Praeceptor Thursdays

What are Praeceptor Thursdays

Praeceptor Thursdays are a great way to get out on the water and find out if sailing is right for you. Every year, Bayview Yacht Club hosts the Thursday Off the Doc race series which is held bi-weekly during the sailing season. The races bring together experienced sailors and novices alike to compete on the water and show off their skills. The races start on Thursdays at 7pm right in front of the clubhouse. Before the race, crews monitor the race committee on the upper balcony of the Clubhouse to see which way they will send us. The race committee will either send us starting up or down the river depending upon wind conditions and forecasts. The boats then take off on their course. No matter what, the race begins and ends right in front of the clubhouse, which provides spectators with a front-row view of the action! With the wind, waves, and other boats as their adversaries, sailors skillfully navigate their boats through the course, making sure not to collide in the sometimes very tight mark roundings. The starts are often the most exhilarating part of the race, with 10,000-30,000lb boats jockeying for position at a tight starting line. If this does not get your blood pumping and the beer flowing, we don’t know what will! The event is not just about competition, but also camaraderie, the stories we tell, and showing people how fun the sport of sailing can be! Praeceptor is arguably the most fun boat on the water and knows how to have a great time! On our Praeceptor Thursdays, the main mission is to get people into sailing! We will usually load the boat up with anywhere from 10-20 people and race some, if not all of the course depending upon the wind. Typically, we end up racing half the race and then finding a cool spot to cruise to in order to drop the anchor and swim! Thursdays are all about learning and fun on the water for the Crew on Praeceptor. Guests can “choose their own adventure” on these nights where it is what you put into it. Some guests are excited to learn about racing while others just want to learn how a sailboat works and still others just enjoy being on the water and seeing an amazing sunset over the Detroit skyline!

Praeceptor Thursdays Info

Praeceptor will be heading out most Thursdays for our weekly party cruise! Try to get down to the Dock around 6:15 to help prep the boat and get settled in. We will be trying to leave the dock around 6:35pm and we will leave no later then 6:45pm. Make sure to call if you are running late on a race day because we need to have time to raise the sails and get a couple tacks in by the time the race sicks off at 7pm. On our Praeceptor Race/Cruise days, plan on being out until around 11:30pm ish (Everyone knows but… there is no guaranteed return time when you step onto Praeceptor). On most nights we end up going for a pleasure cruise and swimming so make sure to bring a towel, bathing suit, something warm, and potentially something to snack on. Boat beverages are always welcomed!! Make sure ask if you plan to come down on a non-listed race day. We plan on being out there most Thursdays but things could change. We love taking new people out but make sure to shoot me a quick text about bringing extra people because we do max out at the first 20 people. If you have any questions just reach out! Can’t wait to see you out there!!