Month: August 2014

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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge & Sailing into WI waters

On Sunday (24-Aug-14) I went out with my brother and a friend, Mark, on a beautiful day for a sail on Lake Michigan.

I also took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge while sailing.

We headed straight north and ventured into Wisconsin waters.

Our SOG (Speed Over the Ground) was ~6.0 knots while sailing north.

After we tacked and headed south again the wind let up a bit and we were heading into the waves. Our SOG was ~4.0 knots.

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Sailed into Wisconsin waters for the first time.

My brother and I took vacation days on Friday and went for a sail north towards Kenosha WI. The winds didn’t cooperate enough to make it all the way there, but we got within 3.75 miles. It was the first time we sailed into Wisconsin waters. After we turned around to head back towards Waukegan, a significant storm grew over the Milwaukee area and was heading south towards us. There was 1” hail in some parts of the storm cell. We kept an eye on it and pulled back into the Waukegan Marina about 30 minutes ahead of the storm.

( Light winds from directly behind us)


(First time in Wisconsin waters)


(Storm front chasing us)

On Saturday, my wife and I went for a sail. The skies we sunny with winds in the 5-10 knot range and waves less than 1 foot. Just the way she likes to sail. There were a lot of other sailboats out enjoying the day on the lake.


(Not a cloud in the sky)

On Sunday, my brother and I went sailing and had a brief unpleasant experience has at one point the wind died completely and 10 million gnats descended on us when we were about 2.5 miles out on the lake. They covered our shirts, hats, sails, deck and were thick in the air. We quickly started the engine and motored away from them. The winds did a 180 degree change and we had a really good day sailing after that.

(Gnats everywhere. This is after we motored away and banged on the main sail to clear them away. You can still see some on the sail and in the air)


(Nice breeze)