Friday, May 10, 2002 | 2:35 a.m.
Jewelee Hopper and her husband had the right idea.
It was windy, but the sun danced on the ripples of Lake Mead's Callville Bay as they lowered their low-riding blue bass boat into the water. Not another boater was in sight because it was a Wednesday, rather than a Saturday.
"We came down last night," Hopper, visiting from Yucaipa, Calif., said. "We know better."
Know better than to hit the water on the weekend. Lake Mead National Recreation Area's more developed boat ramps are always crowded on weekends, but it currently borders on mayhem.
The water level is hovering around 1,147 feet -- the lowest in 30 years. Two ramps are closed and some others are running at a fraction of capacity.
Callville Bay's ramp was at only 25 percent capacity until the middle of this past week when National Park Service officials raised it to 50 percent, park spokeswoman Karla Norris said.
Still, as temperatures continue to rise so will the number of boaters seeking spots on the lake. By the time Memorial Day weekend rolls around, limited launching space could mean waits of two hours. Norris said some people have been waiting almost that long already to get their boats into -- and out of -- the water.
"Get there early. Launch Thursday afternoon and stay the night on your boat," she suggested. "For Memorial Day I would be launching on Thursday by 8 o'clock in the morning and not plan on getting off the lake until Tuesday."
Ruth Hendrickson, moorage manager of Lake Mead Marina at Boulder Beach, said the increasingly lower lake levels means moving the docks farther out into the water.
"Every week we move part of it," she said. "We send divers down to move the anchors. It takes half a day. And it takes the day before that to prepare the anchors."
The real challenge comes to those who wait until Saturday or Sunday morning. One lake marina worker, who needs to keep the job and didn't want to be quoted by name, said people without a boat can join in the fun those days.
Take a chair, an umbrella and six-pack of beer down to one of the more crowded ramps and watch "the making of divorces and friendships parted."
The water level is far below the end of the asphalt at launches such as Callville, and some people have almost had trucks dragged into the water as they unload.
A typical exchange:
"Well, of course it's your fault! You're driving! And how did I manage to marry such a ninny anyway?! PULL FORWARD FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!"
As Hopper said, "You get some of the young people who go in way too far, and they have to be towed out. But we know better."
Probably one of the reasons she's still married.
Now those who cut the wait by cutting in line can be fined up to $250 and may be publicly humiliated, Norris said.
"We try to handle it through education. But there are those who need some reinforcement," she said. "Typically they get slapped in handcuffs and taken into the ranger's office."
But impatience and line-cutting isn't reserved for desert boaters.
"We have a ranger here who says the same thing happens all the time at the Statue of Liberty," Norris said.
Bet it's not as much fun to watch.
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