Town of Delafield - They call him "Salty," the kind of name that clings to an old Navy man.
Wally Schwarting is in his element. He sits on a chair on a hot, humid summer day overlooking the shores of Pewaukee Lake, the wind calm but the memories somehow blowing in.
The summer of 1938, when he first took up sailing, a slight teenage boy sitting in as the third crew member on a boat skippered by Irv Burdick.
The late 1940s, home from the war in the Pacific, a grown man skippering his own boat.
And all those summers that followed. Even as the lakeshore changed, simpler summer cottages giving way to larger homes, some old lake families moving away, the sailing remained timeless, the never-ending quest to turn water and wind into speed, to cross a finish line in first place.
"These inland lakes, you have to sail to the winds," Schwarting says.
It looks like this could be Schwarting's last summer sailing on the lake. His 16-foot single sail boat called Salty Too is stamped with the sail number 2010.
He's taking that as a sign to quit the game while he's ahead, at the age of 84.
Of course, he could always back out, "pull a Brett Favre" he says.
But it's awfully hard working a boat alone.
He may not be Wisconsin's most celebrated sailor. But surely, he's the most spirited and perhaps even among the most well-known, especially on Pewaukee Lake.
With white hair and a ruddy face, he looks the part of a man who is comfortable on water.
"Salty's Fan Club" buttons, stickers and balloons are like little party favors floating through Wisconsin's sailing seasons. Schwarting has been giving out these trinkets since the late 1950s, sharing his love for a sport that has given him years and years of pleasure.
"Sailing is still as competitive and inspiring as ever," Schwarting says. "When you get a nice race going, it's a great challenge to do better than the other boats in the fleet."
In age-group races he's put in with the Old Salts, those 80 and older.
"No way can you beat those 25-year-old kids," he says. "As you get older, you slow down a little."
In the Wisconsin condo he shares with his wife, Mary Jo, his career is marked on walls lined with sailing trophies, plaques and medals.
He has some old pictures, too, black and white photos of summer races and winter ice boating.
"The ice boating really helps summer sailing," he says. "Ice boating is all feel and hearing. You listen for the clatter of the runners on the ice. You don't see any wind on the water. You're sailing by the seat of your pants."
During World War II, his sailing skills were put to use as he piloted troops to landing beaches in the Pacific.
"The Navy asked if anyone was familiar with small boats," he said. "I opened my mouth."
He says his war "was just like anyone else's in the Navy. Everybody just did their job."
It's not war he wishes to talk about. It's sailing.
Schwarting, who worked in marketing, says lessons learned on the lake transfer to everyday life. In sailing, there is no one single way to chart a course, to harness the wind.
"You have to make a lot of decisions," he says. "You're either on a port tack or a starboard tack."
Schwarting, who lives in Las Vegas during the colder months and Wisconsin during the warmer months, says sailing has kept him sharp through many years of retirement.
"It keeps you active," he says. "You're always anticipating another great year of sailing. The older you get, it's the anticipation that prevails."
Still, he loves to get out on the water. So he will savor this summer on Pewaukee Lake, watching and racing and remembering.