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Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Make the Great Outdoors great again Column inside

The Great Outdoors

July 20 & 21, 2017

July 2017

Sailing has become obsession, avocation, family sport BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jack Str othman can tell y ou e xactly w hen he got hook ed on sailing. He w as 11 y ears old, growing up on the north end of Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. “My mom told me and a neighbor w e could watch the [sailboa t] r aces on Lak e Calhoun, ” Strothman said. “Someone invited m y friend to ride on a boa t. I got a ride the ne xt da y, and I was hooked.” The next step, he said, was to con vince his brother and tw o sisters to pool their allo wances until they sa ved enough money to buy a used boat the ne xt y ear. “Our par ents didn’t sail,” he said. “This was a kids’ boat.” “We quickl y got into trying r acing,” said Strothman, a graduate of Yale Uni versity and the University Minnesota Law School. “We had no instruction. We were just kids having fun. “Sailing is a lifelong sport tha t is enjo yable from pleasur e sailing or cruising to competiti ve racing,” Str othman said. “Anyone starting out will learn the basics quickl y and most will be hook ed for life. “In competitive sailing there ar e al ways challenges to win r aces and different ones [challenges] each r ace due to the level of competition and wind conditions.” By the time he w as 16, he’d had lessons , and Strothman e ventually taught sailing on Lak e

(only the winning boa t goes in this sport) and closer y et in 1976 (the Olympics ar e held onl y every four years) and stymied in 1980 b y the US Olympic boycott.” When he’s not competing, Str othman said, he and his wife and two other couples have chartered 51-foot boa ts in e xotic places, such as T onga, Tahiti and Turkey. “We’ve gone to the Caribbean umpteen times with our kids,” he said. Now the Str othmans have se ven gr andchildren, and five of them have started racing, too. He spends time teaching the grandkids, as well as helping to run y outh events, Strothman said.

Sailing for health and fitness

The Strothman family of sailors includes sons David and Peter (from left, in back) and wife Barbara and Jack, in front. (Submitted photo)

Calhoun f or se ven y ears while he w as in college and then la w school a t the Uni versity of Minnesota. Strothman, a r esident of Deepha ven, has been a member of the Minnetonka Y acht Club since 1965. He is an a ttorney with Lindquist & Vennum. Since he began sailing, Strothman has sailed in a C-scow 20-f oot sailboa t, E-scow for 10 y ears, and now a 38-foot A-scow for the last eight years. “I’ve had a lot of fun,” he said. “My tw o sons got into sailing, too . They w on U .S. y outh championships, and

sailed on college teams . Now they’re both national champions.” Son David was captain of his college sailing team and won national championships in thr ee different major sailing classes . Son Peter was a two-time All-American at Harvard and also won three different major national championships. “My sons’ accomplishments pale in comparison [to mine], ” Strothman said. Peter, a Harv ard gr aduate, is a partner in a private equity firm in Chicago. David, a gr aduate of Connecticut College , is an orthopedic spine sur geon in the Twin Cities.

Strothman and his wife, Barb , w ho has sailed and cr ewed with him, o wn a condo on Sanibel Island, Florida, where they spend half the year. “We spend summer months sailing on Lake Minnetonka and traveling to sailing r egattas,” Strothman said. “It’s an obsession, a great avocation, a famil y sport,” Strothman said. “We’ve traveled all over the country ,” Str othman said. “I’ ve spent a lot of time in Eur ope and England, and a t v arious venues in Canada and various world championships. Tha t’s w here the competitions were.”

This y ear, the 2017 Inland Championship Regatta is in A ugust a t the Lak e Gene va Y acht Club in W isconsin, and the 14th ann ual A Sco w National Championship was J une 23-25 a t the Minnetonka Yacht Club, Strothman said. “Each r egatta win has been memorable,” Strothman said. “We have been fortunate. Most memorable to me , however, have been the national regatta victories of my sons, David and Peter.” “Our first Olympic effort was in 1972 and the last in 1980,” he said. “We were close to winning the Olympic trials in 1972

According to Health Fitness R evolution’s website, sailing can be a great acti vity f or health and fitness. “Not only are you controlling a lar ge v essel, but you’re also adjusting constantly to Mother Nature’s elements, which can be a strong force that challenges y our mental and physical fitness,” the website said. It lists the top 10 health benefits of sailing as f ollows: •Muscle strength and endurance: Pulling and hoisting of sails to maneuver a boat or a yacht, adds to y our m uscle strength f or y our shoulders and back. •Cardiovascular fitness

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The Great Outdoors July 2017

Discovering The Mature Lifestyle July 20 & 21, 2017

Make the Great Outdoors great again There’s an antidote f or the blues and the “b lahs,� for boredom and b urnout and for lethargy and “inner inertia.� It’ s called “outdoors.� Too man y people — especiall y seniors — don’t get outside enough. Spending time outdoors is good f or your health a t every age. There’s a reason why teachers w ant kids to go outside during r ecess. “Fresh air and exercise� really are good for you, and big kids need to get outside to play too. That’s w hy biking, hiking, camping, canoeing, fishing, hunting, skating, skiing, swimming, running and even walking are such popular outdoor ph ysical activities. It’s why outdoor sports lik e base ball, soccer, tennis and golf attract thousands of participants every y ear. Being acti ve outside helps us stay fit and healthy, and it’s fun. But you don’t have to be

Guest column

... by Bob Ramsey an elite athlete or a fitness nut to benefit from being out-of-doors . Mother Nature is open 24-hours a day and free of charge for everyone — e ven couch potatoes, tech geeks and the athletically challenged. As it turns out, even doing nothing w hile outside is good for you. Enjoying time spent outdoors isn ’t just good for y our ph ysical health, it’s good f or y our mental health. All you have to do is show up and pa y attention. Getting close to na ture has a calming effect on the mind. It promotes perspec-

tive and clarity. Things seem less complicated out in the open; and it’s dif ficult to stay stuck in nega tivity out where the sun is shining and the sky is blue. That’s w hy tr eatment and rehab centers often feature natural settings and plenty of outdoors areas. Likewise, the senior community w here I li ve faces a city street and nearby stores and pr ofessional buildings, w hile behind lies a quiet par k featuring a small lake. I tell visitors that we can walk out the fr ont door into the midst of commerce and the comm unity and out the back door into the more pastoral serenity of a natural setting. It’s the best of both worlds.

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Naturally, r esidents gravitate to the par k and frequently sit on the par k benches to enjo y the vie w or walk around the lake at their own pace. It’s nature’s therapy at work. Obviously, there is something peaceful, gr ounding and healing in the sights , sounds and sensa tions of the outdoors and in observing nature’s critters a t work and play.

Like the time I was dozing by a pool when I awoke with a start, because something w as nibbling on m y fingers. It was a squirrel. I frantically tried to chase it away; b ut it r efused to be chased. Ev entually, it left of its o wn accor d w hen I ceased to be entertaining (or tasty). Then, I began w ondering. Can I ca tch something from this squirrel? Is there

such a thing as “squirrel fever?� What about rabies? I worked myself into such a tizzy I ended up going to urgent care, where the doctor assured me I was OK. Even such a misad venture with na ture, however, provided w elcome r elief from e veryday pr essures. Nature nurtures our mental wellness in many ways.

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Sailing has become a lifestyle, tradition for Deephaven family SAIL - FROM FIRST PAGE

tion: With the ultibal means. Everyone on mate goal of staying board has a crucial role •Mental wellness: Besafe w hile on boar d, to play in order to keep ing out on the w ater sailing enhances a the ship afloat. puts y ou in a good person’s a bility to f o•Spatial awaremood not just because cus e ven with m ultiple ness: Sailing r equires of the calmness of the tasks at hand. the participant to be water, b ut because of •Improves communiaware of the dimension the salty air. The saltiness of the sea air is composed of char ged ions tha t aid in the body’s o xygen a bsorption, which in turn balances ser otonin le vels. The mor e balanced your bod y’s ser otonin levels ar e, the ha ppier you’re going to be. •Lowers stress levels: The swooshing and splashing of w ater, the rhythmic movement of the yacht and the sound of the wind in the sails Sailing has been a passion for Jack Strothman since can all affect brainwave he was growing up on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. patterns. This r elaxes (Submitted photo) and soothes a b usy and highly stressed-out cation skills: To ef fec- of the boa t along with mind. •Increases agility: tively contr ol a boa t, the space r equired f or the maneuvering of the Pulling lines or hoisting the ca ptain and his crew must act as a uniboat. sails can significantly fied unit. They need to •Organizational improve your hand-eye learn ho w to comm uskills: Being on a ship coordination and monicate ef fectively, esperequires that everything tor skills. cially through non-verbe kept in “shipshape.â€? •Improves concentra-

The Great Outdoors July 2017

Discovering The Mature Lifestyle July 20 & 21, 2017

Nature and the outdoors: a unique kind of therapy RAMSEY - FROM PREVIOUS PAGE And lastl y, e xperiencing the outdoors not only boosts y our physical and mental health, it’s good for our spiritual wellbeing as well. Getting outdoors is good for our soul. It r eplenishes the spirit. F eeling God’ s presence thr ough na ture allo ws y ou to follow author Ian Br own’s advice to “let

your inner butterfly out.� Enjoying nature first-hand (not through a TV, computer or hand-held device) improves your mind, body and spirit. There will always be lots of excuses for avoiding the out-of-doors; b ut there are no good reasons. Thoreau was right w hen he said, “W e can never have too much nature.� That’s

why F. Scott Fitzgerald lamented later in life, “After r eading Thor eau, I felt ho w much I ha ve lost b y leaving na ture out of my life.� You don’t want to make the same mistake. It’s time to mak e the gr eat outdoors great a gain — in our minds , our dail y routines and our lifestyles . Enough cocooning.

Follow your teacher’s advice and “Go out and play!� Bob Ramsey is a lifelong educator, freelance writer and advocate for Vital Aging. He resides in St. Louis P ark and can be contacted at 952-922-9558 or at jo yrammini@comcast.net.

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