MICHIGAN SAILING CLUB

Night Sailing

2025 POSSIBLE DATES AVAILABLE
Friday & Saturday Nights in Bold
Times: Moon Rise-Moon Set

JUNE

  • Friday, June 6: 5p-3a (78% Illumination)
  • Saturday, June 7: 6p-330a (85% Illumination)
  • June 8: 7p-4a (91% Illumination)
  • June 9: 8p-4a (95% Illumination)
  • June 10: 9p-5a (98% Illumination)

JULY

  • Friday, July 4: 4p-1a (63% Illumination)
  • Saturday, July 5: 5p-2a (72% Illumination)
  • July 6: 6p-2a (80% Illumination)
  • July 7: 7p-3a (87% Illumination)
  • July 8: 8p-3a (92% Illumination)
  • July 9: 9p-4a (97% Illumination)
  • July 10: 10p-5a (99% Illumination) Full Moon
  • Friday, July 11: 10p-6a (100% Illumination) Full Moon

AUGUST

  • Saturday, August 2: 4p-12a (56% Illumination)
  • August 3: 5p-1a (66% Illumination)
  • August 4: 6p-1a (74% Illumination)
  • August 5: 7p-2a (82% Illumination)
  • August 6: 8p-3a (89% Illumination)
  • August 7: 8p-4a (94% Illumination)
  • Friday, August 8: 9p-5a (98% Illumination) Full Moon
  • Saturday, August 9: 9p-6a (100% Illumination) Full Moon

SEPTEMBER

  • September 1: 5p-12a (59% Illumination)
  • September 2: 6p-1a (68% Illumination)
  • September 3: 6p-2a (77% Illumination)
  • September 4: 7p-3a (85% Illumination)
  • Friday, September 5: 7p-4a (92% Illumination)
  • Saturday, September 6: 8p-5a (97% Illumination)
  • September 7: 8p-6a (99% Illumination) Full Moon
  • September 8: 9p-8a (100% Illumination) Full Moon

Night Sailing may/may not be occurring on the listed dates. All coordination for night sailing will be conducted via the Members Only List initially. We must have a Helm or Skipper member volunteer to open the club for sailing for this activity.

  • Basic Rated Sailors: If you would like to Night Sail on one of the dates listed below, please email the Members Only List to let us know! The more we know there is demand, the more likely someone will volunteer.
    • Know Which Navigation Lights are Required for Your Boat | West Marine
    • Sailboats less than 7m (23′) shall, if practicable, exhibit lights as explained above. An acceptable substitute is to keep ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern (flashlight) that shows a white light that shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.
    •  Please bring a flashlight and spare batteries. Simply tape a flashlight to a shroud with electrical tape and it does a great job of illuminating the sail.
    • A flashlight onshore is also required as the grounds and parking lot are not illuminated (pitch black).
  • Skippers and Helm members:
    • The stern light for the ConJon (located in the shed). Patrick as the bow lights.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Every now and then when the moon is full (or partially full) and the weather is fine, we have the opportunity to do some night sailing. If you haven’t sailed at night, you are missing out on a completely different experience! We try to night sail at least once per season, more if we’re lucky.

Please remember to sign out your boats.

You may call this “lunacy” but night sailing is sometimes better the weekend BEFORE the full moon. It’s not so much the amount of illumination but whether the moon is up at all. Even a Full Moon (which rises at sunset) is not ideal. Since the lake is in a bowl (literally a kettle lake), the moon has to clear the southern hill before we can see it.

For instance, if the moon does not rise until 11:30 and it takes an hour to clear the hill, we will not see the moon until 12:30 or 1am. However, the weekend BEFORE the full moon:

  • June 19, 2021: Sunset 9:14pm, Moon rise at 3:17pm
  • The moon will be high in the sky at sunset, almost right overhead.