The man who wrote the songs “Sailing Nights” and “Against the Wind” knows of what he sings. And in both 2001 and 2002, Bob Seger won the Bayview Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race with his 52-foot Santa Cruz sailboat Lightning. Staged by Detroit’s Bayview Yacht Club, the 290-mile race from Port Huron, Mich. to Mackinac Island in Lake Huron is one of the longest fresh-water sailing competitions in the world.
As the skipper of the 10-man crew, the classic rock legend – who was 56-years-old – did his shifts on watch like all the other 3,000 sailors in the race. “Everybody took turns steering the boat, and he was in the rotation just like everybody else,” said crewman Mike Thompson of Detroit.
“We’re awfully excited,” said Seger after he won the race’s 78th year. “We had a great crew, that’s what did it.” The following year the classic rock star and his boat not only won their class again but bested all the boats in the competition. One might think his vessel was named for its speed; instead it was so christened because Seger lost his previous sailboat when it was struck by lightning.
The Michigan native earned 15 Top 20 singles in his long career including a run of nine during his commercial peak years of 1978-83. Following “intense spinal surgery” that he had in 2017, he completed his final tour in 2019.
Related: Our review of Seger’s final tour
In 2017, he finally made his music available via streaming services. The move made such hits as “Night Moves” (#4), “Still the Same” (#4), “Hollywood Nights” (#12), “Old Time Rock And Roll” (#28), “Against The Wind” (#5), “Mainstreet” (#24), “We’ve Got Tonight” (#13), and “Like a Rock” (#12) available via these services. His recordings are available here.
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationI enjoyed the article about bob seger and his sailing victory. At the end of the article you mention that he has made his music available on streaming services . Unfortunately his early music is not. His capital lp’s Noah, Brand New Morning and the fantastic rockin Mongrel are no available. Also from Warner subsidiary Palladium Seven with “Get out of Denver” and my all time favorite Seger album Back in 72 with the studio version of “Turn The Page”. (Much more from the gut than the live version ,you can feel the emotions). Also has a rockin soul version of Midnight. Riider and a great cover of Free’s “Stealer” the whole lp has a great garage band feel to it Bob release your back catalogue!!