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RACE TO
MACKINAC UPDATE For
Immediate Release: Monday,
July 26, 2004 2
a.m. EST GENUINE RISK FIRST TO FINISH 2004 CHICAGO YACHT CLUB
RACE TO MACKINAC PRESENTED BY LANDS’ END BUSINESS OUTFITTERS MACKINAC
ISLAND, MICH., July 26, 2004 – Genuine Risk, a state of the art Monohull-S, has
earned first to finish honors in the 96th running of the Chicago
Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, the world’s longest annual freshwater race. The
90-foot Genuine Risk, owned by Randall Pittman, of San Diego, Calif., finished
the race in about 33 hours (at the time of print an official time was not yet
available). Genuine Risk crossed the finish line at approximately 12:25 a.m.
EST on Monday, July 26. Exact times will be released later Monday. As
the crew of Genuine Risk popped the cork of its celebratory champagne, a cannon
echoed as Earth Voyager crossed the crossed the finish line. These were the
only two boats to cross the finish at time of release. “We just had a little
light air and we did a pretty good job,” Pittman said. “We were going about 10
to 12 knots.” Upwind
sailing is challenging the more than 300 boats in the competition, but
according to Pittman, he and his team “have upwind sailing down.” This first
place finish follows on the foothills of a win at last week’s Bacardi Bayview
Mackinac Race. Many
believed Genuine Risk would beat the record finish time set two years ago by
Roy Disney’s Pyewacket; however, Mother Nature did not cooperate. The Pyewacket
record of 23:30:24 in 2002 beat the previous record finish time of 25:50:44 set
in 1987 by Dick Jennings’ Pied Piper. The record for multihull boats was set in
1998 by Steve Fossett’s Stars and Stripes, which finished in 18:50:32. The race
normally takes 40 to 60 hours to complete. Members
of Genuine Risk’s 24-person crew said Friday that they doubted conditions would
allow them to beat Pyewacket’s swift time. “We would have had to average 14.1
knots to beat the record,” Pittman said at the finish. He said he and his team
took to the water with four goals: to sail well, to finish first, set a new
record and to win their class. Most were met, and the crew celebrated their
victory by heading to Mackinac Island’s famed Pink Pony bar. Winning
the “Mac” was exceptionally special for Pittman, who decided to build this phenomenal
sailboat four years ago while at the Chicago Yacht Club’s Mackinac Bar. The
public can follow the progress of the boats up Lake Michigan to Mackinac
Island, at http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac.
The
Race to Mackinac is Chicago Yacht Club’s world-renowned race that challenges
the endurance, speed and agility of skippers and crewmembers 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 freshwater race and one of the most
prestigious in the United States. Racers this year are competing in one of three divisions:
the Mackinac Trophy division, the Mackinac Cup division or the Multihull division.
Monohulls will race in either the Mackinac Cup division or the Mackinac Trophy
division and are rated under US Sailing’s Americap II™ rating rule. Based on
that rating, they are assigned to a section in one of the two divisions.
Contenders in the Cup division typically are larger, faster boats while Trophy
division contenders are smaller, generally slower boats. Multihulls are rated
under the Lake Michigan Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (LMPHRF). Both Americap II and LMPHRF are designed to
help level the playing field for competitors. Each division is scored separately and boats compete only
with others in their division. New to the race this year is the “Turbo” Section of the
Mackinac Cup Division. The Turbos were carved out of Section 1 of the Mackinac
Cup Division, which generally included the larger, faster boats. What sets the new Turbo Section boats apart
is that they are equipped with high-tech, lightweight materials such as carbon
fibers and feature new sail and hull designs, and the latest innovations such
as Genuine Risk’s Canting Ballast Twin Foil technology, which replaces the
conventional rudder system to enhance speed and maneuverability. The
start of the race was on Lake Michigan approximately 1.5 miles east of
Chicago’s Monroe Harbor. Prior to the start, competing boats paraded for the
public past Navy Pier with their ceremonial flags raised. The finish line for
the race is the lighthouse on Round Island, off Mackinac Island, Michigan. The 2004 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac
presented by Lands’ End marks the 106th anniversary of the race’s
founding in 1898 and the 96th running of the event. 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. Two other years also did not count
toward the total number of Mackinac races, as the race did not end at Mackinac
Island, but rather in Harbor Springs, Mich. 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
Chicago Yacht Club. About the
Chicago Yacht Club Founded
in 1875 with the goal of advancing the community’s knowledge, enjoyment and
participation in boating and the nautical arts, the Chicago Yacht Club remains
a valuable resource for its members and for the Chicago community. The Club has
been a leader for more than 75 years in teaching children and adults how to
sail, and is a preeminent organizer and host of regattas, races and predicted
logs in the United States. # #
# Media Contacts: For more race information, please call: Sunday, July 25, 2004
through 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, 2004 – Holly Jespersen or Tonya Weger, Island press desk
(906) 847-6064 or 906/847-0258, or Holly cell phone - 773/844-5413; or Tonya
cell phone 312/286-9879. After 3 p.m. Tuesday, July
27 – Holly
or Tonya cell or Sheena Quinn or Peter Barry, Public Communications Inc.:
312/558-1770. # #
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