Obsession. There is really no other word for it.

Greetings from Ice Station Zebra.

When you go through a vintage winter up here in the upper Midwest, particularly if you're planning a major regatta or two, you sometimes find yourself exploring the perspectives only available from your mind's eye. Mark Wessel who's in charge of regatta infrastructure, has no doubt found himself in the snow packed parking lot adjacent to the Sheboygan Yacht Club in below zero conditions referring to his CAD drawing of the way 100 Lightnings will seamlessly glide into and out of the water. As early as last November, Todd Wake and I eyed the floor of Sheboygan Youth Sailing's building envisioning where sail measurement mylars might be placed for spot checks during the event.

Then this morning our regatta PRO Rich Reichelsdorfer sent me this photo of the racing area as it looks right now. It started me wondering. Yesterday we held a conference call relating to the first draft of the Sailing Instructions. We discussed course options and when Richard might prefer to use each... and average race durations and the length of the sail back in to the dock from the race course when the wind is from different directions. I assumed Richard was doing the call from his desk with the draft on his computer.

But just maybe he was doing the call from out on that bluff. At the very least, he's been up there...looking. This time of year that bluff is like a widow's walk for obsessive PROs. The mind's eye can compel such behavior during a Winter that refuses to yield the stage.