Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac

Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac

Mackinac Island Harbor on June 29, 2009, at the end of the race.
Founded 1898
Organizer  Chicago Yacht Club
Start Chicago, Illinois
Finish Mackinac Island, Michigan
Length 333 mi (289 nmi; 536 km)
Official website www.cycracetomackinac.com

The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac is a 333-mile (289 nmi; 536 km) annual yacht race starting in Lake Michigan off Chicago, Illinois, and ending in Lake Huron off Mackinac Island, Michigan. It is hosted and managed by the Chicago Yacht Club. The "Mac" (as it is known) was first run in 1898 and is the oldest annual freshwater distance race in the world. The race hosts several hundred competitors each year and over 3,000 sailors.

Course

The race starts at the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, just off Navy Pier crosses Lake Michigan, barely enters Lake Huron, and finishes in the Round Island Channel, off Mackinac Island, Michigan. The race course runs 333 mi (536 km). In 2011, 361 boats entered the race. Steve Fossett set the overall race record, 18 hours, 50 minutes, in 1998 with the multihull yacht, Stars and Stripes. Roy E. Disney set the monohull record, 23 hours, 30 minutes, in Pyewacket in 2002.

History

Vencedor beat Vanenna in the 1904 race but broke up on rocks during the 1911 race.

Starting in 1898 with a mere five boats, The Mac has evolved into a world-class sporting event. After the first race in 1898, the Race to Mackinac was not held for five years until the second race in 1904. By 1906, the race had developed a healthy following and, in that year, the original Mackinac trophy was purchased. The race has seen occasional sustained violent weather in the blows of 1911, 1937 and 1970. After gale force winds took down most of the fleet in the Mac of 1911, the finish in the 1912 and 1913 races was changed to Harbor Springs on Little Traverse Bay instead of Mackinac Island. Race organizers felt the shorter distance was safer. From 1914 until 1916 the Mac was back to its full distance until WWI. From 1917-1920 there were no Mac races due to the strains of the War, which took away yachtsmen and put many boats out of commission. Since 1921, the Race to Mackinac has run consecutively every year, remains the longest annual freshwater distance race, and is recognized as one of the most prestigious sailing races in the world.

Today, sailors from Maine to California make this race an invariable part of their summer. Moreover, each year the Mac hosts sailors from as far off as Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. Although the Mac remains primarily an amateur event, this race has a proven track record of attracting some of the finest sailing talent in the sport. The monohull record of 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 34 seconds set by Roy E. Disney’s Pyewacket in 2002, and Steve Fossett on Stars and Stripes set the multihull record of 18 hours, 50 minutes, and 32 seconds in 1998. Both records still stand today. The unpredictable weather and fickle winds on Lake Michigan make the Race to Mackinac a supreme test, which many competitors feel rivals any ocean race. As one veteran sailor put it, "It’s fun, but it’s serious fun."

2008 marked the 110th anniversary of the first race, and the 100th time sailors raced 333 miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island. Although there have been changes to the race over the years, the basic elements of this venerable contest have remained unchanged for over 100 years. Stripped down to its essence, The Mac, like all sailboat racing, is still primarily a test of strength, endurance, strategy and willpower. And let’s not forget the dearest friend (and most menacing foe) of all sailors—the wind."[1]

The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Race is often confused with the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race. They were held on the same weekend until 1939, when both clubs agreed to alternate the date of their Mackinac races, scheduling them a week apart.

The 104th running of the Race began on July 21, 2012.[2] 320 boats were entered in the race. All boats completed the race. The Mackinac Trophy was won by Providence, owned by Greg & Jerry Miarecki representing the Chicago Yacht Club. The Mackinac Cup was won by Tom & Joe Londrigan's Realt Na Mara. George & Scott Petriz won the Double Handed division in TFWB Relentless. Lori & Jonathan Alvord won the multihull division in Triceratops. The Chicago Yacht Club's Ron White won the Martin D. Rieck Trophy for the first multihull to finish in Cheeke Monkey. The Royono Trophy, given for the first monohull to finish, was won by Peter Thornton's Il Mostro, representing the Chicago Yacht Club. In the Cruising division, Intuition, owned by Tom Kershner, Mark Gillespie, Chris Hynes, Bill Burns and Jenn Macainag from Madison, Wis, won the 42 boat division. Infinite Diversion, a Hanse 630e owned by Chicago Yacht Club Commodore Joe Haas, was first to finish in the Cruising Division.[3]

Two sailors died in the 2011 race when WingNuts, a high performance keeled Sportsboat Kiwi 35, (berthed in Saginaw, Michigan) capsized and turtled in 75 mile per hour winds. These were the first race-related fatalities in the history of the race. Later inquiry said that the boat — specifically its high performance low displacement hull[4] — was unfit for the location, weather and the race, and urged race officials to change ratings and revoke privileges to enter the race.[5][6][7][7][8] On the other hand, one meteorologist suggested:

"Veteran Chicago-Mac racers have encountered similar conditions during previous races and understand that coping with severe weather is part of the challenge. Skippers must prepare their boats, train their crew, maintain a watchful eye for approaching storms and "the dearest friend (and most menacing foe) of all sailors -- the wind."

[9] It is rare but not unheard of for keelboats that have not lost their keel to turtle and remain upside down.[4]

Race Management

The Race to Mackinac is organized and managed by the Mac Committee, a group of active Chicago Yacht Club member-volunteers. The committee represents the club as the Race Organizing Authority and is led by the chairman. The committee planning process is a 12 months long and accounts for thousands of volunteer hours.

The first Mackinac Chairman was Mark H. Baxter (1972-73 & 1977-78). Since then there have been over twenty individuals who have led this venerable race. The Mackinac chairpersons have included some notables: At the age of 36, the youngest chairman ever to serve was Gregory J. Miarecki (2008–09), who coincidentally chaired the 100th running of the venerable race in 2008 along with Honorary Chair Roy E. Disney. The first "chairwoman" was Ms. Ann Moorman (1994–95). The first Hispanic to be appointed chairman was Louis Sandoval (2012–13).[10]

Advances in Race Technology

The Race to Mackinac has led in the use of technology in distance racing. In 2004, they debuted race tracking systems on select boats in the fleet. By 2006, with advances in technology and smaller sized components, trackers and race tracking interface using GPS transceivers became standard on each boat. Today, each boat is equipped with small palm sized messenger/trackers that allow two-way communication of each boat's position on the race course and limited messaging capabilities.

The committee has also taken the promotion of offshore sailboat racing to new heights. Their first introduction of social media began in 2008 with Facebook and Twitter with the goal of bringing the sport of sailing to fans following on land. Today, over 8900 fans follow the race via Facebook and podcast- the most of any off-shore distance sailboat race in the world.

Island Goats

Sailors who have completed 25 of these annual races are called "Island Goats". In 1959, the Island Goats Sailing Society was formed with 10 of these sailors to perpetuate and commemorate the Chicago to Mackinac Race, along with its legends and lore. By 2008, the society had grown to 270 members in good standing.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Historical Overview-Race to Mackinac extracted from Race Website
  2. ↑ "Race to Mackinac". Chicago Yacht Club. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  3. ↑ "And the 2012 Race to Mackinac Winners are...". Press Release. Chicago Yacht Club. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 Sharp, Eric (21 July 2011). "Kiwi 35 'probably as stable upside down as she was upright'". Detroit Free Press (SailWorld.com). Retrieved 6 December 2013. including a picture of the turtled WingNuts
  5. ↑ Karoub, Jeffrey (July 17, 2011). "2 die after boat capsizes in Chicago-Mackinac race". Detroit, Michigan: Associated Press. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ Rousmaniere, John (13 September 2012). "Sailing Accidents: Lessons Learned". Sail Magazine. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Keilman, John (30 October 2011). "Report: Boat in deadly accident unfit for Mackinac race — Craft that capsized called too unstable for long competition in area prone to severe weather". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Hawley, Chuck; Rousmaniere, John; Naranjo, Ralph; McCurdy, Shiela (18 October 2011). "Inquiry Into the Chicago yacht Club-Race to Mackinac Capsize and Fatalities" (PDF). US Sailing. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  9. ↑ Thornton, Mark A. (August 2011). "2011 Chicago-Mackinac Race: A Meteorological Summary". Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  10. ↑ History of the Mackinac Committee. Retrieved November 12, 2013
  11. ↑ "Roster of Island Goats". Island Goats Sailing Society. 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-07-21.

External links

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