A Sailor’s Journey

A SAILOR’S JOURNEY

This story begins inland, and keeps moving outward. An interview with Paul Bargren about finding your way into sailing – and staying there – through patience, craft, and curiosity.

Paul Bargren grew up in Rockford, Illinois – far from oceans and marinas. Yet somewhere between borrowed rides and boat rentals, he found something he couldn’t walk away from. Over the years, this pull toward the water carried him through a lifetime of self-built boats, sail-camping trips, and explorations where self-reliance matter as much as wind and weather. Our conversation with Paul traces that path, from his first dinghy to decades of exploring the water.

Finding Water Where There Was Almost None

*From the vault: The Santana 22 (named Chanahon).*

Q: When and how did you discover your love for sailing?

Paul: I was bitten by the sailing bug growing up in Rockford, Ill. Rockford, though, had only one lake, a small man-made affair. And my family had no boat. So I just pined. Once in a while I was able to finagle a ride on a Sunfish or something similar. We tried renting a couple of times, but it never seemed to go well. Finally, during my last summer at home before college, my folks gave in and our family bought a 12-foot dinghy, a Honeybee. I’ve never seen another before or since, but it had a jib and a main (baggy though it was), and I was hooked.

Left: the Bluegill (Anna B), which Paul helped build at All Hands Boatworks, with Kradwell School kids and other adult volunteers. The left photo shows Kradwell kids aboard. Right: the Tartan27 (Paraclete).

Paul: When [my wife] Elizabeth and I married, we bought a boat before we bought a house, a 22-foot Santana. It was the biggest boat I’d ever been on. We took it from Milwaukee across Lake Michigan and up to Door County. What adventures!

From there it was a Tartan 27 yawl, and finally a Hunter 356. We mostly cruised and day-sailed, with just a little racing thrown in. In the meanwhile, I built a 15-foot Bluegill, then a 17-foot Core Sound and later a 11-foot Scout. The Core Sound and Scout survive, and I find I really enjoy sail camping with my friends (the “Legends”) in the Core Sound.

The Core Sound

Q: Can you tell us about your boat? (with its special memories and upgrades)

Paul: The Core Sound 17 (Mark I, denoting the original design open cat ketch) is my main sailboat now. Along with a friend, I tried the Everglades Challenge in 2022. We made it half way, but had a great sail. The logistics in trying to enter the race from Wisconsin are a major drawback. I think my favorite trip was a year later when I was one of three boats that returned to Everglades City, Fla., and poked around the 10,000 Islands for two weeks. But I’ve also sailed the Core Sound in Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, South Carolina, Minnesota, the North Channel of Lake Huron and, of course, Wisconsin, including the Apostle Islands.

When I built the Core Sound, I added extra stringers in the front cockpit to support filler pieces to make a raised deck across the width of the cockpit. That’s where I sleep and lounge. Since then, I’ve added a dodger and tent combination that, with the cuddy, makes an enclosed cabin the size of a two man tent over the raised platform. It’s a great place to sleep, and I can cook in there when it rains.

*The Core Sound with its dodger and tent combination upgrade.*

Small Craft, Serious Miles

Q: How has this past sailing season been for you?

Paul: The trips to Ohio (the Erie Islands) and Lake Superior (the Apostle Islands) this [past] summer were part of “raids” affiliated with the Dinghy Cruising Association. As far as I can tell, I was the only person on both raids. I also took the Core Sound on a family vacation to a nearby lake in Wisconsin, where my wife, daughters, 2 sons-in-law and four grandsons all sailed that boat as well as the Scout. And I had it out for a fun race night on an inland lake near Milwaukee.

A screenshot of the route Paul prepared for his sail camping trip in the Apostle Islands. (You can **create a a route directly on MAPTATTOO device** or **plan it on a computer** and upload it onto the device via USB).

Q: What has the most memorable cruise(s) been for you?

Paul: A special cruise was a short but memorable one in Connecticut. I launched from Cedar Point Yacht Club (daughter and son-in-law) and motored out to a protected sandy cove on Cockenoe Island. By the time I got to the island, it was dark, and I was relying on the ability of my GPS to get past the entry bar. I anchored, cooked up some dinner and turned in. The next day, rain. I put up my dodger and motored back to the club dock. The next day, sun and breeze. I zoomed along on a reach through the Norwalk Islands, along a channel, and back again. There aren’t islands and channels and rocks and buoys to speak of near Milwaukee, so it was fascinating, and too much for my little [Garmin] handheld GPS. Where was MAPTATTOO those many years ago? I sailed back to Cockenoe, anchored under sail, and had another nice night afloat. A short trip, but one that has stayed with me.

*Sailing the Core Sound on Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands last September. (Photo: Steve Lindeman)*

Navigation That Keeps Up

Q: How has MAPTATTOO been working on your cruises?

Paul: I was an early adopter of MAPTATTOO. The improvements since it first came out have been substantial. It has continued to work better and better. This summer, I easily loaded the routes I needed for the Ohio raid, and was tickled to see that as I passed one waypoint, the next leg popped up, just as promised. Later, with more refinements and more skill on my part, I used MAPTATTOO in the Apostles and found the reverse-a-route feature to be quite handy. I also really enjoy the large screen and visibility in any light. [This coming] summer, it will be my main GPS on the annual Queen’s Cup Race across Lake Michigan when I’m navigator on my friend’s big boat. I should add that any time I’ve had a question, I get a prompt response, which is much appreciated.

Paul: I use MAPTATTOO in connection with ExpertGPS, a low-cost mapping and GPS map program that lets me easily plot routes and load them to MapT and, after a trip, lets me download my sailed routes and see them on nautical charts or Google Earth views. I still carry a Garmin handheld in my life vest for fun, and ExpertGPS works with that as well.