Detroit is Growing on Me...

I was lucky enough to get on a couple different sailboats this week. At the sailor's party last weekend, I met one of Tim's friends, Katie, who crews on a bunch of boats. She was kind enough to take me with her on Tuesday. 

We were on a boat 10 feet shorter than Tim's. It was definitely exciting since we hadn't had good wind in a while. It was easily blowing 20 knots, and the waves were intense on such a small boat. It was really cool to see the different approaches to sailing that different boats have. Wind is fun too. We were heeling (leaning) at least 45 degrees on some occasions.  

Thursday me and Katie went out to a smaller inland lake and did some dinghy racing (even smaller boats.) It was nice seeing the same aspects of big boat racing in a dinghy setting. I love dingy sailing. 

Friday was America Day and I had nothing to do, so I biked around downtown and took in some sights. There's some awesome graffiti around Eastern Market. 

I went home to wrap up a 30 mile bike ride and, still bored, decided to go back to downtown to a 4th annual punk rock BBQ/party thing. I made it all the way there and arrived to people shooting fireworks off a bus, and a parking lot party. Unfortunately I forgot my wallet so I couldn't go in. Biking back to Grosse Pointe, I made it 50 miles that day. I ended up going to the Tap Room, one of the only two cool bars near the Pointes. I met some fellow sailors there who got me super excited about Mackinac. They told me crazy stories, the beauty of being away from the din (glow) of city lights, and the solid chance that I might get to see the northern lights. 

Sunday I did some more sailing, and decided to go to a punk show at Trumbullplex, one of the two Detroit punk houses. Excuse my language, but holy shit it was awesome. Everyone there was so incredibly friendly and nice. It was one of the best experiences I've had here. I met some people from Washington, and even found someone to bike back home with.

"We're here! We're queer! We're anarchists, and we'll fuck you up!"

Yesterday I biked to Warren to pick up a safety harness to keep me tied to the boat in rough weather. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I got on a boat to Mackinac! Thanks to the wonderful Suzanne Scoville, I'll be racing on Weather Edge, a 37 foot Beneteau First. Yesterday was also our practice day to make sure we were familiar with the boat, and to try out a new sail. The boat is really nice, and the crew is even better. They're really organized and have a specified process for everything, which is beautiful. 

So this week a big thanks goes out to Katie for all the help she's been, getting me on boats and letting me borrow some gear, and to Suzanne for getting me a ride to Mackinac. Race starts Saturday!