Yachts Head for Straits in 100th Chicago-Mackinac Race
Record Numbers Are Expected
By Ryan Schlehuber

By Ryan Schlehuber

Luckily, the Great Lakes has plenty of elbow room for this year's Chicago-to-Mackinac Yacht Race, as a record number of boats will be participating in the 100th running of the event, which will fill Mackinac Island's marina and put 100 boats to St. Ignace and up to 35 in Mackinaw City. More than 430 boats will begin the 333-nautical mile-long race near Chicago's Navy Pier Saturday, July 19, and will sail north to an island only eight miles in circumference, with a year-around population of 500 residents.

The interest in the 100th anniversary has been so strong that more sailors want to compete than the race can accommodate, and 80 yachts have been turned away.

The race, open to all boaters, even those who are not club members, includes four divisions: Chicago-Mackinac Trophy, Mackinac Cup, Multihull, and, since last year, a Cruising division. Within the divisions, there are 24 sections, or classes. Trophies are awarded to the divisional winners and burgees are awarded to the top three to five finishers in each class, depending on the number of boats competing in that particular class.

The smallest boat participating in the race is the Multihull 2 Class yacht Exodus from Norval, Ontario, which is 26.9 feet long, and the largest is Genuine Risk of Ann Arbor, a Turbo Class boat 90 feet long.

Although a handicap system and unpredictable weather evens out the playing field, boats that stand a good chance of finishing first are Genuine Risk, owned by Randall Pittman, Windquest, owned by Dick and Doug DeVos of Macatawa, 1994 winners of the Mackinac Cup, and Stars & Stripes, skippered by Donald Wilson, whose boat has a special place in the race's history.

Mr. Wilson takes the place at the Stars and Stripes helm, formerly held by longtime sailor and Chicago commodities broker Steve Fossett, who died in February at age 63 in the crash of an aircraft he was piloting.

Mr. Fossett sailed Stars & Stripes in 1998 to a new multihull record for fastest finish at 18 hours, 50 minutes, 32 seconds. This is the first time since 1998 that Stars & Stripes will have competed in the Chicago to Mackinac Race.

"This is sort of the Rose Bowl of yacht racing; it's the granddaddy of them all," said Chicago Yacht Club Chairman Greg Miarecki, comparing the race to college football's most prestigious postseason event. "It's a tremendous tradition. There are many races that have a bigger payout, but very few races can say they have been doing this since 1898."

The race course itself is as adventurous as any, being the biggest freshwater yacht race in the world, he said.

"This race is the most competitive on the Great Lakes," said Mr. Miarecki. "It's not just racing around orange buoys. You have great competition, great scenery, and you're actually going to a destination. This is as good as it gets in the Great Lakes. And to be perfectly honest, it's as good as it gets in the United States."

As a special addition to the historic event, Roy Disney has been named honorary chairman. Mr. Disney's Pyewacket owns the record for fastest finish for monohulls, with an elapsed time of 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 34 seconds, set in 2002.

The race will also be chronicled by popular television sailing journalist Gary Jobson, who will film a piece on the race and its history to be aired on ESPN later this fall. CNN may also broadcast the start of the race in Chicago, as well, said Mr. Freeman.

Mr. Miarecki has raced 22 times in the Chicago-to-Mackinac Race. Now, as the club's chairman since last August, he is honored to be part of the race's 100th event.

"I admit it's a thrill of a lifetime, but it's not because of whatever press it may attract," he said, "but the opportunity to put a tremendous crown on a fantastic legacy."

The race has always allowed families to compete together, something most high-profile sports never see, said Mr. Miarecki, who often raced with family members.

"By and large, the race makes for a much more rich event because it includes fathers, sons, and grandfathers competing together," he said. "You can't do that in most organized, competitive sports."

That and the camaraderie among the crew and the vastness of Lake Michigan separates this race from