From the helm of his 38-foot catamaran on Lake Michigan, sails hoisted and billowing in the wind, Captain Jim Miranda has spotted magnificent double rainbows, “rolling clouds” that resemble Death Star lasers crossing the sky and sunsets leaving it and fellow sailors speechless.
“There is no end to the tapestry that Mother Nature can paint on the city,” Miranda said. As owner of the 3rd Coast Cruising Sailing Academy, he has taught hundreds of Chicagoans, many over the age of 50, to navigate the lake's capricious and challenging conditions.
“Many of our students are in (a phase of) metamorphic change,” Miranda said. “They recently experienced a divorce, a heartbreak, a death, or they moved to Chicago and didn't know anyone. And they seek again to discover who they are. … Sailing is that vehicle, and they develop a confidence they never thought they would have.
Batavia resident Scott Marquardt, 63, discovered sailing as a way to reconnect with his reputation as a “water guy.” It started in the Navy and expanded to annual family canoe trips on the Wisconsin River until 2017, when water levels rose and Marquardt was forced to look for an alternative. Google and Yelp led him to 3rd Coast, and he was fascinated by the challenges it presented.
“In sailing, no matter how much experience you have, every year you are amazed at how much you have left to learn,” said Marquardt, who trained under Miranda to reach the rank of “skipper ” and pilot boats on his own.
Marquardt's most memorable sailing trips are the ones where something goes wrong – never to the point of putting his life in danger, but sometimes the wind drops or the water slaps a little louder than normal. Maybe he got wet. Challenges always led to discoveries, he said, like the time the wind was blowing hard from the east and he joked to Miranda that they should try sailing backwards. They did it and it worked.
Susan Maivald, a 58-year-old Skokie native, sailed for the first time on her 52nd birthday, and the experience set her life on a new path. She and her husband, Jim, a longtime sailor, eventually owned two boats — they named them “Lucille Marie” and “Clara Marie,” after their respective mothers — and raced against other members of the Waukegan Yacht Club Wednesday. They took longer trips across the lake to Michigan, spending last summer sheltering in towns along the coast, meeting other sailors, floating under the stars and playing poker for Splenda packages. Jim died late last year. Susan and her friends plan to sail as a group and spread her husband's ashes on Lake Michigan.
One of the most important lessons Maivald taught sailing was how to let go.
“(Jim) would say, ‘You have to know your boat,’” she said. “I trusted him and I’m still here.”
To start sailing, Marquardt recommends purchasing a trial membership or introductory lesson from a local sailing club, like 3rd Coast or Columbia Sailing School (prices range from $50 to $300), and to join Facebook groups like “Chicago Sailors”. The sailing community is tight-knit but welcoming, Miranda said. It shows beginners Monroe Harbor, known as “Sailors Circle” because the nearby Loop buildings absorb some of the wind, creating calmer conditions.
He also said that a good mindset can make all the difference. Prepare for rough seas and embrace adventure, Marquardt advised.
“If you're worried about getting wet or cold, or the boat might appear drunk, make a conscious decision not to have those worries,” he said. “There’s a ‘seize the day’ aspect.”
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