Wozencraft World Tour Stop No. 4: Enjoying A Hartwell Lake Hiccup

Just days before the Hartwell Lake Poker Run benefitting Meals On Wheels-Anderson, which was originally scheduled for last weekend in South Carolina, I learned that severe weather in the forecast had forced event organizer Todd Campbell to reschedule the event to July 11-13. But with so many people already committed to come, about a third of the registered participants, including me and my daughter, Leilani, still decided to show up anyway.

Originally planned for June, the Hartwell Lake Poker Run had to be postponed. But that didn’t keep Southern California-based insurance man Devin Wozencraft from making a stop on his annual poker-run tour (click image to enlarge).

What’s another trip across the country—we live in Southern California—among high-performance boating friends?

OK, I confess: I think South Carolina’s Chuck Stark may have had something to do with us flying 6,000-ish miles roundtrip for an event that didn’t happen. On Friday and Saturday night, Chuck threw a huge, fully catered party at his house, complete with two bars and a rippin’ live band. And it was great, so great that a lot of people brought their motorhomes and stayed on his large and beautiful property on the shore of Hartwell Lake for the weekend.

On Friday, the weather turned out to be fairly good and a group of us went on a lunch run to a nearby marina on Unbridled, Todd and Debby Campbell’s gorgeous MTI-V 57. That turned out very nice and we got to see a lot of the lake.

Saturday mostly fulfilled its forecast for heavy rain, but I did find an hour window where it stopped raining. So I dropped my 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran into the water. That way, I could officially say I had boated Hartwell Lake.

Check out the slideshow above for more images from Devin Wozencraft’s Hartwell Lake experience.

We hung out with a bunch of people that day at Big Water Marina, a Hartwell Lake facility owned by the Campbells. They’ve put a lot of money into it, and you’d never know it was in bad shape, as Todd Campbell told me it was, when they bought the place. Now, Big Water Marina is a prime destination for lunch, docking and fueling your boat, camping and simply enjoying great views of the lake.

Unfortunately, I can’t return in July for the rescheduled Hartwell Lake Poker Run as its dates conflict with those of the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Northern Michigan, which I’ll be visiting for the first time. But without a poker run and all that comes with it, I was able to focus on and truly enjoy Hartwell Lake with so many wonderful friends including the Campbells, who were wonderful hosts. And I’ll be back for the poker run next year.

Editor’s note: Devin Wozencraft is the owner and founder the Southern California-based Wozencraft Insurance Agency, which specializes in high-performance powerboat coverage. This is the first article he has written for speedonthewater.com.

Wozencraft World Tour Stop No. 4: Enjoying A Hartwell Lake Hiccup

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