Bound north for Mackinac Island, racers sail toward the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron in the Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race. Weather conditions and the reestablishment of two courses helped make this year a "classic Mackinac race," some said. (Photograph courtesy of Bayview Yacht Club) Windquest, followed by Earth Voyager, were the first two boats to cross the finish line at Mackinac Island in the 85th running of the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island yacht race. Named the Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac race, it began Saturday, July 25, in Port Huron with 209 boats.

Windquest crossed the line at Mission Point at 12:29 a.m. Monday, July 27, with Earth Voyager crossing about 1.5 hours later. With handicaps factored in, Nitemare officially won the race, with a corrected time of 41 hours, 54 minutes, followed by Stripes (42:25), and Evolution (42:41).

In addition to a 252 statute mile Thunder Bay Course, the Bayview Yacht Club reinstated the classic 298-mile Cove Island Course this year, after a 10-year hiatus. The Cove Island course maximizes sailing conditions, with a combination of wind directions, large waves at Cove Island, and plenty of wind shifts.

"It's a return to a classic Mackinac race after 10 years," said race chairman Frank Kern. "The weather that we got was that of a normal race, because we had real light air conditions. We had fog, we had rain, we had sunshine, we had the high winds with the swells move in on Saturday. This is about average for when the boats are finishing."