| Old Friends Rediscover America |
| How Four Retirees Shattered Stereotypes On An Epic PWC Adventure |
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| Jeff Hemmel |
| watercraftworld.com |
| May 4, 2004 |
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At 62 years of age, Firman Beckwith isn’t the most logical face that comes to mind when you envision someone calling up his buds and screaming “road trip!”
Of course, Beckwith’s “buds” aren’t exactly young turks, either. Al Swope, a one-time Marine fighter pilot and now retired airline captain from Gainesville, Georgia, is 71; Luck Gravett, a retired business owner from Peta Luma, California, has also reached the big 7-0; Tom Beckwith, a retired manager from Roswell, Georgia, is 67. And then there’s the spring chicken of the group, Beckwith himself, a retired CFO, dramatically pulling the curve southward at a mere 62 years of age.
If you believe the hype, all should be prime candidates for Geritol, Denture Grip, and the AARP discount at McDonalds. Instead, all four headed out on a road trip last summer that would test the mettle of a college frat boy, heading from coast to coast on a PWC odyssey that most of us can only dream about.
Who says we all have to get old?
Old Guard
Road trips are nothing new to Beckwith. This Georgian’s love affair with personal watercraft dates all the way back to 1974, when he, along with best friend Swope, discovered the original Kawasaki Jet Ski. At the time, the pair thought the skis were not only fun, but a good alternative to dirt bike riding during the scorching days of a Georgia summer. The pair continued to ride the stand-up craft until 1993, when Beckwith purchased his first sit-down model, a ’92 Polaris SL 750. A ’93 Polaris soon followed, but although the boat was intended for his wife, it was once again Swope who ended up spending the most time aboard the craft. Soon the pair teamed up for a run on Florida’s Kissimmee River, followed shortly thereafter by a cruise up the Suwanne, and the fuse was lit.
Like Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, Beckwith and Swope were born to ride.
And ride they have. Since that first trip in 1974, Beckwith and Swope have ridden most all of the major rivers in the southeastern United States, racking up nearly 30,000 miles on the water. Yes, you read right — 30, 000. It wasn’t until Beckwith retired in late 2002, however, that the pair dreamed up their ultimate road trip — a cross-country extravaganza, beginning near the most southeastern corner of the country in Florida, and culminating over 4,000 miles away in Oregon.
“At the time, Al said sure, he would go with me if I could get the necessary sponsors for watercraft equipment and sufficient money, etc,” recalls Beckwith with obvious amusement. “Later he was to regret the off-handed commitment to go with me because I was successful in getting enough backing, and with some additional money out of our pockets, the trip of a lifetime became doable.”
But not without a lot of work on the front end. The first obstacle to overcome was securing a driver, someone who would be willing to assist in driving Beckwith’s truck cross-country with the watercraft trailer. “We couldn’t afford to pay someone an hourly wage,” says Beckwith. “I began to think who was retired, adventuresome, and crazy enough to take such a trip? And who came to mind but my older brother Tom.” Must run in the family. In 1952, Tom Beckwith had taken the family boat on a ride known as the Kissimmee Boat-Acade. Now over 50 years later, he would be heading out on nearly that same run with the boys, only this time tacking on nearly 4000 additional miles.
And if three senior citizens is good, four has to be better.
Reasoning that he already had a hotel room reserved for brother Tom, Beckwith next rang up cousin Gravett, who offered the triple threat of being mechanically inclined, interested in a PWC trip, and naturally, also well into his golden years.
The “fogie foursome” was complete.
On The Road Again - Almost
With thinning blood in their veins and a serious case of wanderlust in their hearts, Beckwith and crew were ready to set out on the trip of a lifetime.
But not without plenty of pre-planning. The first order of the day was to assemble all the necessary charts for all of the waterways they would be traveling, a daunting task in itself. Next came an extended conversation with the gentlemen that had undertaken the “Lewis and Clark” expedition several years earlier, a trip that left Biloxi, Mississippi and wound its way to the West Coast in 2001. Other items on the checklist were more practical. LEER agreed to sponsor the group by providing a custom-designed and color-matched cover for the back of Beckwith’s pickup truck. “I would have been happy to get just the basic truck cover,” recalls Beckwith, “but I believe Mr. Paul Campbell (with LEER Truck Accessories Group) really got into the mood of the trip and saw to it we had a top that had open window access on all three sides which ended up being a lifesaver. We were able to get things in and out of the truck with ease, and not be standing in line to take care of our daily packing, unpacking, etc.”
Polaris provided the next and most essential piece of the puzzle, offering up a pair of 2003 MSX 140 three-seaters along with a lone 2002 Genesis i, and the associated life jackets, wetsuits, hats, gloves, and other gear the foursome would require over the month-long trip. The support, however, came with a stipulation: since all involved were retired, the company insisted on a recent physical.
Evidently, the thought of a couple old guys croaking on your company boats is cause for concern.
ISU, the May Insurance Agency supplied insurance coverage for the trip, Atlanta’s CON-FAB watercraft trailers loaned a three-place trailer, and Bigfoot offered up a four-wheeled dollie for those times when trailer access was not available.
With the lengthy to-do list finally complete, selfish riders would have been jonesing to hit the water. Beckwith’s crew, however, had one more piece of the trip that needed to be put in order.
“We felt that we should try to help a worthy cause since we were going to be doing a trip that may attract some media attention as we crossed the U.S., so I got in touch with one of my favorite charities, the Children’s Wish Foundation in Sandy Springs, Georgia,” says Beckwith. “This foundation grants wished to terminally ill children.”
Less than a year earlier, Beckwith’s 15-year-old daughter Casey had lost a close friend, but not before the Foundation granted his wish of a lifetime. Now, it was the group’s opportunity to turn their trip of a lifetime into a chance to show their appreciation.
“We carried the foundation name and logo on all the watercraft and on both sides of the tow truck,” says Beckwith. “I was amazed how many people knew about the organization across the U.S., and we even had some people give us free gas for our truck and watercraft to show their participation for the trip and the Foundation.
“That was just one of many opportunities we had to find out how great Americans are as we crossed this great country.”
The Journey Begins
With the endless planning and procuring finally complete, the group happily hit the water in July of last year, departing from Stuart, Florida to begin a 30-day journey that would ultimately culminate at the opposite end of the country in Astoria, Oregon.
The group’s well-planned itinerary would have them riding a total of 4,250 miles over the course of 32 days. The longest day on the water would be a whopping 229 miles; the shortest, a still respectable 92. Amazingly, the crew expected to portage only 421 miles over land. The rest would all be on the rivers, lakes, and canals that connect one side of the country to the other.
With Beckwith’s 15-year-old daughter Casey along for the start (“Casey had wanted to ride with us for the entire trip” recalls Beckwith, “but her mother prevailed and we sent her back for the start of school”), the trio left Stuart, crossing inland through Florida on the canal that connects Lake Okeechobee to both the east and west coasts of the state. From there it was a jaunt up Florida’s west coast on mostly the inland waterway, before heading out of sight of land on the Gulf of Mexico towards Cedar Key.
“The whole time we were out of sight of the shoreline, we could see the floor of the Gulf of Mexico,” recalls Beckwith. “It seemed to be only about 5-12 feet deep.
“Because the water was so shallow and warm, the sea grass was floating everywhere and we picked up a lot of it in our intakes. We each had to get off the craft and clean both intakes about 10-12 times a piece. This was no fun when the waves are about three-to-four feet high and we had a full load of fuel on the back of each ski, and we could see three-to-four foot sand sharks near the bottom.
“It is a riot to see an old fat man trying to climb onto and over top of three gas cans just to get back on his craft!”
On And On
From there the trip rapidly fell into a routine, with the boys up at 6 am, on the water by 7 or 8, and off again by 4 or 5. Nights became a blur of endless restaurants and hotel rooms, with the exception being the rare opportunity to hook up with old friends who lived along the way. Even the task of loading and unloading the skis began to work like clockwork.
“We had it down to a science,” recalls Beckwith. “We all knew each other’s jobs, and when another person was riding, the non-rider did his duties. The part I liked best was at the end of the first day when Tom and Luck pulled us out and drove us to our hotel, they had already checked us in and had put our clothes in the room and had the cooler full of ice and drinks. We all took turns doing this each evening and went about our duties without any problems or complaints.
“The only time we may have had words with each other over the 40 days of traveling together was when one old geezer couldn’t hear well enough and the others would jump on him about being deaf. I think all of us have some hearing impairment … or we elected to ignore each other a lot.”
From the Gulf Coast states, the group ventured inland into the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, an alternative to the Mississippi River that is both cleaner and more conducive to recreational boat traffic. From there it was on to the upper Midwest and the Missourri River, which would take them nearly all the way to the west coast. “I have always loved PWC riding in Florida and thought I would not like Missouri, Nebraska, or the Dakotas,” states Beckwith. “Now I think those are some of my favorite states. They are not overpopulated; they are clean and well-farmed and maintained and it makes me think I would love to live there…
“…in the summertime!”
It was the Missouri River that would present the group’s greatest obstacles, as there were three-to-four spots that were off-limits to PWC. As Beckwith relates, bigger boats caused far more wave damage and erosion. Though they were informed that they could probably get away with riding through the restricted areas, the group elected to act “in the proper spirit of right and wrong,” even though they felt that government authorities were not doing likewise. The 421 portage miles the travelers had factored in when laying out the trip included these sections of the Missouri.
Low water levels in many of the major lakes along the Missouri also proved a challenge during this portion of the trip, a fact that Beckwith attributes partially to political fighting over water, not drought. After one running aground incident cost them nearly three hours, the group got all the phone numbers for the Army Corps of Engineers offices along the river, and then contacted them each day to find out just how much of the lakes were navigable and where the last available ramps were located. The effort saved a lot of hassle in the long run, but ultimately trimmed about 300 miles off the final mileage count.
“These lakes are clean and beautiful and full of fish,” wrote Beckwith in his journal. “It is a shame that the lakes are so low that they cannot be enjoyed by much of the public.”
The Home Stretch
The Missouri led the group through most of the upper Midwest, before closing out in Montana. From there, the group portaged over the mountain to the Snake River. Smoke from the many forest fires in Montana was plainly evident, and Gravett attempted to track down his son, who had been fighting the fires much of the summer. The group contacted most of the fire control centers, but was never able to locate him. According to officials, teams were moving in and out to new fires so fast, up-to-date information on who was where was unavailable.
Another day on the asphalt put them at the Snake River, where all concerned eagerly awaited the chance to get out of the truck and get back on the water.
“When we got on the Snake River it was 57 degrees air temperature,” remembers Beckwith, “but warmed up through the day. The river was great and one of the finest day’s ride we had on the complete trip. The mountains were crisp and clear on each side of us, and the water was smooth, clean and wonderful.”
The Snake River was also the first real opportunity to try out a new Polaris MSX 140. As Beckwith explains, Polaris’ Laurie Jacobsma had been instrumental in helping secure the company’s support. During a call to keep her apprised of their progress, Jacobsma offered a new 2004 MSX 140 in an effort to quickly put some hours on the craft. “Among ourselves we were hesitant because the craft we were riding were running great, but we agreed, and our concerns were unfounded,” recalls Beckwith. “The 2004 MSX did great and we felt special being allowed to get one of the first production models to complete our trip.”
The highlight of this portion of the journey? Quite possibly the locks they were forced to navigate along the Snake. Each featured over a 100-foot drop. Later the group was informed that these locks had the most drop of any in the United States.
“Not only did the locks have a tremendous amount of drop, but also there was no water turbulence during the drop,” Beckwith says. “We dropped 101 feet in 11 minutes and I did not have to tend to the position of my craft in relation to the lock wall. We try not to let the craft scruff up against the lock wall and in some locks this is a constant job. In these locks the craft seemed to sit completely still as it fell 101 feet.
“As I said, a wonderful ride and the lock masters were great to work with, even if they would not vary from there assigned schedules, even a little bit.”
From there, the smooth waters of the Snake gave way to the high winds of the Columbia and one of the most grueling portions of the trip.
“The Columbia River looks similar to the Snake when you are not near a city, but it is wider and the winds are blowing harder,” explains Beckwith. “The radio said we were having winds up to 20-30 miles an hour, and they were blowing head on to us as we rode. We had waves 5-6 feet high and it was not much fun and making a lot of miles was difficult.”
But for these hearty adventurers, not impossible. Only two days remained in their journey, but Mother Nature refused to give them easy passage. Likewise the lockmaster at the Bonneville lock and dam, the last lack and dam before the Pacific Ocean, who initially refused them access due to the fact that they were on personal watercraft. After much discussion, the crew educated the lock master as to the law, and finally made it through.
Only miles from the finish, the mouth of the Columbia offered one final challenge, kicking up six-to-seven foot seas that forced the already weary travelers to dig deep. According to the locals, the conditions were smooth compared to most days. For this hearty crew of so-called senior citizens, it was yet another testament to their tenacity. A camera crew was on hand to record their arrival in Astoria, and the challenge was complete.
Thanks For The Memories
With the goal finally achieved, the car ride from Astoria to Portland that afternoon was a quiet and somber one. All admit to being glad the journey was complete, but each knew that this team that had accomplished so much, and broken so many stereotypes, would soon be splitting up and going their separate ways.
The memories, however, would last a lifetime.
“After riding for as many days as we did, one tends to remember certain highlights of the trip rather than every day of the trip,” explains Beckwith. Typically, some of the more humorous moments push their way to the forefront.
Like the day late in the journey when brother Tom, the rider with the least experience of the group, began to feel the effects of the rough water they had battled all day long.
Remembers Firman: “As Tom was trying to get off his craft, and because he was so tired, the craft and the dock separated and Tom fell into the water. Al suggested that Tom swim around the dock and walk up the ramp to get out of the water, which Tom attempted to do. But when he reached the ramp and attempted to stand up, his legs were so tired and weak he couldn’t walk up the ramp and had to hold on to the dock until he regained some strength in his legs.
“You know how cruel old people can be to each other, and we laughed about the incident and kept reminding Tom for the remainder of the trip.”
Another amusing incident was when Al, Firman, and Luck were riding the final leg of the trip from Portland to Astoria, Oregon. At the designated halfway point, “Al and I pulled into a small marina and tied up very smartly,” chuckles Beckwith. “When Luck idled in he was tired and not as sharp as he usually is and bumped into one dock, then a boat, then another dock. I yelled at Luck that there was one more dock he hadn’t hit, so come on over and hit it, too!
“Everybody but Luck thought that was funny.”
And then there were the constant debates over what restaurant to visit each evening. “Old geezers sure can get feisty,” laughs Beckwith, “especially about their food and their sleep!”
All in all, however, the group formed the perfect team, one that definitively put to rest any preconceived notions anyone might have had about their age. These four men took on a journey that would send many of us scampering for home, and did it in memorable fashion.
“There were relatively few problems on this trip, for which I credit Al for having worked out a very good itinerary,” says Beckwith. “Also, we were well experienced and knew our limitations and never tried to exceed what we had planned for ourselves.”
In the end, the trip gave the group memories of America — and themselves — that a precious few will ever experience.
Day 30 (taken from Firman Beckwith's Journal)
Astoria, Oregon
"I have mixed feelings about ending the trip. This has been a dream for some time and the trip of a lifetime. How many people are able to participate in an adventure such as this? We have eaten together, ridden together, partied together and done our laundry together.
"It has been a wonderful trip for four old men."
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