View of Portage Yacht Club from the marina.

Jessica Levine I Contributor

Things you ought to know that you probably don’t about Washtenaw County’s own Portage Yacht Club (PYC):

1. Yes, Ann Arbor does have a yacht club—it is on Dexter-Pinckney Road, not far from Hudson Mills Metropark.
2. It is affordable and open to the public.
3. You do not need to own a boat to feel welcome.
4. They serve up damn good, home-cooked and affordable meals.
5. It is open year-round. Just wear woolier clothes.

Big Portage Lake slows in November. The summer glow—a sun like a white onion, pink shoulders, freshly squeegeed speed boats—recedes, then cools. Year-round residents living on the lake’s brim now suck into wetsuits, wade out into the shallows and roll in their docks like yoga mats. Sailboats and Sea-Doos get winterized, and within two months, the lake will be frozen enough for the ice fishermen’s game, for their picks, poles, tents and bottles of wine.

Somehow, my Adam Richman-like devouring of a Cuban pork sandwich on the deck of the public-accessible PYC interrupted this annual process of cooling down.

So it goes. My boyfriend Don and I joined PYC owner Tom Ehman and club members Tom and Terri Kimball for lunch on the dock. Sponging cold shrimp tails in marinara cocktail, my fellow diners told me all about the club’s 79-year history, dining menu and upcoming events. Listening, I realized that despite the season, despite how much PYC has seemingly changed over the years, its integral elements and character have remained the same.

That is why folks make the pilgrimage back, even in Michigan winters: Big Portage Lake, in the loom of Peach Mountain, preserves our traditions. At its heart is PYC.

Pork…
Water like quicksilver laps the lip of a tin-looking water slide several feet away from shore; a gull perches on a diving buoy. I’m dipping that Cuban pork sandwich in red wine sauce, hungry, too, for details as to how this place came to be.

Ehman rocked back in his plastic chair sharing PYC’s early roots. He explained that the lake used to be a massing of swamp and farmland. Once it was cleaned out and purchased in 1931, it was made into a bathing beach. City folks from as far as Oakland County would pay five cents to get their hands stamped for beach access.

Jessica Levine I Contributor

As the two Tom’s sip on their homemade Arnold Palmers, Ehman talked about the club’s tumultuous past. In 1957, the club was faced with racial tension; this climaxed on the Fourth of July of that year, when the then-owner temporarily shut down the park and turned away “caravans” of interracial swimmers.

After years of pining for it, Ehman bought the club in 1966 and focused on building it into the family-oriented venue it is today. Whereas only sailboats were allowed at that time, boaters today like the “instant gratification of turning the key and going.” Kimball, himself an avid sailor, added that because sailing requires incredible concentration and discipline, it has declined in popularity. To keep up with the demand, Ehman has had to accommodate.

So it goes.

Originally designed for boat repair, today’s kitchen—fronted by Chef Jeff Collins—turns out affordable, rib-sticking meals. Burgers, goulash, New York strip steaks, meatloaf, pizza and, if you’re feeling health-conscious, salad doused in homemade Whiffletree dressing (a recipe given to PYC by Ann Arbor’s former Whiffletree restaurant)—all stuff meant to last you a day on the water.

…and pontoons.
Big Portage Lake is the biggest of the connected Huron River chain of lakes. The best way to see them, according to the MLive.com article, “Portage: A fine life on a big lake,” is by pontoon. And, lucky for me, Ehman’s son, Marty, loaded us onto one and took us on a spin. I propped my feet up on the railing, drew my sweatshirt drawstrings tight under my chin and watched this world go by. Bass boats, sleek and black, rocketed from one gold mine to the next with hardly any wake. Marty pointed out his childhood home and told us how much the lake itself has changed since he was a kid. Where there used to be an island— a place he’d canoe to—was now tall grass and shallow water.

So it goes.

Jessica Levine I Contributor

I could see PYC’s hub in the distance—its rafters diamond-like in the glare—and felt sad that this would be ending. Summer was gone; fall is nearing its end. Nevertheless, PYC is not strictly a summer destination. On Nov. 21, it will be hosting its own Thanksgiving Dinner. On Dec. 12, it will host Santa’s visit for PYC’s North Pole believers. Hockey is played. Ice fishing is encouraged. Bring on the hot cocoa.

I have never been to a yacht club. In fact, I never thought I could afford to go to one; I assumed instead that it was the province of well-groomed preps, of dudes with names like “George” or “Craig” who wear dock-siders and Lacoste polos. I was wrong. Totally and completely wrong. Though George may be stretched out on his marina-side lounger—most assuredly texting or polishing his Ray Bans—the everyman of more modest means will feel just as at home.

I am no nautical expert, but I was comfortable here. I ate a helluva good meal. I rode a pontoon for the first time. I know I will be back.

Jessica Levine profiles the culture and history of Washtenaw County restaurants for AnnArbor.com. Contact her at jlfoodstuffz@gmail.com.