Roger Birr | Kelly Lake, Oconto County Wisconsin

KLSC “Tips and Toys Banquet”

This reposted from Kelly Lake’s Dave Parmentier on FB. Roger

“Amazing turn out last night for the Tips and Toys Banquet. Always alot of fun with great people. The raffles were all over the place from pistols and rifles to Canadian fishing trips and beautiful ladies jewelry. I even saw a pink camo gun case with ammo!
Thank you again to everyone who came supported or sponsored. lets help support our local business owners, they stepped up as always this year.” See http://kellylakesportsmansclub.com/

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General Posts, Kelly Lake Sportsman's Club News, Local Events | Roger Birr March 27, 2012 | Comments (0)

“Old Sailors Never Die…

they just get a little dinghy!” (A sign hanging on our wall).

There’s a great bond/camaraderie joined between sailors around the world. Go to any yacht club or marina and you’re one-in-the-same. A visit to these venues, and the mention of your passion opens waves of stories purporting passages across favorite waters and to ports-of-call. Storms, squalls, “knock-downs”, dismasting, surfing down 6, 8, 10′ seas on a broad-reach doubling your hull speed excites and stimulates you wanting and waiting to share your own experiences; all ears are lent each way! Compare it to you golfers and duffers at the 19th Hole; the Birdie, Eagle or hole-in-one sunk!! I’m not much of a golfer!

With that prelude comes our visit from friends and fellow sailors from Manitowoc, WI. We met in the early 80s when I bought my first sloop, became a member of the Manitowoc Yacht Club and crewed on the offshore and Lightning racing fleets. Dave and Pat Daoust were members who also owned a sloop and spent many days sailing on Lake Michigan, traversing to ports-of-call including across Lake Michigan. My boast is to having done most of my sailing single-handed including crossing Lake Michigan. Be that as it may, that was overshadowed when I was offered the opportunity to crew with five on a racing sloop (cutter) across all the Great Lakes, day and night for 2 1/2 weeks.

With all said and done, we’ve both sold our sloops and reminisce about those days. No longer able to vanguard the foredeck halyards and rigging, we share memories and a friendship that buoyed-up during our sailing days and remains afloat through these decades. May I add, the four of us share a love for Corvettes; Dave has two including a beautiful ’66 white-on-white convertible! But, that’s another story! Roger

(Click to enlarge)

Dave, Pat, Shirley and me.

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General Posts, Roger and Shirley's Florida escape! | Roger Birr | Comments (0)

A Note From Back Home…

If you can’t be here, it’s good to hear from friends and not-so-far-away Kelly Lake neighbors, Dave and Vicki Parmentier!

Dave writes that he and Vicki are looking to come to Sarasota in mid-April; a hop, skip and a jump from us here in Bradenton! Shirley and I hope they include us on their itinerary; we have room…

I can’t believe the weather you guys are having up there! We’ve had one of the warmest season’s down here in Bradenton, but relatively speaking, yours has been phenomenal! To sum it up, here’s some pics Dave sent of the lake recently. Roger

(Click on pic to enlarge, then once again to make bigger) :

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General Posts, Roger and Shirley's Florida escape! | Roger Birr March 25, 2012 | Comments (0)

Home Isn’t All That Far Away…

… when you’re visited by neighbors and friends here in Bradenton, FL! Joining in on the visit with our hometown friends from Two Rivers, WI, Don and Sharon Stangel (who spent about a week-and-a-half with us: see previous posting), were Kelly Lake friends, Bud and Elaine Zeamer who have a cottage a couple doors away at Kelly Lake—both retired, they’ve been coming down to Florida for several years.

You talk about a small world! It turns out the Zeamers and Stangels have mutual friends and acquaintances with a number of people from Two Rivers, Manitowoc and the Brillion area—where Bud and Elaine are from. It was amazing how the list of people they knew grew exponentially the more names were mentioned! I just sat back and marveled at what a small world it was; bringing two couples who didn’t know each other together for a day, so far away. The camaraderie commence!

Bud and Elaine had already planned a day with us and I asked if it would be OK to bring Don and Sharon to Longboat Key where Bud had researched a place on the beach to rent. That’s where they all met; about a half-hour away.

Click on pics to enlarge.