Things to Do in Norridge

Gliding across Lake Michigan, the sailing party watches the sun sink beneath the Chicago skyline. As the last rays fade from view, the city's skyscrapers throw their light onto the lake's surface. The captain steers the ship past Grant Park and Millennium Park, and then veers out toward Navy Pier, where the ship's passengers find a prime viewing spot for the Saturday-night fireworks show.

In addition to charters like these, the captains of Go Sailing Chicago—all holding US Coast Guard Master Captain licenses and certifications from the American Sailing Association and US Sailing—furnish beginner through advanced sailors with sailing gloves and life jackets before leading hands-on instruction in proper seamanship. Launching from DuSable and Monroe Harbor, and sometimes other points along the lakeshore, Go Sailing Chicago's four-boat fleet meets or exceeds the safety standards set down by the USCG and the most persnickety of ship-in-a-bottle builders.

Since 1996, the staff at Seadog Cruises has welcomed explorers aboard sophisticated, open-air speedboats for city tours. Over the years, they’ve led more than two million sightseers through Baltimore and Chicago on cruises that elucidate city histories, paying special attention to landmarks such as Baltimore’s Naval Reserve Center and Chicago’s Tribune Tower. Their fleet of sea crafts uses low-sulfur diesel and a four-stroke engines that produce lower emissions than older models, allowing eco-conscious passengers to rest easy and fish to finally open their windows for some fresh water.

Shoreline Sightseeing has been whisking passengers along Lake Michigan since 1939. Traveling down the reverse-engineered Chicago River, Shoreline’s architecture tours explore the history of the city’s landmark buildings—from the Great Fire of 1871 to the work of famed architects Mies van der Rohe and Jeanne Gang. Colorful bursts illuminate the sky during fireworks cruises, and nighttime tours allow for glimpses of lit-up buildings. Skyline tours drift into Lake Michigan, giving passengers a chance to espy the whole city, and water taxis connect visitors from one destination to the next, speeding between Navy Pier, the Museum Campus, and the Willis Tower.

Wateriders' experienced and knowledgeable guides have been leading relaxed kayak tours down Chicago’s picturesque waterways since 1997. Day and night tours explore the city's most exciting attributes, focusing on history, architecture, and eerie mob chronicles as guides provide paddling instruction and share true tales of Al Capone's mythical collection of tracksuits. Wateriders also rents its kayaks to independent paddlers who prefer to discover Chicago's sights on their own.

Through rich photographs and incisive articles from a wealth of contributors, each glossy issue of Home & Cabin explores the physical, social, and cultural minutiae of home and cabin owners in Newfoundland and Labrador. Articles in the quarterly's March, June, August, and December issues profile the businesses, builders, decorators, and landscapers that create the abodes, the individuals who inhabit them, and the structures themselves. The magazine's do-it-yourself pieces walk readers through projects such as room redesigns and floating-deck construction, and its eco-friendly tips encourage sustainable cleaning methods and uses for rainwater other than filling your basement shark tank.

What looks like a crimson-hulled pirate ship glides into view from behind Shedd Aquarium. The wind picks up, surging into the schooner's 77-foot gaff-rigged topsails and speeding the vessel along Lake Shore Drive at 10 knots. Those on shore can just make out the boat's name, Red Witch, and what appear to be passengers raising a drink to the Chicago skyline.

Docked in Burnham Harbor, the Red Witch tall ship is one three vessels in Tall Ship Adventures of Chicago's fleet. Designed by naval architect John G. Alden and named after the book Wake of the Red Witch—the same story that inspired the film starring John Wayne and Gail Russell—the Coast Guard–licensed ship accommodates up to 49 passengers within its mahogany-over-oak frame. Having sailed waters off Maui and San Diego, the boat is now under the stewardship of Captain Andrew Sadock and his crew, which leads tour cruises, coordinates charter adventures, and autographs cannonballs for each passenger.

In addition to being a current member of the American Sail Training Association, the Red Witch finished among the finalists for Best Boat/Cruise Service Provider in the 2010 Illinois Meetings + Events Readers' Choice Best of Awards.