I recently went on a sailing trip with the St. Croix Sailing Club. This is my second season as a crew member on a racing sailboat with the club and I was excited to go on their Bayfield Cruise to the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin. The Apostle Islands are part of a national lakeshore. They are beautiful land masses in Lake Superior with trees, sandy beaches, hiking trails, tons of plants and animals (even bears!), light houses, and sea caves. Some are inhabited, others allow campers, kayakers, and interested people onto their shores, one allows no humans at all.
On August 8th, a group of 5 of us boarded Legasea, a 35.5 foot sailboat, in Pike’s Bay Marina, just south of Bayfield, Wisconsin. That evening and the following day were windy, and our planned meet-up with other group members on Stockton Island fell through. Other sailors were not going out on the lake at all. There was time to kill. So I sketched.
I had brought a very tiny sketchbook (2.5″ x 2.5″) for a change, and made my own watercolor paint box out of a tiny plastic ear bud container. I glue-gunned some wells into it, filled them with tube colors, and brought a waterbrush.
Perched on the front of the boat, I could see lots of things– boats beside us, the floating dinghy, wires, hoses, power cords, and other things. Here are a selection of quick sketches of things I observed:
A dinghy is a small boat (ours was made of white plastic) that you pull along behind your sailboat. It’s got oars and is used to shuttle you on and off land back to your boat if you anchor off shore.
I sketched boats across the large dock from us, and one sitting a couple slips down from us.
I occasionally noticed people gathering on the docks in conversation. The marina was sheltered, but still the wind rocked the boats and whistled through the masts. Some people decided to just go and look at other boats since they weren’t going out. Another small group stood and chatted, so I sketched them.
It was my first time living onboard a sailboat with 4 other people, and there are many things you learn. Our group got along well and that made for fun and easy times together. We bonded over many things, one of which was going up to the marina shower house to go to the bathroom or take a shower. Many larger sailboats are equipped with “heads” (bathrooms or toilets). But to conserve water, we sometimes chose to use the marina bathroom. So we needed the key fob to get in. There were also several flies that got in the boat, so we found the fly swatter helpful.
I also learned that like home, not everyone gets up at the same time, so a couple mornings my friend and I had awakened before others, so she read a book, and I sketched her reading. We bundled ourselves up in our sleeping bags, as it was chilly on the boat.
After a practice sail on August 9th (very windy) and hanging around Bayfield and the marina, we sailed to Michigan Island on August 10th, and then to Stockton Island to meet up with our club. We docked at Michigan Island and walked up many stairs up the bluff to look at the two lighthouses perched on the land. I did a quick sketch down from the dock.
We enjoyed time with our club at Stockton Island, and on Sunday the 11th, the weather was beautiful and winds were light. We spent the day sailing back to the marina, seeing beautiful scenery and spending time together! It was a wonderful time and I hope to go back again next year and sketch more of the Apostle Islands!
