Lost Isle event calendar?

D

DeltaDawg

Member
exMember
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
RO Number
23389
Messages
233
The event calendar for Lost Isle is still for 2007 (on their web site lostisle.com). Does anyone know the inside scoop as to why it is not yet updated for 2008? Last year they had an updated event calendar posted in Feb. Thank you for any inside scoop you can offer.
 
I was wondering the same thing. I checked out for a trip we have planned in June and it said they were having a wet t shirt constest or some dang thing but the date on my calendar showed it to be a Monday. Pretty weird to have an event on a Monday and then I realized their calendar was 2007. The "isle" has been up and down in the past, always interesting and never boring, but I hope they are open and running full crowds. I was there one time in January a couple years back and the place looked like it was falling down and there was a bum or a hobo of some kind living in the bar. Maybe he was the winter caretaker.....he didn't say, just that they were not open. I always enjoyed Lost Isle and hope they are doing well.

DBH
 
I'd give them a call to get the latest scoop. One thing I have heard and believe to be true is that that property is actually owned by 54 investors. I don't know if any one of them has a controlling share. 54 heads can be a bit much to make decisions......And the county, who used to just ignore LI, has been on their case every year regarding code violations and drunk boating, etc. They had to bring in "certified" prefabbed handicapped bathroom buildings and such. The last time I was there, a couple of years ago on a Monday Poker Run, no one under 21 was allowed anywhere on the island!

I hope someone posts the skinny on the current happenings of this Delta Icon!
 
The county seems bent on putting them out of business. Maybe they finally succeeded. Having the police camp out in front pulling over every boat that leaves the place doesn't help Lost Isle's business any either.
 
Lost Isle is certainly not shut down and appears to be gearing up for a big season.

I say this because I keep my houseboat at Tiki Lagun and I have seen the Lost Isle tug boat (yes, they have their own tug boat) beach itself on the launch ramp, load pallets of stuff onto the tug via a fork lift and then haul them off to Lost Isle. This tug made multiple trips on at least two weekends.

A couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the island and could see lots of work in progress. The bar was open, and there was mild crowd considering how early it was in the season.

Rod
 
Good news Abdiver.....I have always enjoyed LI but now that I am a little older, when I go there, none of the 25-30 year old girls give me the eye like they used to.....darn. Last time I was there a couple young ones got friendly with me and at the time I was very happy, it turns out they ended up drinking free all day on me. No fool like an old fool. Still worth it. Abdiver, is that name literal for what you like to do?

DBH
 
Hey, DBH, no fool like an ole fool, huh? But dreaming can be fun........
 
Maybe you didn't have enough beads...

I was there a few weeks ago on a boat test drive and they were open, but empty. Too soon for the crazy summer crowd. Wondering where I'll be able to park a 34' cruiser there during peak season.

I plan to come prepared for fun this summer. (Hey, all old guys can dream, right?)
 
Boats stern tie to the docks there. I've seen several 50 ft houseboats at the outside dock, so your 34 footer will fit as long as you can stern tie it.
 
It looks like an interesting place - I was there about this time of the year last year, and there was almost nobody there so I have not really seen the place in full bloom. We call those kind of operations a cash cow - not a lot of investment or upkeep, and lots of expensive drinks! I will have to make it a priority this year - might be a good place to have a get-together for this group...
Hey Flutter - want to be in charge of planning a weekend? I have a feeling if YOU start it, EVERYONE will show up! I can easily not drink, and I have a feeling lots of others here might do the same. Can you imagine watching what happens at Lost Isle if you are sober - would be really interesting, and we would actually remember it the next day! I wonder if they would kick us off the island?

Jim
 
quote:
Originally posted by deltabighat

Abdiver, is that name literal for what you like to do?

Click to expand...


Yep.

I have too many other activities these days so I am down to only one abalone dive a year. I have my annual "abalone feast" the first Saturday of August up in Albion. I generally have 40 to 50 people, 4 to 8 divers.

We generally do the dive around 10:00 AM then have a big potluck and abalone feast in the late afternoon.

This year will be my 21st year running. I may have to pass the tourch to my son pretty soon, however. I have been having problems with my sinuses, makes it hard to drop down to 40 feet quickly.

Are you a diver?

Rod
 
quote:
Originally posted by Comfortably Numb
We call those kind of operations a cash cow - not a lot of investment or upkeep, and lots of expensive drinks!
Click to expand...


What a misnomer! These places have to make 12 months profit in 3 months. The other 9 months it is a cash drain. And a huge investment to purchase in the first place! Maybe they will make a profit when they sell the place to someone else looking for a tax shelter. That is about all they are good for.

quote:
might be a good place to have a get-together for this group...
Hey Flutter - want to be in charge of planning a weekend? I have a feeling if YOU start it, EVERYONE will show up! I can easily not drink, and I have a feeling lots of others here might do the same. Can you imagine watching what happens at Lost Isle if you are sober - would be really interesting, and we would actually remember it the next day! I wonder if they would kick us off the island?Jim
Click to expand...


I bet they would kick us out if we were not drinking. You are not allowed to bring your own drinks onto the island, including the docks. To drink your own beer, you have to hide down below with all the hatches closed![:-yuck]

Frankly, I'd pass. Even in my drinking days I did not enjoy Lost Isle; just not my style.

Jim, why don't YOU organize a guys weekend at Lost Isle!!!!!
 
Flutterby,

I would generally agree, and you could be 100% right on the business, but it seemed from the on-line video the place was so unbelievably busy - maybe 1 in a 1000 bars ever get to do that - that even if it is only 5 times a year, and 4 months of so-so business, I bet they do OK. I figured they bought the place long ago, don't seem to put much into it, and if it is a lease from the Army Corps could be cheap. If thats the case, they could just be milking it. If someone were to buy it and have a giant loan, do improvements, it would probably be in the red and a good tax loss.

As for me planning an event - no way. First, I have never been there other than when it was dead and don't really know much about it. It was a little too rough for my liking, although I am always up for anything once, and most importantly, I am new to this board and don't really know anyone. Maybe down the road!

By the way, I checked on the Air Dock and they wanted $3500 - too much, but thanks.

Jim
 
Yes for many years. Started when I was 17 years old on Catalina Island. I spent four summers there and diving put food on the table for the guys I lived with. My first dive with a tank in 1962 (before you had to be certified) was on an old double hose US Divers system with a J valve. Went down an anchor chain 103 feet looking for a sunken boat in the harbor area. No lessons, just don't come up any faster than your smalles bubbles. Lucky we didn't get bent. Anyway, we used to harvest abalone of all sizes and colors with tanks (very illegal even back then) No wet suits, so we stuck them on our stomachs to impress the girls. Being 17 in Avalon didn't require a lot of brains. Anyway, I loved diving but haven't been down for awhile, I miss it actually.

DBH
 
DBH,
I have never dived, but we make an annual trip to Albion, just below Ft Bragg and it is a ab-divers heaven. We stay on the river in either tents or trailers and there are about 25 sites in this little place, and most are divers. On more than one occasion we would trade our cooking for fresh ab -what a treat! One of my fondest times.

Jim
 
Jim, the current owners bought the place, including the "island" about 4-5 yrs ago. Then the County started harassing them to bring everything up to code. They had to pour a lot of money into it to do that. The folks who sold to them probably made a killing!

Yes on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day the place is hopping, but the rest of the time I'm sure they do not even break even. Even during the summer weekdays, they may barely break even. Believe me, the places in the Delta are no cash cow. I know several restaurant/marina owners who have gone bankrupt or are struggling to keep things open. You have to be crazy to buy one!
 
Flutterby,

Interesting. Like I said, I am new to the Delta and it is enlightning to learn about the place. I agree with you completely, it is a very tough place to run a business. Most of the little towns don't have a population that will support many businesses throughout the year, so they have to do it different than the guy in the middle of a big city. I will always do my best to support the small guy who is giving it a go. In the last year, watching Spindrift and the Waterfront both start to show "growth" signs is good to see, but as with the Lost Isle, they have a short season to cover the year. Even though they are looking really good now, it is still hard. I think Spindrift is open all year, and they have the locals from several marinas to help them through the winter. The Waterfront I beleive closes in the off season. I encourage everyone to help support these local businesses - these people often put their entire savings on the line, and although most do not really have a good plan, you gotta appreciate their moxy!

I keep looking for a place to buy somewhere in the Delta that I can maybe turn into a business, but it will be mostly for fun and not profit, meaning I will be able to not plan on the business actually supporting itself. Wait - why would I buy a business that looses money, takes time, worry, taxes, etc when I could simply relax on my boat? Forget the business!

By the way Flutter, what do you do for a living?

Jim
 
Jim, I used to work in Sillicon Valley. I retired in 2002. You can email me at "boaterbetsy at gmail.com".
 
The lostisle.com web site is now redirecting to the Network Solutions web site for domain registration indicating their domain registration expired. Does anyone know if Lost Isle has a new web site and event calendar somewhere?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top