Sailing

Sailing was always such a big part of Dad's life. As a young man he sailed a wooden snipe with his brother, Bob, on Portage Lake in the summer. When we were young dad always had a snipe in the garage that he would work on in the winter--sanding, varnishing and getting it ready for the summer races. He would race out of Burnham Harbor in Chicago and also on Portage Lake. We did the sailing races circuit, too. Dad had 3 crews --John was for a heavy wind day, I was for a moderate wind day and Nancy was the light wind crew. In later years he also had Sarah and Bill crew for him. The competition was lots of fun and we got to meet many interesting people.
The Snipe had been a very popular boat but interest in it was waning..On Portage the small Sunfish became the sailboat to have and dad did his share of racing in the Sunfish races. In fact he still will ask if the Sunfish is all put away for the winter or sometimes he asks if it is safely buoyed on the lake.
Finally, mom and dad bought the big two masted boat seen in these photos. Even though mom was not a sailor, she bravely crewed with dad all over Lake Michigan. They would take their beloved dog, Lady, with them--Lady proved to be very sea worthy. Dad misses his life on the water. I wish we could go out once again with him. Dad at the helm with the wind caressing his face--I think he is often on the water these days in his mind. He will ask me sometimes when his walk is unsteady if we are on the boat. The best of memories, aren't they, Dad?