We’re on board a sailboat, in waters that are favored by some of the most avid sailboat racers in America. But if
you think we’re out on the high seas, guess again. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet,
presented by DuPont. Welcome to sailboat heaven in the heartland. Lake Okoboji, in northern Iowa.
“We’re surrounded by farmland, and you know, corn and bean fields, and people are always surprised to see all
the boating and sailing going on here. It’s something that, people come in from all over the country and they
just can’t believe what goes on here. And we always describe when we travel that we’re sailors, and that we
live on this lake in Iowa and people just can’t believe it.”
Pulse of the Planet listener David Thoresen has sailed in ocean waters all over the world, but he says his
favorite place to set sail is right here at home.
“We have great winds around here, for some reason in this part of the country, and it’s just a perfect lake for
sailing.”
David started racing here at the age of eight. His mother Judy also began sailing here as a child, following
literally in the wake of her father and grandfather. The sailboat racing tradition on Okoboji got its start back
when the lake was a popular resort area.
“It actually started before the steamboat era here. The inns and lodges around here used to not have any way
for people to get there. There were no roads around the area, the railroads weren’t here yet and people used
to get dropped off and then find a passenger sailboat and sail to the inns and resorts on the lake. And the first
races actually started that way, with the owners of these passenger boats competing for passengers, taking
people to the inns. ”
Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support
provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I’m Jim Metzner.