Category: On the Water
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World-Class Competition Sails Into Ephraim
It isn’t a stretch to see why Door County is a huge attraction for sailors. Pristine waters and a constant supply of good winds keep salty dogs from all over the United States coming back year after year. One place these sailors gather is at the Ephraim Yacht Club (EYC) which is just coming off […]
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Emotions High as Egg Harbor Discusses Marina
Emotions were on full display at the Thursday, May 28 joint meeting of the Egg Harbor Village Board and Harbor Committee as a defensive village board discussed what to do in the aftermath of Tuesday’s vote against building an expanded marina in the tiny village.
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The Big Ones That Don’t Get Away: The Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament
“The Small Mouth Bass,” said fisherman Don Hewkin of Zion, Illinois, “are what bring me.” He and his fishing partner Dave Davis have entered the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament every year since 1994. The contest is an annual event on the weekend following Mother’s Day. Hewkin likes the number of fish in the bay […]
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Sherwood Point Lighthouse: The Keeper of the Ship Canal
Known for its uncharacteristic red brick and for its double distinction of being both the last Door County lighthouse to be automated and the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Sherwood Point Lighthouse is perched at the end of a serene country road, near Sturgeon Bay’s Idlewild area. The story of Sherwood Point is […]
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Island Running: The Island Clipper
Name-dropping takes on a whole new meaning in Door County. Names that mean something on the northern portion of our peninsula don’t have much to do with the “Branjolinas” of the world. Names like Johnson, Weborg and Nelson are much more apt to command attention and respect. One name that is synonymous with our local […]
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Fears rise over the recent resurgence of Cladophora Algae in lake waters and on Door County shores
Europe Bay, a long wild beach at the tip of the Door Peninsula, has seen its shorelines transformed by dense and stringy algae that covers much of what used to be sandy dunes.
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Constructing a Boat of Your Own: Building a Wooden Kayak
Lured by the surrounding waters and serene seascapes of the Door Peninsula, many visitors and residents are taking to the shore in kayaks. For most, a short jaunt in a synthetically constructed rental kayak is enough to whet the appetite; yet, for a select few building and paddling a wooden kayak is beyond compare. Surprisingly […]
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Protecting Door County’s Beaches
In an era of growth pressure, private development has dominated the battle for access and control of Door County’s treasured shoreline over the past two decades. But the county’s public officials have mounted a powerful rebuke in recent years, launching an 11th-hour effort to secure and protect the peninsula’s beaches for generations to come. After […]
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Hanging on the Hook: Moorings 101
Sailboats swing in Eagle Harbor to a new wind brought up by the break of a new day. Like birds at rest, boats on moorings huddle together in safe harbors tethered to the seafloor. For sailors onboard these vessels and shore-side voyeurs, the picture of sailboats in a haven has been likened to tranquility or […]
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The cold, mercurial waters surrounding the Door Peninsula are literally legendary. Because they began vanquishing ships long before there were local newspapers to report losses or technology with which to plot locations, much of the havoc they’ve wreaked on maritime travel remains the subject of speculation and fable. Door County’s very name derives from an […]
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Guarding the Door: The Peninsula’s United States Coast Guard
Mariners through the centuries have faced the reality of Lake Michigan’s relentlessly changing moods. Violent storms, raging windswept waves, fog, shoals and reefs have ushered ships and their crews to their ice-water graves off the shores of Door County. Those conditions are no less imminent today as they were then; yet, through it all there […]
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The Dorsal Sail Loft is a place where old world methods meet new world technology. Here, above an old boat yard on the Sturgeon Bay waterfront, Charlie Klein stands above an archaic blueprint of a 40-foot sailboat. His mind is calling upon formulas as he deciphers facts and figures from an age-old era of sail […]
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Keeping Your Boat and our Water Clean
Keeping your boat clean means something different to each boater. For some it means rinsing off fish guts after a successful catch, washing away scuff marks from a lively sail, or keeping a yacht detailed to shine. The thing that all boaters have in common is a love for both their craft and being out […]
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Springtime Kayaking: The “Door” to early season paddling
There’s a mellow May breeze rustling the reeds and wild rice along Reibolts Creek. Yellow water lilies bob gently in the wake of the boat, and the high whistle of a Blue-winged Teal breaks the stillness of the foggy dawn as the sun rises over Moonlight Bay. A morning like this one is not uncommon […]
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Taking the Plunge: Choosing the sailboat for you
Another summer day culminates in the sun sinking over the bay. The setting sun is framed by cumulus, birds in flight, and softer tones of an evening beginning to awake. Sails, too, are on the horizon, seemingly the only human element that could complement the tranquility of twilight – a piece of perfection in your […]
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Laying Up the Winter Fleet: Bringing Great Lakes Freighters to Port
“The iron boats go as the mariners all know, with the gales of November remembered.” – Gordon Lightfoot, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald The predawn morning is met with a blanket of fog that hangs heavy over the thickening ice of Sturgeon Bay’s outer harbor. Harsh, cold winds pile snow into ripples and drifts across […]
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The fall wears on toward winter, and the signs of the changing season are everywhere. As the days get even shorter, the geese as well as the summertime crowds have mostly moved south. The marinas and harbors are emptier after each weekend. As the temperatures fall and the waters of Green Bay darken, sailors might […]
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Yachtsmen in Training: The Sturgeon Bay Sail Training Foundation
Door County’s access to Lake Michigan and the Green Bay waters has afforded the peninsula a rich maritime heritage. A piece of that heritage continues to thrive off the shores of Sturgeon Bay thanks to the Sturgeon Bay Sail Training Foundation. Each summer this organization trains young and old alike to learn and perfect the […]
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The summer of 2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Ephraim Yacht Club (EYC) and its famous Ephraim Regatta. The Ephraim Regatta is the oldest continuous regatta in the United States and it continues to draw many sailors and enthusiasts to Door County’s shores. July 24th of 1906 was the inception of the charter […]
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As boat-launching season nears, Yacht Works in Sister Bay is preparing for their 4th Annual Boat Show. This exceptional two-day event takes place over Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 27th and 28th. Representatives from boat manufacturers Chris Craft, Everglades by Dougherty, and Cranchi will all be present to perform sea trials and […]