited land in the middle of Lake Butler was formerly known as Egret Island, designated as a bird sanctuary in 1958. It sits about 200 yards away from the shores of Downtown Windermere’s Fernwood Park, which has a boat ramp but limits parking to town residents only. However, it has become a bit of a party haven in recent years. Although trespassing is prohibited on the island, the shallow sandy bottom and warm waters around it invite anchored boats to raft off the shoreline. Any Butler Lake Tours customers who choose to attend must obey all posted signs and take all trash with them. It is heavily patrolled by law enforcement, but a safe rule of thumb is “ankles in the water”!

18 Jul 2019

Sunset Cruise on the Butler Chain

By Mike Germond

Sunsets are one of the most beautiful times of day in Florida, and even more breathtaking on the water. What better way to enjoy the evening than to have someone drive you around in a pontoon while you sip a glass of wine and take in the beauty. Sounds great right?!

It is true. Sunset cruises are beautiful and an amazing experience anytime you get to do them.

However, hiring someone to drive you around requires them to have a special license, special insurance, etc etc. Not to mention their vessel has to meet different criteria than a normal personal vessel does.

We get asked a lot by customers if they can keep the boats longer to drive them around during the sunset hours. We would LOVE to! But darkness falls quick, and nighttime navigation on unfamiliar waters is an insurance liability. Sunset Cruises require hiring one of our Private Captains and are additional cost based on availability. We are working on that though! Just inquire on our Contact Us page about the Sunset Cruise on Lake Butler service! Or call 407-615-0236 to learn more.

 

25 Jul 2018

Rain in the Summer: A Love/Hate Relationship

By Mike Germond

Rain is a boat rental operators worst scenario. And summer showers in Florida are inevitable. You want clear skies all summer long so as many happy families can go out and enjoy the lake.

This week it has been raining a lot. Luckily the schedule was able to move some reservations around and accommodate everyone’s reschedule.

As much as we hate to see rain in the forecast we must sit back and remind ourselves that rain is also what fills the lake up giving up a body of water to rent boats on! If we don’t have any rain for long long periods of time, the lake level will be too low to rent boats safely (like in 2015 we had to shut down in August/September). Further, if we don’t have enough rain to keep the levels up, people can’t access the lake anymore. Docks at lake homes are sitting in mud and public boat ramps don’t have enough water to launch boats.

If rain means a healthy full lake of water, then bring it on! But please, lets focus that rain during the week at least:)