The finish line is in sight for local sailor Art Buitenwerf who completed his 100th of 150 sails of Chestermere Lake Aug. 5.
“Now that number 100 is done, it’s a matter of just sticking with it,” he said, “if Mother Nature could provide more breeze, I would appreciate it.”
Buitenwerf embarked on the marathon of sails as his way of marking Canada 150 this year.
To mark this milestone, he sailed the north end of the lake for the first time.
“First time ever for dismasting and going under the bridge,” said Buitenwerf, “doable, but not easy.”
While a bit difficult to get under the bridge, it turned out to be worth it as he waited out a brief thunderstorm under the bridge.
“Just as I was dismasting, there was a crack of lightning, followed by a long thunder boomer,” he said.
He ended pausing his sail for about 20 minutes as he waited out the passing storm.
“I had a nice break under the bridge, sharing the shelter with a couple of power boats, that also chose to stay out of the rain, and wait for the severe weather to pass,” he said.
After the storm t was smooth sailing down to the cove before coming up for a break and coffee at the Tim Hortons.
“Best part of sail number 100 was having a Tim’s with my wife and biggest supporter,” said Buitenwerf.
“She has had to pick up a lot of extra duties, as I have been away from home a lot more this summer,” he said.
