Pentwater Junior Sailing Program Gets New Dock

building the new dock (photo from the Oceana Echo)

from Oceana Echo

The Pentwater (Michigan) Junior Yacht Club was the recipient of a new dock this week where they can store their boats.

Pentwater's Junior Sailing Program provides lessons to all youth. There is a sailor scholarship program for any student that may need help with the cost. The goal is to be sure all children have an opportunity to learn to sail. They also offer private lessons for adults and children under 8 years of age.

The previous deck was broken and the seawall was in bad repair, allowing water to erode the land behind it.

Contributions were provided by The Pentwater Lake Improvement Board, The Village of Pentwater, the Pentwater Service Club, and the Pentwater Junior Women's Club. The Service Club also provided labor as a great cost-saving measure.

Once plans were approved and the beach area re-graded, building the dock took only two days.

See Pentwater Junior Saliing Program


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Hopkins Boy Scouts Sail from South Haven to Mackinac

based on a news item in the Ludington Daily News

Five teenage boys and two adults docked in Ludington, Monday, on the way to Mackinac City. The boys are all Scouts, participating in a High Adventure, sailing a 32-foot Catalina up Michigan's west coast. They are members of Hopkins Boy Scout Troop 96, and the boat is owned by Jeff Vail, one of the adults on the trip. The other is Jason Apol.

Over the past winter the boys studied navigation, weather, seamanship, and knots. Most already have their Sailing badge, and will complete the Weather badge on this trip. Those skills were tested Sunday, as they predicted the morning fog.

Participants are Garrit Einig, Matt Wila, John Barber, Sam Crouteau, and Sam Apol. All the boys are Star, Life or Eagle Scouts.

A second crew will meet the ship at Mackinac City and sail the boat back to South Haven.

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Canoeing Wife Aids Husband's Capsized Sailboat

based on a news article in the Muskegon Chronicle

Amy Schrotenboer, pregnant and guiding a leaky canoe, paddled to her husband's aid when his sailboat capsized on the evening of September 3. It had been a quiet sunset sail for Josiah Schrotenboer until a gust of wind and a freak wave tipped his catamaran into Lake Michigan near Muskegon's Pioneer Park.

Josiah was waiting calmly with his boat, despite the 46-degree temperature of the water. He was wearing a life vest and short wet suit. Although he felt that he could swim the half mile to shore, Schrotenboer did not wish to abandon his sailboat.

At about 9:30 p.m. a Coast Guard helicopter and Muskegon County Sheriff's Marine Unit rescue boat arrived. The boat and owner were towed safely to shore, and the Coast Guard took advantage of the opportunity to do a short training exercise.

"There hasn't been this much excitement along here for years," commented Amy.

See US Coast Guard Boating Safety page
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Race to Mackinac

(photo by knisspl)

based on a news release from Land's End

Take in the magnificent sight of over 350 sailboats as they begin the world’s longest freshwater race, the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Lands’ End Business Outfitters. The Mac will begin this Saturday, July 18, 2009.

Everyone is invited to join in the excitement of the 101st running of the race free of charge. The festivities start Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. and go until 2:00 p.m. at the east end of the second tier of Navy Pier, where the magnificent and colorful Parade of Boats can be viewed. A sportscaster will be announcing all the boat and crew information.

It’s a beautiful sight to see the yachts promenade with their bright ceremonial flags before attempting to win the 333-mile, adventurous race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.

For those unable to come out on race day, many of the boats are equipped with GPS transponders and can be tracked on-line.

Chicago Yacht Club is proud to host this world-famous event in sailing, and welcomes you to follow all of the action this July. To learn more about the boats entered in the race and to check out the latest race updates, photos, and videos of the race, please visit to the official race website

Land's End Official Race Site
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Quiet Water Symposium 2009

by Joan H. Young (sources MSU and Quiet Waters)

As part of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at Michigan State University, the annual Quiet Water Symposium is being planned. This is an annual event where those who share a love of outdoor, non-motorized recreation come together to share experiences and adventures, equipment ideas, and concerns for water resources. Of course, attendees are always looking for just the right spot to take that next river trip.

Agriculture and Natural Resources Week (ANR Week) continues to be one of the largest events of its kind in the nation. Foundations for the week were laid by the Farmers’ Institute more than a century ago. In 1898, Michigan Agricultural College hosted the first state-wide Farmers’ Institute “Round-Up.”

The Quiet Water Symposium will be Saturday March 7, 2009, in Lansing, at the Pavilion for Livestock and Agriculture Education. Times are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and adult admission is $8.00.

At least three venues with full programs are being planned. Speakers of note include

• Cliff Jacobson, one of North America’s most respected outdoors writers and wilderness paddlers. He is a recipient of the American Canoe Association’s prestigious Legends of Paddling Award and a member of the ACA Hall of Fame.
• "Doc" Fletcher: "Weekend Canoeing in Michigan: The Rivers, The Towns, The Taverns"
• Jonathan M. Ahlbrand: Basic Sailing Concepts, A Brief Introduction to the Sport
• Erick Hansen: The Poetry and the Practicalities of Hiking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• Cathy Green: Wreck Diving in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
• ongoing demonstrations on re-canvasing canoes, and wood strip kayak building
• and many others

There will be exhibits of beautiful hand-built canoes, kayaks, rowing craft, outdoor gear, antique and restored classic canoes, traditional snowshoes, bicycles - and more. Environmental groups will also have informational booths.

See the Quiet Waters Symposium for the complete schedule.
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Pentwater Junior Sailing Venue Claims Legal Use

The Pentwater (Michigan) village council voted Monday to move the summer's Junior Sailing Program from the Pentwater Yacht Club to the village launch ramp. The move was first suggested because more participants come from the public at large than from Yacht Club membership.

However, a question of riparian rights was posed by a neighbor of the village ramp, Chuck Timmer. His claim is that anyone wading from the ramp into the lake on the east side will be trespassing on his property.

The village attorney Gary Nicholson researched the issue and learned that there are two reasons which make this claim unlikely to hold up. First, riparian lines are drawn perpendicularly to the centerline of the lake. With a DEQ map of the lake, lines drawn to the shore at the property boundaries indicate that there is enough room for sailing program participants to use the east side of the ramp.

Secondly, the state has continually upheld the rights of anyone to use an entire body of water for recreational purposes if the water is reached through a legal access.

Timmer's attorney responded that the laws could be interpreted in different ways and suggested that his client would pursue the question in court.

from the Ludington Daily News, by Cindy Shafer, "Junior Sailing Program to Move", Feb 12, 2008 (article not available on line)
See Pentwater Considers Public Venue for Junior Sailing Race, Jan 16, 2007
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Pentwater Considers Public Venue for Junior Sailing Race

The Pentwater, Michigan, Village Council is considering a request to move the Yacht Club's annual junior sailing competition to the village launch ramp area. About 90% of the participants come from the general public, not from the Club's membership.

One local resident voiced concerns that the staging area would spill over into his property.

The village attorney is reviewing the issue.

from the Ludington Daily News, "Pentwater Junior Sailing Program May Move", Jan 15, 2008, article not available on line
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Ludington Duo Sailing "Somewhere Warm"

The Wanderer

Two Ludington men, Wayne Dewyer and Ryan Quick, left the Great Lakes in September with the goal of sailing "somewhere warm."

Their 27-foot sloop the Wanderer has now taken them as far as Myrtle Beach, North Carolina.

From Ryan's Blog, December 26:

Greetings back home, here's a little update about our adventure thus far. It's been smooth sailing (no pun intended) the last few days. Although we ran into some restricted waters; apparently that was where the Marines were using as practice. Wayne and I kept hearing fully-automatic shots being fired and these military boats kept flying by us with military men manning the .50 caliber guns. That was about the time Wayne and I looked at each other and asked ourselves "did we take a wrong turn somewhere?" We weren't in the area very long before we had a military boat escort us out of there.

After we got out of the Resctricted Area, it got dark and we dropped Kong (our 80 lb anchor), and relaxed for the night. For the first few hours we had military helicopters flying JUST over our mast every 15 minutes or so, almost like clockwork. After preparing some sandwiches and rice, we sat on top of the boat and watched the drills go on during the night. You could see the tracers of the guns they were using, it was our entertainment for the night.

The next day, which was Christmas day, we hit Myrtle Beach, which looked like a ghost town! This is where we docked for the day to celebrate our Christmas. Absolutely beautiful town, and about every type of shop you can think of exists here. It's such a beautiful town to stop in, and it's a shame nothing is open due to the holidays. I feel like we're walking through an old western village.

From Wayne's Blog, December 21:

My Catalina 28, She was built in California at the Catalina plant in 1973 with a lot of soul and heart I might add. I refer to her as she. I'll tell you why just wait. This boat is referred to as she because it reminds of a women, she cost a lot to maintain, demands attention daily, and pisses me off every other day. But, But she has beautiful lines, has grace and beauty, and is my rock when I know I need to count on her to get us through the days sail. See you thought you were going to hear something bad.

She came with six sails. We have two main sails, two jibs, one Genoa and a running spinnaker. We have an Auto helm this allows us to dial in a course, a compass reading and set the helm, a computer and leave the cockpit and the auto helm will steer for us. Its like having cruise control on your car except you can leave the steering wheel to go to the back seat or some thing. The Auto Helm is like magic as the wind picks up the rod attacked to the tiller will just move to compensate the gusts of wind.

from Wayne's MySpace
Ryan's MySpace
Ludington Daily News Blog, more from the adventurers
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