Compiled by Adam Fornear
Sailing…what an amazing sport. I love watching all of the campers taking our fleet out on the water every summer, and I’m super stoked to see those boats cruising along in a heavy breeze from the west! I know many of our campers have gotten hooked on sailing at camp and have continued on. Even though I didn’t attend Nebagamon as a camper, I was introduced to sailing at a young age on Booth Lake in East Troy, WI. We grew up sailing a Laser (a similar boat to our Barnetts, but a little bit faster) and windsurfers – always trying to go faster.
I’m thankful for that introduction because to this day I still get out sailing every summer in Duluth on Lake Superior, and out on Lake Nebagamon. I race on a 33’ Pearson at a weekly Wednesday night race league on Lake Superior… I’m on the winches controlling the headsail. Some days are wicked intense at the starting line with big winds and many boats, then there are other evenings when were not sure if there is enough wind to make it to the starting line! Either way, it’s all smiles when you open up your sails and see what wind there is to catch.
Well, my brother and I decided to up our outings of sailing and are now set up to sail year-round. We’ve acquired a couple of ice boats to get out sailing in the coldest of winters, provided the conditions are right. And, the conditions were right at the beginning of the winter and just a couple of weeks ago: the ice was amazing on Lake Superior along the Duluth, MN shoreline! We loaded the boats up, drove down to Canal Park, carried all of the parts of the boats down to the ice (it was a long walk with this much equipment) and ripped along the shoreline on a dreamy 3-5 inches of ice! Simply put, it was epic! Wind was blowing steady out of the NE at 11-14 mph and gusting up to 20. This allowed for some really fasts tacks from the lift bridge to the corner of the lake! We hadn’t planned to be out all day but decided to keep on sailing until dark as it was just so much fun! Getting to sail on a frozen Lake Superior was truly an amazing experience and I owe it all to being introduced to sailing way back when I was a 10-year-old in southeastern Wisconsin.
These life skills that Nebagamon offers have the ability to bring joy to our campers well past their camp years. I’m proud to be a part of the team that gets to provide these life skills and proud of everyone who finds their passions at camp! Can’t wait to see all of you participating in those activities this summer!
Some news is trickling in and I appreciate the help! There are still a couple more Arrowheads to go this winter so please keep on sending me any kind of news! Also, I’d like to share your life skills that you learned at camp and still do to this day – so please send me those. You can always reach me at [email protected]. Till next time, get outside and do what you love doing!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT Sebastian Alderman (Tulsa, OK) and Charlie Fromm (KC) crossed paths on a college visit to Swarthmore. Milo Solomon (Deerfield, IL) was honored to be chosen as MVP for his freshman basketball team.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Jonah Docter – Loeb (D.C. ’11-’17,’19-’21) was awarded a $5,000 prize for his start up, Reveal, as part of a Carleton College Start Up Fellowship competition. Rob Wile (Chicago/Miami ’97-’01,’03-‘05) is starting a new job as a business news reporter for NBC Digital.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE RECENT ENGAGEMENTS go to Todd Ahlers (Buffalo Grove, IL/Winter Park, CO ’16-‘18) and Rebekah King (Denver). Congrats also go to Spence Myer (St. Louis ’02-’07,’09-’12,’14) and Krissy Herbst (St. Louis).
IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT: It’s a girl, Olive, for Derek Iger (Culver City, CA ’98-‘03) and Alix Henick (Culver City). It’s a boy, Miles, for Barry Dan (New York ’95-‘01) and Jackie Iger (New York).