EDGEWATER — On Friday, while some city-dwellers may be stepping out for a night at the club, Edgewater resident and world class sailor Jim Judge will be stepping off Navy Pier and into a 40-foot yacht with 12 crew members, ready to feel the wind on their backs as they compete against 323 other sailboats for the Chicago Yacht Club's 107th Race to Mackinac Island.
For Judge, 52, this year's race will mark his 20th go at the 333-mile (289.4-nautical mile) invitation-only journey northbound across Lake Michigan to the tiny Michigan island, he said.
"It's sometimes just stunningly beautiful out on the lake," Judge said.
For Judge, sailing is a competitive, athletic sport that requires both physical and mental endurance, in addition to skill, to succeed — a concept he picked up as the son of James C. Judge, a member of the international Olympic-level Star Class of sailors, as well as the city's yacht club.
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During the summers, he said he'd attend a day camp the club held that taught kids 6-18 the ins and outs of sailing, a program that continues today.
Since beginning to sail as a 7-year-old in 1971, Judge said he's developed a passion for what he considers an athletic event, though he feels that one of the biggest misconceptions about the sport is "the image of rich white people drinking cocktails while cruising to some destination."
In reality, he said, it's been an experience where he's built close relationships with fellow sailors, has been emotionally fulfilling and has allowed him to see some of the most beautiful views of his life, he said.
"There's been years when we've had huge, glowing auroras, and those are a lot of fun to see," he said.
In another race next week, he said his crew will be an audience sailing through a meteor shower with the open sky as their theater.
Judge said there have also been the occasional scary moments, like the race in 2011 when he and other sailors were confronted with 90-mile-per-hour winds near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.
Once his crew was able to regain control, he said several boats spent the next several hours on a search-and-rescue mission that had turned into a recovery mission come morning.
That year, the Vayu team won the race for its section, he said.
Despite the tragedy, Judge said the camaraderie demonstrated during hard times is indicative of what the athletic sailing community stands for as a whole.
"But it was also some of the most exhilarating sailing around, especially before the storm because the passage we were in has a chain of islands on the west side, and there were huge, mile-wide streaks of lightning between the sky and the islands — it looked like a huge, 30-minute fireworks show."
During the race, each crew member is partnered with another, taking shifts to sleep, eat and work. They're always prepared to come to the aid of the group.
"It can vary a little bit depending on sea conditions and what's necessary at the time, and there's some maneuvers that require everybody to get out of bed and help like with changing sails, or preparing for a storm," he said.
Each crew member is expected to "do a little bit of everything," and the crew is a blend of both experienced and more amateur sailors, Judge said.
If he participates in five more races, he said he'll qualify for an exclusive club privy only to those who have committed to the race at least a quarter of a century.
He'll embark on the race's 107th trip to Mackinac Friday from The Chicago Lighthouse at the east end of Navy Pier alongside a crew of 10 men and two women.
His sailing legacy could be furthered if his team wins this year, a feat that means the crew will see its names transcribed onto the Mackinac Cup — an honor bestowed upon only one of more than 300 competing boats.
On Friday, his crew will put their "teamwork and effort and mental agility required to push the boat as fast as possible to the north" to the annual test.
"Hopefully faster than the other boats," he said.
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