A Dream Come True : Sanders Leaves La Habra Behind to Build a New Life on the Water

KATHERINE, Ariz. —  Two years ago, Marty Sanders did something most water skiers only dream about. He quit his job, gave up his apartment in La Habra, threw his ski, ski vest and a few clothes in his car and moved to Bullhead City, Ariz.

Sanders, 29, wasn’t a teen-ager with pie-in-the-sky dreams and nothing to leave behind. He gave up the handsome salary he earned driving 18-wheelers for a Placentia trucking firm and left his family and friends for an uncertain future.

He didn’t even have a job in Bullhead City. All he knew for sure, in fact, was it would be hot . . . really hot.

“The first time I came out to the river, I was a freshman at Sonora High, 14 or 15 years old I guess,” Sanders said. “I remember telling my parents, ‘This is it!’ This was where I wanted to be. I loved the desert, the water, even the heat. And, of course, I loved to ski.

“After that first time, I started coming out here every chance I got. I mean I came twice a month in the spring and every weekend in the summer and into the fall as soon as I could drive. I started my river trips in March and kept coming until October.

“I went to the river (Parker Strip), Lake Mead, (Lake) Havasu and here at (Lake) Mojave.”

About six months after separating from his wife, Sanders decided to change his life. Driving trucks wasn’t quite as romantic as it sounds in country songs.

“I’d wanted to do it all my life . . . basically just become a ski bum, but I didn’t have the (guts) before,” he said, flashing a wide grin that split his tanned face. “I was on the road two or three days every week as a trucker and I hated the traffic.

“I go back to Orange County every once in a while and every time, I can’t wait to get back here.”

Sanders, who is in charge of boat moorings at Lake Mojave Marina, skis every chance he gets, which is often, before and after work. Home is a trailer behind the boat repair shop at the marina. The five-ton air conditioner is almost as big as the trailer.

“After work, I water ski or jet ski or go fishing,” he said. “That’s basically all there is to do up here, but that’s just fine with me.”

When people ask if that’s enough, Sanders is quick to point out that the casinos at Laughlin, Nev., are about 10 minutes away, across the Davis Dam.

“Every place can get boring. I was bored in La Habra before I left,” he said. “Those casinos are packed seven days a week. I go over there maybe once a week, just to hit the bars, listen to the bands and just hang out. The night life here is just as good as it is in Orange County.”

Even if he had a tendency to get homesick, Sanders wouldn’t get much chance.

“Oh, I get lots of visitors,” Sanders said, smiling. “Lots of unannounced visitors. All the time. It can be a problem at times too. I’ve had 10 people up here at once, staying in the trailer. The resort’s general manager wasn’t too pleased.

“So now I tell people they have to call first, and if a couple of other people are already coming, I just have to say no.”

The temperatures hover between 115 and 120 degrees most days in August, so you would figure Sanders takes his summer vacations in Alaska, right?

Guess again.

“A few friends and I are renting a houseboat up on Lake Mead,” he said. “There’s some pretty good skiing up there too.”

For some water skiers, even too much isn’t enough.