Life Lessons I Learned Sailing with My Father

In Wisconsin, you spend about three months sailing your boat and the other nine months thinking about it.

At least that's how it felt growing up.

I was seven years old when my father, Frank "Jake" Jacobson, my sister Kris, and I drove out to the barn one cold spring morning to uncover our Lightning sailboat after a long Wisconsin winter.

Her name was Islander.

She was hull number 2225, one of the early wooden Lightnings that seemed to spend nearly as much time upside down getting sanded as she did sailing.

I can still remember the smell of that barn.

The flies waking from winter and bumping against the windows.

The pigeon droppings on the boat cover.

The musty life jackets.

The rusty pliers rolling around in the bilge.

And the excitement of knowing the first race was only a few weeks away.

For my father, sailing season had finally arrived.

 

More Than a Sailboat

My father wasn't a champion Lightning sailor.

He was something much more important.

He was a champion dad.

The Lightning became a language that connected my father, my sister, and me in ways that are difficult to describe.

It gave us adventures.

It gave us friendships.

It gave us challenges.

And most importantly, it gave us time together.

I still remember the first time my father placed the tiller under my arm and said:

"Okay son, steer toward the red lighthouse."

It wasn't just a sailing lesson.

It was confidence.

Trust.

Permission to grow

 

Lessons Beyond the Racecourse

Over the years, my father shared countless sailing lessons that eventually became life lessons.

Some of my favorites were:

• Make your big moves early.
• When the wind goes light, just keep moving.
• Be patient with your crew. You need them more than they need you.
• Teach your competition everything you know.
• Don't yell. It breaks people's concentration.
• If you tip over, stay with the boat.

As a kid, these lessons helped me sail a Lightning.

As an adult, they've helped me navigate life.

What I didn't realize at the time was that my father wasn't just teaching me about boats.

He was teaching me how to think.

How to lead.

How to treat people.

How to persevere when conditions changed

 

A Dreamer and a Builder

Professionally, my father worked in advertising.

But sailing was one of his great passions.

He was a dreamer, promoter, photographer, organizer, and storyteller.

When many people thought bringing a major Lightning Championship to Sheboygan was impossible, he convinced everyone it could be done.

And then he helped make it happen.

As Class Secretary and advocate for the Lightning class, he worked tirelessly to preserve the integrity of the boat while helping grow the sport through enthusiasm, sportsmanship, photography, and storytelling.

He believed people would fall in love with sailing if they could simply experience its magic

 

The Legacy He Left Behind

My father passed away at age seventy-five.

The years we actually sailed together were relatively few.

Yet somehow it feels like we've been sailing together my entire life.

Perhaps that's because so many of the lessons he taught me on the water continue to guide me today.

I now have daughters and grandchildren of my own.

While they may never know their grandfather the way I did, they benefit from his wisdom every time I pass along one of his lessons.

The lessons continue.

The voyage continues.

 

Why Jake's StrongGinger Means So Much to Me

When I drink a glass of Jake's StrongGinger, I often think of my father.

Not because he created the company.

He didn't.

But because he inspired it.

His curiosity.

His kindness.

His adventurous spirit.

His belief that life should be lived fully and shared generously.

Jake's StrongGinger is my way of honoring those values.

It's a reminder that the most important things we inherit from our parents aren't possessions.

They're lessons.

They're memories.

They're examples.

And if we're fortunate, we pass them along to the next generation

 

A Final Thought

My father wasn't the only parent who taught a child how to sail.

He wasn't the only father who loved a Lightning.

So these memories are dedicated to all the moms and dads who gave their children what mattered most:

Love.

Adventure.

A boat.

A starting line.

A finish line.

And everything in between.

To Your Health,

Tryg "Jake" Jacobson
Founder, Jake's StrongGinger