Summer Sailing
Update August 16: Sailing on Talisman on Green Bay, Lake Michigan
This summer my in-laws came up for about a week. The primary reason was just the visit and to see the kids in Prince Caspian, performed by the Lamppost Players, here in Madison. After the two performances-marked by brilliant performances by my two kids, and supported by equally brilliant performances of all the other kids-we headed up to Door County, Wisconsin.
If you’re familiar with Wisconsin, you know that it looks like the back of your left hand, with all the fingers together and bent down at the middle knuckles, but the thumb stuck out at an angle. Door County is the thumb, jutting out into Lake Michigan. Green Bay is the area between your thumb and your hand. The Green Bay, the city, is at the base of the thumb and the bay.
We showed my in-laws the sights and places we love the most, and we went out for a 4 hour sail on Green Bay, out of the city of Sturgeon Bay. The boat we sailed was Talisman, a 38 ft wooden sailboat built in the 1930′s, and beautifully maintained by its owner Captain John. We served as crew.
Sailing is one of those things, like a friendship, that lets you learn all there is to know, yet takes more than a lifetime to know it all. Its a favorite pastime for my wife and me. Its growing on the girls, as they grow, too. They like to try the tiller, or sheet in the main or the jib, as they are able. But mostly, they through things overboard and pull them back in, or sit on the stern and drag their feet in the water, hoping they’ll slip off into the lake and need rescuing.
I’ll be adding various things, as I find time, like books, photos, comments, anything really, about sailing, here as I come across it.
Here is the Hoofers Flag showing current lake conditions:
Here is a webcam showing the UW Madison Memorial Union Terrace and the Hoofer Sailing Club Piers:
And here is another, Courtesy UW-Madison Soil Sciences, the top of King Hall on the UW Madison Campus:
