Community Corner

Port's Sailing Community a 'Boating Mecca'

Port Washington's sailing infrastructure and community keeps sailors coming back for more, with regular sailboat races, parties at the Port Washington Yacht Club and easy access to local businesses.

For Tom Dekker, a lifelong recreational sailor out of Port Washington, this is the prime sailing location and community on Lake Michigan. And others from around the lake would agree.

Dekker, of Cedar Grove, joined the in his late teens, and he had bought three boats by the age of 22. He said the communities that build around yacht clubs are an invaluable resource for those looking to develop their skills and knowledge about sailing.

"Joining a yacht club is a great way to learn," Dekker said. "There are people there with the knowledge, available to answer questions and get you started."

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But a yacht club can't teach you everything, he said.

"The only thing that's constant is the change," Dekker said. "You learn something new every time you go out."

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Even if it's a minor change like a sail adjustment, Dekker said, one needs to be constantly making adjustments while sailing. He taught his two sons to sail, and now that they sail together regularly, Dekker isn't the only teacher anymore.

"It's safe to say that now they're teaching me," he said.

For Dekker, who thrives on the competitive racing aspect of the sailing scene, he often feels like he is racing against himself, hitting his own targets and striving for personal bests. And for some other sailors, this drives them to take on some more challenging races.

All (two) hands on deck

The Port Yacht Club was bustling with those challenge-seekers last month, just after the annual "double-handed" race that ends in the city's harbor. This race caps a crew at two people per boat, but a handful of "brave souls" take on the race singlehandedly.

Mike Kenny of Racine, an organizer for last month's race and president of the Lake Michigan Singlehanded Society, said the double-handed race presents a "new and unique challenge."

"We focus on singlehanded races, but a lot of people are afraid to go that far," he said. "They are more comfortable with a second crew member."

Despite how extreme their take on shorthanded racing or where their home port along Lake Michigan, most were enamored with the how Port Washington lends itself to a sailing community.

"The whole environment here is geared toward boating," Kenny said. "This is really like boating mecca."

According to Ron Ehlert of Muskegon, MI, who participated in the double-handed race, Port's sailing infrastructure and hospitality for those sailing from elsewhere in the region keep him coming back.

"We wouldn't miss this race," Ehlert said. "It's a great port, and they treat us well here."

For Ehlert, the sailing community in Port is even more attractive considering Port's boating infrastructure, with most restaurants and businesses in walking distance of the harbor.

"We have a secure place to tie up our boats, and the yacht club always throws this really nice party for us," he said. "It's a great place to be."

Building connections

The sailing scene in Port has become something of a social lubricant, and friends can be made comng competitors and across seas.

"I've gotten to know as many people on this side of the lake as the other," Ehlert said.

Beyond membership to yacht clubs, there are other ways sailors can group up socially, including membership in the Island Goats Sailing Society, a group with rigorous criteria for admission.

Members must have competed in 25 Mackinaw races, which can sometimes be quite treacherous. This year, Dekker became eligible for membership in the society.

Dekker recalled races in which he sailed through 90 mph winds with horizontal rain that stings the skin. In one Mackinaw race, he and his crew "launched" the boat, essentially sending it airborne off the crest of a wave.

He also recalled what one crew member told him during a particularly bad storm:

"Tom, you look like a man that's driving all his children to the hospital."

And though it can sometimes be stressful, Dekker shows no signs of quitting β€” and urges anyone with even a slight interest in sailing to get involved with a yacht club, just as he did.


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