the marina<\/a> that we moved the boat to this year, Southport Marina at Lake Michigan, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, just across the state line from Illinois. \u00a0This was a big step up for us, as for many years we\u2019d kept the boat at a small marina in Pistakee Lake, part of the Chain O\u2019 Lakes northwest of Chicago. \u00a0That marina, Bayview Marina, is a small marina with no services except a porta-potty (it was an upscale porta-potty, though, with a flushing mechanism), whereas Southport Marina is a proper full-service marina (electric, water, cable TV, Wi-Fi, multiple washrooms with showers, and a pool) next to a lakefront promenade and the farmers\u2019 market, museums, and restaurants of \u201cdowntown\u201d Kenosha.<\/p>\nToday was our first outing for the year \u2014 for all of 1 1\/2 hours, with getting into and out of the marina for the first time a challenge to begin with, and then a bit of sailing along the lakefront \u2014 we didn\u2019t have much time as we got a late start and needed to be at Buffalo Wild Wings at 2 pm for the Germany-Ghana game. \u00a0(With a hull speed of 6.2 knots = 7 mph, we\u2019re not going to be able to go very far in this boat anyway.) <\/p>\n
The funny thing about the boat is that, well, I grew up sailing, or rather being sailed, with Dad at the help almost every summer weekend, and it seemed natural that we\u2019d get a boat, after some time spent renting the small boats on Lake Arlington and a larger boat on Pistakee Lake, though for quite a number of years the labor was divided, with Martin managing the sailing and me managing the baby\/toddler\/preschooler. \u00a0Now I full well could do the sailing along with Martin \u2014 but, hey, now I have a 11 & 14 year-old (both semi-experienced sailors from \u201csailing camp\u201d) to do the work while I relax. \u00a0(I admit \u2014 I feel a bit as if I\u2019ve earned it.) \u00a0Is it bad, or too conforming to stereotype, to be so lazy?<\/p>\n
The boat itself isn\u2019t anything to write home about \u2014 at 25\u2032, it was the largest \u201ctrailerable\u201d boat and the smallest boat that has a separate head, though with a camping toilet rather than a proper marine toilet. \u00a0The main thing: \u00a0from here to the next larger size is a major jump in price. \u00a0So every now and again we go to the sailboat show at Navy Pier and look longingly at the larger boats, and at some point I looked at used boats, though then you reach the point where you need to either commit to spending a lot of time or a lot of money (or both) \u2014 the bigger the boat is, the more \u201cstuff\u201d you need compared to a simple boat with an outboard engine.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s a confession: \u00a0we sailboat people are small in number, and significantly outnumbered by powerboats \u2014 at least we were, in the Chain O\u2019 Lakes, though there seem to be a fair mix of both at Southport. \u00a0But I have just never understood the appeal of power boating. \u00a0Sure, you get to your destination faster, and with little effort, but unless you\u2019re going to pull someone on water skis or an inflatable, I just don\u2019t really see the point in it. \u00a0How is it relaxing to have a noisy motor all the way? \u00a0(Besides which, every time gas spikes, there are stories in the paper about people who can\u2019t afford to gas up the boat for the afternoon any longer.)<\/p>\n
So that was my day. <\/p>\n
What do you like to do in the summer?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is the sort of day where I\u2019d do an Ann Althouse-ian photo blog post, but for the fact that (a) we didn\u2019t bring a camera and (b) it was a very overcast day. \u00a0But I want to show you our boat anyway: No, that\u2019s not us. \u00a0That\u2019s a picture from the Catalina website. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n