Category: On the Water
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Evidence of a Fish Story: Charter Fishing in Door County
I’ve always thought the best way to see Door County was from the water, looking back toward the peninsula. Whether paddling a kayak along the shoreline of Lake Michigan or island hopping aboard a sailboat in Green Bay, there is nothing better than peering at the sandy beaches, rugged bluffs, and quaint villages and being […]
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The scene is late December. Whistling winds breathe freezing temperatures upon the Door County winter landscape yet not a flake of snow has fallen. On a bed of ice from an inland lake a distant thunder may be heard from an oddly shaped craft traveling at a remarkably high speed. To be on the ice […]
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Palmer Johnson: Building the World’s Finest Yachts
Back in 1918, a company called Johnson and Gmack was busy building and repairing boats for the Great Lakes commercial fishing fleet. But it wasn’t until 1928, when a man named Palmer Johnson, the founder’s son, built the company’s first wooden pleasure boat that an entirely new era began. Its history has had many chapters […]
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The Spirit Renewed: Wooden Boat Restoration
Sturgeon Bay is a boat town and has been ever since the area was settled in the mid-1800s. A trip through the Founder’s Gallery at the Door County Maritime Museum demonstrates the fierce pride this bustling little city of 10,000 has in its maritime heritage to even the most casual observer, and justifiably so. During […]
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With the Wind: Kiteboarding the County
When people envision extreme sports, Door County usually is not the backdrop in their brain; however, there is a group of individuals who have rejuvenated the notion of what Door County could be. No longer just the picturesque surroundings for fine dining, art galleries, and antique shops, this crew has found a new vitality in […]
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Racing Home: Sailing the Hook Race Death’s Door Challenge
Sailboat racing has brought friends and families together off the shores of the Door Peninsula for nearly a century. And as intriguing and adventuresome as these races are, none can compare to the granddaddy of them all – the Hook Race Death’s Door Challenge. Spanning 197.4 nautical miles, this course pits experienced crews against each […]
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A Jacksonport Tradition: The Polar Bear Swim
Winter in Door County brings to mind cross-country skiing, sledding, ice skating and…swimming in Lake Michigan? Usually swimming in the lake is reserved for the summer months, but an exception is made on New Year’s Day as hundreds of people start their year off with a swim in Lake Michigan. If you are up to […]
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Door County Classic & Wooden Boat Show
Summer is here and once again the Door County Classic & Wooden Boat Show will be held on the grounds of the Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society in Sturgeon Bay. Now in its 14th year, this two-day celebration of handmade and lovingly restored boats will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 7th […]
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I consider myself a sailing aficionado. In my free time, when I’m not sailing, chances are I’m a) goading, b) guilting or c) bribing one of my yacht-owning friends into hoisting the sails and taking me along for an offshore cruise – none of which, I admit, tends to require much effort. For the card-carrying […]
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The Ephraim Yacht Club: Sailing Toward a Milestone
This summer the Ephraim Yacht Club will host the 99th Annual Ephraim Regatta and the popular slogan – “There will always be an Ephraim Regatta” – will once again ring true. The oldest continuous regatta in the United States, the Ephraim Regatta was first held in the summer of 1906, the same year the Ephraim […]
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The Risky Careers of Christmas Schooner Captains
When the late summer storms on the Great Lakes began to stir, and the gales of November rattled the very souls of the schooners, the lake captains saw their transport business diminish. But there came a realization of a new seasonal run — Christmas trees! Christmas trees for those cities and communities where pine forests […]
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The Basics: An Introduction to the Fundamentals of Sailing
It was 9:00 in the morning and the couple I was scheduled to give a lesson to that day had just arrived. “Ready to sail?” I asked. With a familiar mixture of excitement and nervousness, they both nodded. I handed them life jackets, we boarded the 15-foot sailing dinghy, and within moments we were sailing […]
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Kayaking in the Door: A paddler’s perspective
The morning sun has just peaked over the tree line, the water is golden glass, and the air is suspended in silent haze. My kayak is resting on the car rack, paddle between the seats, and the PFD, skirt, bilge pump, and paddle float are tucked in the trunk. I assemble my gear, take a […]
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Those families with a long history of fishing are known well on the peninsula. Names like Teskie, Weborg, Hickey, Henriksen, Saunders, Johnson, and a number of others have kept the commercial fishing business alive through the many fickle seasons such a lifestyle brings. Door County commercial fisheries now ship whitefish and chubs to markets in […]
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What I remember most about the trips is the sense of awe I felt. The open sea, the waves, and the weight of the wind against the sails enchanted me as we were pulled toward some unseen shore. With it, of course, came stress. I can vividly recall my mother’s face turning white during a […]