MY BOAT: Solitude a 'perfect fit' for Winkel and his sailing family

SANDUSKYSailing is all about family to Eric Winkel.The Perkins High School graduate grew up around the sailboats owned by his father, Norm, spent his formative years at the Sandusky Sailing Club, has owned a series of sailboats and continues to compete aboard his current boat, Solitude."Sailing is a huge family," he said. "We grew up at the sailing club. It's all part of the family and not necessarily blood family, but my fiberglass family, duct tape family, or whatever you'd like to call it."I can't tell you how many times I was yelled at by someone else's mom down at the club as a kid, and when that happened, I knew I was in trouble."The family connections even extend to his wife, Kristen, who Winkel met at a birthday party for another sailing friend, her older brother David Brink."We didn't hang around a lot, but a buddy of mine told me they are going to hold a surprise party for Dave and asked me to come," Winkel said. "I didn't have anything else to do, so I went and the rest is history."After years of hanging around his dad and the sailing club as a youngster, Winkel really got his sea legs as a member of the crew for Obsession Too, one of a number of sailboats named Obsession owned by his father."Obsession Too was really where I came into my own as a sailor," he said. "I started as a teenager on that one and grew up on it. I would be on the bow for my dad, trimming the sails and then I started steering. My dad had just had open-heart surgery and was stepping away from it and let us young kids take over. It was a lot of fun and a really neat boat."Not every experience was all that neat, such as the time the younger Winkel nearly sank the boat on a run to Put-in-Bay."We hit a rock over by Put-in-Bay and had to bring it in and tie it up so it wouldn't sink any farther," Winkel said. "We got to the island and I told the crew we had to go up to the Roundhouse because I was sure my dad would be there. He was, but when he came down to the boat to see what had happened, he was real casual about it. In fact, he was too casual. I think I yelled at him."Repairing the boat turned into a project for Winkel and the crew after the boat's designer provided specifications to add a wing-keel to the boat."We built it out of Styrofoam from the specs, encased the Styrofoam in fiberglass and then turned out the Styrofoam and poured lead inside," he said. "Those are the kinds of things that make sailing like a lifelong shop class."Winkel, owner and creative director of The ArtD'partment in Sandusky, learned the love of tinkering from watching his dad work on sailboats."I remember my mom saying something at the house needed fixed and dad wasn't home, and I'd tell her I'd fix it," Winkel said. "Then she'd ask where I learned to do it and I told her from watching dad on the boat. Now I almost like working on the boats as much as sailing on them. Tinkering and trying to make Solitude faster has been a good project."Norm Winkel was known for his calm demeanor, one that he ultimately passed on to his son, although Eric did have to stop playing football to completely understand how his dad operated."It was hard to play football where I had to be nasty and mean and then go sailing on the weekends and be calm and cool," he said. "Now I think that everyone on our boat has a good time. That's our No. 1 focus. We're competitive and we don't like to lose, but we don't yell and scream at each other."Winkel has owned three boats since being part of his dad's crew on Obsession Too. He teamed with Todd Mestrez to restore Knot A Clew, then bought 1st&TEN with Steve Jackson. The Tartan 10 was fast but small for Winkel's growing family, so he purchased Solitude four years ago."My wife was very tolerant because 1st&TEN was more of a racing boat with a flat deck and a port-a-potty," Winkel said. "I told her if she could find a boat that I could race, was somewhat fast and in our price range that wasn't a huge project, we would buy it. We looked at about 20 boats before we found Solitude, which was a perfect fit."As it turned out, the purchase also expanded Winkel's sailing family.The boat was originally owned by Joe Henry, the Milan man who was founder of the Growers Chemical Corporation and was vice president of Homestead Farms. Winkel bought Solitude from Henry's heirs and even has had Henry's great niece, Maddie, as an occasional crew member."Maddie is the commodore of the Ohio University sailing team and my son sails with her on her Interlake from time to time," Winkel said. "Her dad, Hal, sailed with us on 1st&TEN, and when he found out we were looking at Solitude he was a great resource."Sailing is really a neat sport. We spend lots of money doing it and we win a flag, but it's not for the flag. Sometimes when I go down to the sailing club I don't look at race results. I go to joke with others and congratulate the winners."It's all about, 'Did we all do well? Did we have a good time?' "Eric Winkel, at the steering wheel, and his crew race Solitude on Sandusky Bay.Solitude, sailed by Eric Winkel and his crew, sails around a marker during a race in Sandusky Bay near downtown Sandusky.The crew of Solitude sits on the side of the sailboat during a race on Sandusky Bay.Solitude, owned and sailed by Eric Winkel, sails on Sandusky Bay.Solitude sails into the sunset on Sandusky Bay.Eric Winkel's wife, Kristen, and son Ethan navigate Solitude around the Marblehead lighthouse.Solitude sails past Cedar Point on Sandusky Bay.Solitude, far left, races in Sandusky Bay with Cedar Point in the background.