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WATERSKI MagazineThis is not your typical WaterSki road trip. First, don't bother hitching up the boat trailer. And forget about looking for Shipp Lake on a map. It's a sliver of water found in the tiny town of Smithville, Texas, about 30 minutes east of Austin. There, in the dusty flatlands, is the Lone Star Water Ski School and Wakeboard Camp, and yes, “Lone” is a good description.
Our noses pointed toward the camp last spring when we saw bumper stickers for Lone Star slapped on a TV console and a couple trucks at a wakeboard tournament a thousand miles from Texas. We were told that the school caters to all skiers, so we checked into it. Technically, you can do anything you want. Realistically, wakeboarding has been the ticket to notoriety for owner Troy Navarro.
A snoop around the site exposed an Air Nautique, a MasterCraft X Star, an 8-foot Hylon, bonk course, loads of CWB gear and guys and girls in baggies. This is where most of Navarro's haul comes from, but his catch line for all skiers hasn't changed in four years: “Our students have as much fun as they can stand.”
