Lake Martin Magazine

Well-known lake decorator Nan Jackson believes a home should be “easy” – a place where its owners “walk in, feel good, curl up on the sofa and have good conversations.” Her own home, a renovated Russell Lands cabin tucked on a wooded peninsula on the west side of Lake Martin, is no exception.

Boat tied up to a dock – no surprise. A flag flying over the pier – seen dozens. But a graceful airplane trimmed with vivid blue and green, floating peacefully nearby? Not your usual lake sight. Moreover, this lithe aircraft berthed in front of an unpretentious cabin on Parker Creek represents the only Alabama seaplane school listed in the Sea Plane Pilots Association directory.

The beautiful sunrises, gorgeous sunsets and deep clear water – oh how the days on beautiful Lake Martin seem to never end. On one particular summer afternoon in 2002, David and Vera Ellen Scott and Robby and Denise Segars had an invitation to have dinner with Curt and Pepe Cope at their lake house.

On March 20, 1945, a U.S. Air Force twin-engine B-25 bomber on a combat training mission flew out of Washington D.C. headed for Fort Worth, Texas. Unfortunately, the plane flew into a storm mid-flight and crashed into Lake Martin.

Ground Cedar, Southern Running Pine, Running Pine, Crowsfoot, Trailing Ground Pine, Fan Clubmoss, Diphasiastrum digitatum, Lycopodium flabelliforme, Lycopodium digitatum … this unusual, primitive plant has gone by a number of names through the years but it’s so distinctive that once you can identify it, you won’t soon forget it.

The centuries-old tradition of the Blessing of the Fleet will once again find its way to the shores of Lake Martin April 14. The seventh annual Blessing of the Fleet event hosted by StillWaters Yacht Club will be held Saturday, April 14, at 11 a.m. by Harbor Pointe Marina in Dadeville. A.B. Campbell, power fleet captain of the yacht club, said the event is open to anyone who wants to participate.

On a late February day around 10 years ago, a friend and I decided we would fish a tournament together on Lake Martin. It was the first tournament of a trail called the Central Alabama Buddy Tournament Trail run by the late Erskin Taylor. The CABTT eventually became important training grounds for me as I developed as an angler because of the level of skill and intense competition with anglers from this area.

This recipe works well with any type of oven – wood or traditional – as well as on a grill with the top down.

If the devastating and deadly tornadoes of April 27, 2011 didn’t wake us up to the potential of strong storms, the winds that ripped across our area on January 23 – in one place following within 20 feet of last year’s destruction – surely got our attention. What? Isn’t this supposed to be about wine?

Behind the boat on TV all day, every day – Singleton Marine Group now has a cable channel for your viewing pleasure. Channel 23 on ComLink Cable runs 24/7 and currently airs wake team videos. Austin Singleton decided a few years ago to promote his marinas in a new manner: through a team of riders. The idea is to have teams of the best riders on their respective lakes ride behind his boats, as well as have his lines and all the accessories that come along with them carried in the pro-shops.