SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Come Sail Away

Sailboats and sailing prompt thoughts of oceans and seas—venturing off the Pacific or Atlantic coasts; in the Caribbean, Baltic, or Mediterranean; or maybe the Chesapeake Bay. But Chicago?

You might be surprised to learn Chicago was once one of the U.S.'s busiest harbors. Some would even say Chicago was a port before it was a city. In 1673, Pére Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet recognized the potential of the Chicago area as a link between New England, French Canada, and the Gulf of Mexico, and, by extension, the tributaries of the Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas rivers, to name a few.

Long before Chicago became "the hog butcher for the world," tool maker, stacker of wheat, and player with railroads, it was the nation's freight handler because Chicago realized Marquette and Joliet's insight when the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848 connecting Lake Michigan from Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru.

According to Donald Miller (1996), "By 1871, the year of the Great Chicago Fire, more vessels arrived at Chicago than New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, San Francisco, and Mobile combined!"

The vessels that transported freight and thousands of immigrants to Chicago were primarily schooners, a nimble sailboat. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia says, "Compared to square-rigged ships, they were ideal for coastal sailing; they handled better in the varying coastal winds, had shallower drafts for shallow waters, and required a smaller crew in proportion to their size. By the end of the century, they were the most important North American ship used for the coastal trade and for fishing."

According to Wikipedia, "Schooners were used to carry cargo in many different environments, from ocean voyages to coastal runs and on large inland bodies of water. In their heyday during the late 19th century, over 2,000 schooners carried cargo back and forth across the Great Lakes."

As a consequence of this cozy relationship with schooners, Chicago developed not only a sailing pedigree but also a sailing tradition.

Lake Sailing

What does Chicago have to offer today's sailor—the day sailor, the cruiser, or the racer? For one, the city sits on Lake Michigan, the fifth largest lake in the world. It is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States. Chicago also boasts the nation's largest municipal harbor system, ten yacht clubs, and the starting line of the world's longest freshwater sailboat race—the Mackinac. Sailing in Chicago has become an inclusive sport and recreational pursuit because the city has complemented its great nautical ethos with the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program (JGASP).

In 1989, at age 75, Judd Goldman passed away at a Naples, Fla., boatyard. When Justin "Judd" Goldman was 17, he contracted a disabling bone disease. After realizing few sports were available to him, he discovered sailing. During the next 58 years, he competed successfully in many events throughout the world, including more than 25 Chicago to Mackinac races—the Mac, a 333-mile challenge from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Mich. He founded the Dragon, an Olympic one-design class of sailboats.

Soon after Goldman's death, his wife Sliv, son Peter, and daughter Judy established the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation (JGASF) as a public/private partnership with the Chicago Park District in memory of Goldman. The foundation raises money to offset the program's operating expenses while the Chicago Park District provides the building, docks, and infrastructure at Burnham Harbor in the shadow of Soldier Field. The fleet consists of 18 boats: eight 20-foot Freedom Independence 20s, six 23-foot Sonars, and four 2.4-meter boats. This variety gives sailors and instructors the flexibility to challenge themselves to their satisfaction.

The Freedom 20 is a superb boat for introducing people to sailing and racing. It was designed to be accessible to and useable by sailors with disabilities. Its 880-pound keel makes it incredibly stable. Two counterweighted pivoting seats are positioned in the cockpit for the helmsman and a crew member.

The Sonar, on the other hand, is very responsive and not as forgiving as the Freedom 20. It has a large cockpit that can accommodate 3-5 people, and has been the three-man Paralympic class of boat since 2000.

The 2.4 meter (2.4mR) is also a Paralympic keelboat. It is for solo individuals; those with outstanding sailing and tactical skills usually perform the best.

Three of the Sonars were donated to JGASP by the Chicago Park District in 2008. Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley and his wife Maggie, champions of physical and program accessibility, officiated at the christening of the new Sonars. One of the them was named Maggie!

Maggie Daley remarked, "I hope people in our community who are not familiar with this program will come over and look at it, because it is truly extraordinary."

The Mayor wisely pointed out, "Everyone looks at someone with a disability and says, ‘They can only do this.' They never expect (those with disabilities) ever to come down to a park or really get near water or eventually get on a sailboat and sail. This program is an example of inclusiveness, bringing people together, and showing them what they can do."

The mayor is true to his conviction that Chicago must remain the most accessible city in the country.

The program's aspiring sailors receive classroom and on-the-water instruction and may attend regularly scheduled racing clinics during a season that starts with an open house and barbecue the last Saturday in May and extends until the first weekend in September. In addition to the clinics, JGASP conducts a series of five regattas, including the Freedom Cup and the Goldman Cup. This campaign is supported by scores of volunteers who do everything from barbecuing to rigging boats, repairing equipment and boats, and instructing and assisting the sailors and paid instructors.


Read more about the opportunities for sailors of all ability levels, in Chicago.

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