Our final night of the cruise was spent at the storied Detroit Yacht Club. The extraordinary clubhouse--at 93,000 square feet the largest yachting clubhouse in the United States--was designed by George Mason, the noted architect who also designed the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island. The facility exudes a sense of faded grandeur and clearly needs some tender, loving care. It is gratifying to see that the membership has established a restoration fund because the grand structure should be preserved to honor its significance to the State of Michigan and the tradition of yachting.
The immense ballroom can accommodate four hundred guests. There are an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis courts, a restaurant, bar, meeting rooms, and a large marina all wedged into the NW corner of Belle Isle.
We enjoyed a final cocktail party, my liver no doubt grateful that it had long since abandoned me, and bid adieu to friends, old and new. Calm seas beckoned and we cruised away, headed for home.
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