CHICAGO YACHT CLUB RACE TO
MACKINAC
PRESENTED BY LANDS’ END BUSINESS OUTFITTERS
The World’s Longest Annual
Freshwater Race
The Chicago Yacht Club Race
to Mackinac, also known as “The Mac,” is a world-renowned race that
challenges the endurance, speed and agility of 300 boats and 3,000 crew
members from around the globe each year.
The 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac
Island at the northern end
of Lake Michigan is the world’s longest annual freshwater race and
one of the most prestigious in the United States.
The 2003 Chicago
Yacht Club Race to Mackinac is presented by Lands’ End Business Outfitters, a
division of direct merchant Lands’ End.
It is the 105th anniversary of the event’s founding in 1898
and the 97th running of the race.
Several years passed between the first and second running of the race
and the event was also suspended for a period following the United
States’ entry into World War I.
The first “Mac” was an
informal affair in which five members of the Chicago Yacht Club, bored by the
long, slow steamer journey to their summer retreat on Mackinac Island, decided to sail their own boats. They figured they could complete the
distance in substantially less time than the four days on the commercial
vessel, and to add excitement, they made it a race, backed by their own
funds.
They set sail that August,
traversing the length of Lake
Michigan to arrive well
before their families. Ine Vanenna arrived in 51
hours, winning that first Race to Mackinac.
The five owners and their crews thoroughly enjoyed that first “Mac,”
but the second wasn’t run until 1904.
At that time, a committee at the Chicago Yacht Club established rules
and a route, which is much the same as today’s.
The challenging conditions
on Lake Michigan require the best of racing, tactics, strategy and
boat speed. Participation in “The Mac”
is by invitation only from the Chicago Yacht Club.
The “Mac” is a handicapped
race with several divisions. In
previous years, each division was scored separately and boats competed only
with others in their division. New to the race this year, all monohull boats will be scored using the US SAILING
AMERICAP II™ handicap system, which allows for boats of different sizes to
compete against each other more equitably.
This new system will provide significantly more competitive racing
while continuing to reward preparation, skill and, perhaps, a little
luck. Multihull
boats will continue to sail under Lake Michigan Performance Handicapped
Racing Federation (LMPHRF) handicaps.
The longstanding monohull record for fastest finish time of 25:50:44, set
in 1987 by Pied Piper, skippered by
Dick Jennings of Chicago, was beaten last year when Roy Disney’s Pyewacket
finished the race in 23:30:24. The multihull
record was set in 1998 by Steve Fossett’s Stars and Stripes, which finished in 18:50:32. The race
normally takes between 40 and 60 hours to complete, depending on weather
conditions.
The start of the race is
on Lake Michigan approximately 1.5 miles east of Chicago’s Monroe Harbor. Prior to the
start, competing boats parade past Navy Pier with their ceremonial flags
raised. The public can view this
“Parade of Boats” from the east end of Navy Pier or along the lakeshore
between Navy Pier and Monroe Street. The finish
line for the race is the lighthouse on Round Island, off Mackinac Island, Michigan.
# # #
|