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Sailor's Tools: Wind, Water And Perhaps A Little Rum

By Joanne Berg

Opportunities exist for the seasoned sailor or the “wanna be” sailor — all here on Lake Minnetonka in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The joy of a sunrise or sunset, moving over water — all without a motor or the use of gas.

It’s poetry in motion, a sailboat in wind traveling over Lake Minnetonka or one of the other many lakes we are so fortunate to have in the Twin Cities area. And you don’t have to be a seasoned sailor to enjoy this sport.
 
I belong to the Wayzata Yacht Club in Minnetonka and am a racer there, aboard a J-22 sailboat. The club offers training courses and an opportunity to come to races and just learn. Some of that learning is called “meat on the rail.” Meaning you move your weight (or talent) to the high side in a stiff breeze.

The Minnesota Women’s Sailing Team operates from this club as well. And they provide lessons to women who just want to learn about sailing, from the position of the crew or from the position of the driver.

It’s a marvelous chance to not just “take orders” if you have a partnership in a boat — women can skipper too.

And readers should check out the different sailing schools for youth. My grandson, George, is moving into this third year taking lessons on Lake Calhoun and is learning so much. He uses wind, not gas, to have fun on a lake in a boat. He learns to make decisions quickly and trust them. Perhaps he tips the boat but he won’t the next time he has that set of problems. And who doesn’t enjoy a dip once in a while?

My own small dingy sailboat has found a home, summers, connected to a mooring ball on Lake Harriet. And if you walk down the dock, holding a sign reading, She Might (the name of my boat), I’ll take you out for a sailing experience. OR pack a lunch, sit on the shore and admire these sailors who love a sunrise or sunset and the wind that feeds their sails.

The message here is that Jimmy Buffett is in all of us. Especially when on a sailboat in Minnesota!