Boating – June 2019

BOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2019 | 87

(most of which are fresh
water) ideal for all types
of fun: fishing, sailing,
cruising, watersports,
and anything else you
can think of.

CATCHING AIR
AND COMFORT
FOOD
We started out in the tiny
town of Terminous, just
north of Stockton. Tow-
er Point Marina, once
home to a KOA, now has
a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone
Park Camp on-site, and if

you’re looking to explore

some of the Delta while

camping and keeping

kids entertained, it is a

great facility. With a va-

riety of cabins and camp-

sites available, the resort

has something for every-

body, including a water

park, restaurant and ice

cream parlor. The first

morning, after breakfast

in our cabins and a walk

along the marina’s levee,

we packed our Centu-

rion Fi21 with coolers,

towels, and a Nomad

wakeboard and Coaster

wakesurf board from

Slingshot, and launched

for a day on the water.

Heading northwest

out of the marina, we

idled under the Highway

12 bridge and cruised

into the Mokelumne

River. It was the first

Saturday of November,

normally fall for the re-

gion, but a long-running

Indian summer season

blessed us with abun-

dant sunshine and warm

temperatures. This also

meant less-crowded

waterways—we spotted

just one fisherman in our

first 20 minutes of driv-

ing. Calm, glassy water

greeted us with every

turn in the river, which

meant the White broth-

ers couldn’t wait any lon-

ger to ride. Although the

air temps were warm, the

water was already much

colder, but that didn’t

stop either Dave or Mark

from having a lot of fun.

With a few button push-

es, we added ballast to

the Fi21, creating wakes

that were great for catch-

ing air.

Lunch treated us to

more of what the Delta

life is all about. Moore’s

Riverfront restaurant,

part of an area called the

Delta Loop on Brannan

Island, delivers casual

American comfort food,

with décor in touch with

the environment (an old

boat serves as the bar).

The vibe, like the area

surrounding it, was laid-

back and friendly. On

busier summer week-

ends, the restaurant’s

docks are packed with

boats of all shapes and

sizes. This day proved a

perfect example of what

you see on the Delta, be-

cause each boat on the

docks was something dif-

ferent: a bowrider run-

about, a cabin cruiser, an

aluminum fishing boat,

a high-speed Donzi, and

our Centurion water-

sports boat. That is

the Delta in a nutshell:

a  somewhat confusing

amalgamation of water-

ways where any kind of

boat can find a home.

GHOST SHIPS

AND HIDDEN

ISLANDS

In the afternoon, we

headed back east, loop-

ing our way around,

knowing we’d eventually

make it back to Tower

Park. All along the way

we found other signa-

ture Delta elements. We

tucked into Old Potato

Slough and motored up

to the now derelict and

defunct Herman and

Helen’s—an unfortunate

sign of what has hap-

pened to several of the

Delta’s marinas in the

last decade. In typical

Delta style, three old,

giant ships have made

their home anchored

at an abandoned dock,