Director's Corner  

July 2005

Apostle Island Sailing Adventures were … Adventures!

By Pete Gravett, Executive Director

Apart from having boats filled to capacity with 12 to 15 year old “wonder kids”, the boys and girls camps couldn’t have been more different. All participants mastered a number of new sailing skills, learned interesting human and natural history facts about the islands, and best of all forged some wonderful new friendships. However, as the only person who got to go both weeks - different conditions, different boats, and different roles kept things interesting.

 As a roving Naturalist and first mate (a.k.a. Little Buddy), my emphasis for the boys trip was exploration. The itinerary involved sailing past all but a few of the twenty-two islands (weren’t there only twelve Apostles?) with a different lunch stop and overnight anchorage each day. Our anchorages included Oak, Devils, Outer, Rocky, Michigan, and Stockton islands. Notably, despite having the coolest lighthouse, we did not go to Sand Island, where the biting flies would have carried us off last year if it weren’t for the camper affectionately known as “Tommy the Assassin”. Thanks to gallons of Skintastic, this year’s boys explored the geologic wonders of the Devil’s Island sea caves and unusual ecosystems like the Outer Island Estuary and the Old Growth Hemlock Forests of Michigan Island. It was awesome!

 As skipper of the girls (actually mixed) trip, we conservatively set an itinerary that mimicked the boy’s route. Steeped with a little sailing instruction, these kids became a well-oiled machine pulling off a Mediterranean Moor at the Rocky Island Pier and outracing their foe, “The Pride of Fargo”.

With a dysfunctional “head” and a dinghy motor that wouldn’t cooperate there were some pretty interesting journal entries each night.

 I have always stressed to the staff that summer is the time to try programming initiatives to push and also refresh yourself. Skippering a 34-foot sloop was a tremendous growth opportunity. I had a wonderful mentor in Ken Schoen who again graciously offered his boat and four days of his time for the boys week, and a fantastic support person for the girls week in Julie O’Connor (a Hartley board member).