Chicago is generally known for its winters but I would argue that the summertime is one of the best in the United States. Because of the length/severity of the other seasons, it seems the whole city is ready to spend the entire 3 months of summer outside. Adding to the fun is the fact that there are 24 beaches spanning the 28 miles of Chicago lakefront (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_beaches_in_Chicago).
One of my favorite summer pastimes is sailing as it allows you to see some of the best possible views of the city. Here is one photo I took a few years back. This is a few miles north of downtown during sunset.
Looking south near Chicago's Montrose Harbor
Because I don't own a boat, the best way for me to maximize time out on the water was to try out for and join a racing team. There are pretty much races every Wednesday night, Saturday and Sunday from mid May to mid September. Consequently, I have participated in well over 100 races over the last 6 years. These could be as short as 45min and as long as 55hrs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Yacht_Club_Race_to_Mackinac).
Here is a photo of one sailboat, Cahoots, that I have raced with a few times. The photo comes just before the race began as each team is prepping their boat in anticipation of the start.
Directly east of downtown Chicago looking west
Each team heads out to the race course (often using motor if you are running late...) which is an octagon made from 8 buoys a few miles offshore. The specific race course will change depending on the race series and wind direction each time out. Different sailboats are split into different sections by boatsize and sail usage. Typically, a section will start every 15min or so until all have crossed the starting line.
The conditions of the races themselves can vary quite a bit depending on wind speed, wave size and number of entrants. A race during light wind on a beautiful summer day seems so different from racing during a thunderstorm at night that they almost need different names. The former is much better for taking pictures like this one...
Out on the downwind leg of a race course
The large, colorful sails are called spinnakers and are used for sailing directly or nearly directly downwind. I always love seeing the different colors and designs.
That's all I have for now but I'll be posting more about this as summer hits full swing.
Anyone else on Steemit enjoy sailing? Or just interested in learning more?