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When boaters drop anchor, there is a quiet peace and oneness with the water.

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CARL WALDMAN

Special to the Jewish News

orty-five minutes across 1-696
their retreat awaits.
Near the end of the freeway,
the waters of Lake St. Clair are
a breath of fresh air.
The heavily Jewish Great Lakes Yacht
Club is the equivalent of a summer cot-
tage without grass to cut; a time that
links them to the sway of the water.
"The best thing about sailing is that it is
a goal within itself. Just to be in the boat
and sail is enough," says Herb Gardner of
Bloomfield Hills.
Gardner's 27-foot Catalina sailboat is
steered by his wife Margot, while he trims

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the sails and adjusts the lines. "It's a
division of labor that works out beauti-
fully," says Herb. "Once we are out, I
can fall asleep on the cockpit benches: -
"It takes three to four minutes to
motor out of the slip, down the chan-
nel and off into Lake St. Clair," he says.
The Gardners prefer day sails to
the Basset Channel, Strawberry
Island, and a recent 2'"2-hour ride to
the Windsor Yacht Club. "The
sport," says Margot Gardner, "is not
for someone who needs to be active
— unless the wind is really howling."
Members of the Great Lakes Yacht Club
since 1971, the Gardners welcome the thrill
of a race along with the quiet peace the
water brings to them. Most recently, they

competed in the yacht club's Early Bird
Regatta, bringing in the second-place
Leukemia Cup. In conjunction with the
Leukemia Society, the regatta raised $15,000.
"There is deep concentration involved

