A Moment of Reflection

Music has definitely shaped me into the person I am today. I wake up and sing, listen to music in the car, sing karaoke with friends and rock my baby to sleep with a soft tune. When I sail, the music naturally comes out. A student once asked me why I was always so cheerful and singing when we'd go for a sail - It's because I LOVE IT! It reminds me of the first time I ever went sailing solo. I should add that my parents knew I was out on the Lake, in fact my father came out there on his boat too. But it was the first time I ever truly was on my own on Lake Michigan.

Enjoy.

Here Comes The Sun....

I can still feel the breeze in my hair and the hot air on my skin, even though it’s been years since that first time I sailed alone. I was only thirteen, standing at the edge of the boat dock, nervous but determined. I had been in sailing camps growing up and I’d watched my dad sail a hundred times before, and I thought, “Why not me?” The boat was a laser which for me was kinda small, kinda big, just big enough for me to manage on my own, but it felt like a giant surfboard ready to flip at any given moment.

I remember how the sun glinted off the water in the harbor, casting little diamond-shaped reflections all around me. I started making my way out of the harbor and out onto Lake Michigan. The water was a murky green-blue, almost endless in its vastness, stretching out far beyond what I could see. The gentle rocking of the boat beneath my feet felt reassuring, like it was alive, helping me get my bearings.

At first, I thought I might turn back, that I wasn’t ready, but then I heard the faintest hum. It was me, humming the tune of "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles. It wasn’t planned; it just came out. The song had been playing on the radio earlier in the day, but in that moment, it felt like the perfect soundtrack to my small adventure.

I was a little scared, honestly. My hands gripped the tiller with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. But as the boat caught the wind and began to glide, I felt something shift inside me. I wasn’t just a little girl anymore—I was the captain of my own ship, carving my way through the vastness of the lake. The water didn’t feel so big when I was sailing on it. It felt more like home, a place where I was in control, and the rhythm of the song matched my heart’s beat.

Every time I changed direction or adjusted the sails, the lyrics of that song rang in my mind: “Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo... Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s alright.”

I’d sing it out loud sometimes, softly at first, as I passed through the calm stretches of water. The words felt comforting, as though the universe itself was giving me a gentle reminder that everything would be alright, even when things felt uncertain.

The minutes turned into hours as I sailed, the sky slowly dimming, casting pink and orange hues across the horizon. It was just me, the wind, and that song. There was a freedom in that solitude that I didn’t fully understand at the time, but it felt like a promise—one that would stay with me forever.

By the time I turned the boat back toward the dock, I was grinning. My face was sunburned, my hair was a tangled mess, but I felt proud. The world felt a little bigger, and I felt a little braver. I hummed the tune one last time as I pulled the boat up.

That day, the song "Here Comes the Sun" didn’t just remind me of the warmth of the sun on my face—it became the soundtrack to my own little journey of growing up. Sometimes, I think back to that day when I’m facing a challenge, and I remember the feeling of sailing alone, the sense of independence, and the calm reassurance of the music.

It’s been a long time since then, but I still sing that song when I’m out on the water. And every time I do, I’m that young girl again, just starting out, finding my way, and humming my way toward the horizon.

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— Until the next wave,

Captain Erica Trejo

Owner, Executive Director

Great Lakes Sailing

www.greatlakessailing.us