Shetek Area Smooth Sailing (formerly Let’s Go Fishing) is ready to hit the lakes for another summer of fun
They’re back. Technically, they never left, but now the group that formerly operated under the Let’s Go Fishing umbrella has ventured out on their own and are now known as Shetek Area Smooth Sailing.
And while volunteers will be working under a new name, their goal is the same: to provide memorable boating experiences to seniors, and anyone who wishes to board a pontoon for an afternoon of relaxation and fun.
“We came up with a new logo and a new name, otherwise our services are all the same — same pontoon, same volunteers,” said LuAnn Kern. “Now it’s a matter of letting people know we’re still out there, that we are still an active group.”
With respect to that, Shetek Area Smooth Sailing has sent letters out to those who have taken advantage of the chance to get out on the water.
Part of the reason for breaking away from LGF is the newly-named organization won’t have to pay affiliate fees. Ultimately, it will also be more convenient to have some autonomy on the business side of things.
“We just felt like that was getting to be too much for us,” said Kern. “We love LGF, they gave us our start, and it was a great way for us to get going, but they had a lot of the services that we didn’t use, a lot of the meetings were further up north. We weren’t as active with them, and we felt like we weren’t getting the benefits from the group. And this way, we can keep all the money we raise local.”
The group usually starts taking people out on the water for hour-long adventures in June, typically starting in Fulda (the pontoon is docked at Shetek Marine on Lake Shetek, but Fulda has its own chapter). The pontoon will also be out on Shetek during State Park Day, which actually takes place four times a year and opens all Minnesota state parks for no admission.
This year’s State Park Days are scheduled for April 26, June 14 and Nov. 28 (Jan. 20 was the first of 2025).
“We just offer rides to people at the park,” said Kern. “It’s a good way for people to see us and learn a little bit about what we’re about,” Kern said. “We usually do three different outings and usually they are all full.”
The mission of the organization has always been partly senior-focused, but while operating as LGF, the local chapter has been known to be open to any group, including families. A cruise can include up to 12 passengers.
“If they don’t have the means to get out on the water, I don’t think we would turn them down, said board member and pontoon captain Al Grunden.
Shetek Area Smooth Sailing will continue to have fishing equipment in tow for those who want to cast a line but “most of them just want to cruise around the lake,” Kern said. “But we have the means to fish if they want to.”
Fishing can be a bit tricky for the other passengers, but Grunden said they can if they want to. Mostly, he said, getting out on the lake on a nice summer day is enough.
“It’s enjoyable and relaxing for them to just cruise around the lake,” he said.
People from as far away as Sheldon, Iowa, have used the pontoon, which first hit the water in 2009.
“It’s just about the enjoyment of helping people and letting them enjoy their time out there,” said another board member Marilyn Strate.
Kern works at Prairie View and said she enjoys taking her residents out on the water.
“A lot of them have not been on the lake for years, they don’t have the capability to get out,” she said. “Just getting them out in the fresh air and nature. It’s so rewarding to see how happy they are. It’s a simple boat ride that a lot of people take for granted, but it’s a big thing for them.”
“I love hearing their stories,” Shetek Area Smooth Sailing board member SueAnn Moyars said. “Most of the people we take out know the island on Shetek. They like to talk about what it was like when they were younger.”
Grunden agrees. “A lot of them from the nursing homes have been here before, they know about the Lutheran camp, the Boy Scout camp back in the day,” he said. “When we go by there they’ll tell us something about the Boy Scout camp. Because we have a first mate on board, they can converse with them.”
Other captains are Dan Rolling and Chad Moyars.
Randy Martin, who owns Shetek Marine, is more than happy to do what he can to support Shetek Area Smooth Sailing. He, too, is a board member and takes care of just about everything with the pontoon, whereas other groups don’t have that go-to person to address all the behind-the-scenes aspects, suxh as storing the boat and dealing with maintenance issues.
About the only big-ticket expenditure for Shetek Area Smooth Sailing is the insurance.
“We really want to get going with it again,” Martin said. “To see the seniors when they come back from a ride — it doesn’t get much better than that. It’s like you turn the clock back 50 years when they come back and they’re smiling and giggling. They’re like ae bunch of teenagers when they come back.
“We have to give thanks Randy — he stores the pontoon, maintains it, puts it in the water,” Sue Ann Moyars said. “The boat is ready for us when we get there.”
Shetek Area Smooth Sailing raises money for upgrades and also accepts donations. The Currie Town & Country Boosters and Shetek Area Sportsmen’s Association gave them a sizable donation last fall to help them purchase new inflatable vests and do some fixes on the trailer and buy new canopies for the pontoon. Their biggest fundraiser of the year is a silent auction that takes place during Tracy’s Box Car Days celebration.
