Shannon Kelly Lake Life Magazine
The She Doos defy stereotypical aging. You will not find the group of women age 50 and over doing nothing but sitting and knitting. Sporting lime green shirts, the group’s 40 members – the oldest of whom is in her 80s - can be found jet skiing on Smith Mountain Lake every week during the months of May through September.
It all started in 2001, when older women new to the area needed to explore and find things to do, but did not know exactly where to start. “A lot of us were kind of new to the lake and didn’t know our way around, and kind of were trepidatious about getting out there and going too far from home and not finding our way back,” explains Dee Dee Bondurant, one of the group’s founders. These like-minded women became friends, and decided to start learning to jet ski.
The first steps to learn were safety and equipment handling. They learned how to dock their machines, how to operate them, proper jet skiing etiquette and manners on the water, and other important lessons. “We’ve been involved in just all kinds of different safety type of things around the lake,” Dee Dee continues. “Some of us are on the water safety council committee. We’re just real devoted to the Lake and loving it.” Often, the ladies pack a picnic meal and find a quiet cove to eat in after some time being active.
The ladies have quite the presence on the lake, especially when they teamed up with a sister group form Lake Gaston. “Once upon a time, there was a sister group down at Lake Gaston, and they used to bring up about 20 to 40 women, so that was about 80 of us on the lake at once time,” Dee Dee laughs.
The group finds the humor in aging. They reminisce on days before joint replacements. “Oh my gosh, do you remember back when we used to jump on and jump off? And now we kind of crawl on and crawl off,” Dee Dee recalls, laughing. “We’re all getting kind of long in the tooth, but we can’t quit because we’ve got such a reputation!”
During the off water months, the She Doos are still active together, throwing parties, going out to eat together, and being involved in charitable community causes. There is currently a long waiting list for members to join the group. The group’s popularity expanded so much that the ladies were forced to place a limit on the number of members, Dee Dee explains.
Comments