"I grew up in a small town in central Wisconsin, but I spent every summer at my grandparents' house in Bayfield, Wis., which is located on Lake Superior, about two hours east of Duluth, Minn. At the age of 14, I bought my first boat, a 12-foot Avon inflatable with an 8.5-horsepower Mercury engine. Each summer, I would put the boat in the water and keep it on a beach in front of my grandparents' house. I spent the entire summer working at a camping and outfitting store to pay off that little boat, but every day after work you could find me on Lake Superior boating. Bayfield, Wis., is where I fell in love with boating and being on the water. My grandfather, Vermont Johnson, was a huge inspiration for me in everything I did. During World War Ⅱ, he served in the Pacific theater aboard the USCGC Balsam as a chief boatswain's mate. When I wasn't on the water, I could be found listening to his sea stories on the deck of their house overlooking Lake Superior.
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