PHOTO ESSAY: Sailing Takes Me Away

A race last year might have been the most beautiful experiences I've ever had on Lake Huron.

A little background.

I live in Port Huron, Michigan at the mouth of Lake Huron. I’ve been sailing for years, starting with my best friend TJ — sailing for fun and racing on countless Sundays. Here’s a map for a little context:

TJ sold his boat to our friend Jerry and not much has changed other than we starting competing in the Wednesday night series instead of Sundays.

I always have my camera or phone at the ready. And trust me, I have hundreds of relatively boring photos documenting races or cruises on the lake. Like this one leaving Port Huron Yacht Club for a late 2024 season (September 26th) race.

You can feel fall approaching in the clouds and late-season races like this are often accompanied by gusty winds, making for a fun race. That was not going to be the case on that day — winds were almost non-existent. With the sun going down faster given the season, there was a pretty good chance we wouldn’t even finish the race.

Here’s Captain Jerry at the wheel of Selah. Again, I’ve gone under the twin spans of the Blue Water Bridge into Lake Huron hundreds of times, but Ialmost always take a picture. Even on the dullest days, it never get old.

Side Note: During Covid, when TJ, Jerry, and myself were all very quarantined we kept up the Wednesday night tradition — many times being the only boat on the lake. A few drinks, a smoke, and lots of political discussions.

A lack of wind does NOT work in Selah’s favor. But, it afforded a good opportunity to see the race line-up as they approached the start. Plus, the sun started pushing through the pre-fall clouds and the whole scene started to improve.

Because of the lack of wind, almost everyone was flying their spinnakers — trying to catch anything they could. Flying chutes always makes for better pictures.

Wind still dead, as we approached one of the midway marks and the sun started setting, things started getting really pretty. Shout-out to fellow crew member Laura who took the next few shots.

Rounding marks with gusty wind can be thrilling for many sailors. Frankly, it can still scare the shit out of me — with boats coming feet from collision. Not this night as everyone is desperately trying to simply keep forward momentum to round F.

Collisions were very unlikely here, but what we got was some of the most beautiful 15-20 minutes I’ve ever had on the lake.

This is my favorite shot as the fleet finally rounded the mark.

Here’s some video that captures the serene vibe of the moment:

It was pretty obvious that most boats weren’t going to finish the race in the allotted time. But, I don’t think anyone dropped out. It was just too lovely on the water.

Plus we had a freighter coming down from the north which we don’t experience at night that often.

We finished the race even though time was called before we crossed the line. With the sundown the trip back to the dock was beautiful too.

What a great race and time on beautiful Lake Huron. Regardless of what you love, try to make time to do it. These are dark and scary times, but making time for the things — big or small — that give you joy is really important.