Boats that have completed the Bayview Mackinac Race tie up to the Arnold Line dock on a cloudy Monday morning. Beau Geste of Hong Kong was the first boat to cross the finish line at Mackinac Island at 6:07 p.m. Sunday night, July 18, but Natalie J took first place in the 2010 Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race once race times were corrected to account for handicaps.

Pouring rain greeted the Beau Geste crew at the Island, but the rest of the race boats continued to come in throughout Monday under partly cloudy summer skies.

Boats left Port Huron Saturday, July 17, and could follow one of two race courses, the longer Cove Island Course or the shorter Shore Course.

Beau Geste placed second in the IRC-A, or big boats class. First place went to Natalie J, owned by Philip D. O'Neil III from Bloomfield Hills. Natalie J arrived Sunday at 11:16 p.m. with a corrected time of 45 hours and 31 minutes. Each boat receives a corrected time based on handicaps determined by boat size and sophistication. Beau Geste received a corrected time of 47 hours, 27 minutes.

The crew of Beau Geste of Hong Kong were first to arrive at Mackinac Island in the 86th Bayview Mackinac Race Sunday, July 18, at 6:07 p.m. After receiving its corrected time, the boat placed second in its division. The boat is 80 feet long and has a mast that stands 130 feet above the water. The crew gathered Monday afternoon to clean the boat and prepare for the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac. Crew members pictured (in no order) are owner Karl Kwok, Margaret Chan, William Lo, Cohen Chie, Matthew Cheug, Gavin Brady, Morgan White, Rob Salthouse, Andrew Wilkinson, Steve Hyles, Alastor Cambell, Justin Cooluger, Cameron Ward, and Guy Endean. The race had a dramatic start, Beau Geste owner Karl Kwok said, since the crew faced a storm in the beginning.

“It was not a very smooth race,” he said. “There were a lot of ups and downs.”

Beau Geste was a popular sight in the Mackinac Island harbor Monday, with many boaters and spectators stopping by to get an up-close look at the 80-foot maxi, a term used to describe the largest of the racers. Mr. Kwok is from Hong Kong and his boat was built in New Zealand. He arrived with a crew of 16 for his first Bayview Mackinac race and his second chance to sail the Great Lakes.

“They are really inland oceans, “ Mr. Kwok said. “If you've got the chance to sail in one of the biggest lakes in the world, you should grab it. “

Next, Mr. Kwok and Beau Geste are off to compete this weekend in the Chicago-to-Mackinac Island race. He competed in 2005 on a different boat, but said he did not do very well.

“We have some unfinished business,” he said of the race.

The second boat to cross the finish line was frequent winner Doug DeVos' Windquest, an 86-foot maxi boat, arriving at 8:19 p.m. Sunday. The crew ended up placing fourth in the division.

“Probably about halfway up to Cove Island we got separated from Beau Geste, and they kept some breeze and kept going north and we ended up getting stuck and were flopping around,” said Windquest crew member David Tank. “We had adverse waves and were going quite slow and we never saw them again. So they thoroughly beat us.”

The crew's strategy was simple: Go fast.

“That's kind of the key - to Tank said. “That sounds kind of silly, but a lot of people will give up speed to try to hold a certain course, and especially on the Great Lakes, when you know the wind will change, that's not a good idea.”

Many following Windquest online were confused by the apparent malfunctioning of the transponder, or GPS tracking device, which showed the boat off course or not moving at times.

Both crew member Mr. Tank and race officials do not yet know why the transponder failed.

The race was close in many divisions, including the Cruising NA40 Class.

“There was a lot of shift, a lot of opportunity for changing positions, and we saw that happen,” said Tim Prophit, owner of Fast Tango and a Bayview Yacht Club member.

Near the finish, he said, his boat and two others were abreast.

“Our strategy was to win the start, which we didn't do, and get to the left of the fleet, which we didn't do immediately, but we eventually did that later Saturday, “ he said. “You now, with sailboat racing a lot of time the boats around you dictate what you do. If a boat is blocking the air, you've got to go someplace else.”

With the hard work of his eightmember crew, he said, they were able to secure first place in the class. This was Mr. Prophit's 28th race and sixth win.

Other sailors in the shorter Shore Course said that competition was tough.

The winner of the Shore Course in the CC 35 Class was Contender, owned by Gary Graham of Grosse Pointe, with a corrected time of 40 hours, 50 minutes. Siochail came in second place in 40 hours, 55 minutes.

“The difference between first and second is five minutes. Five minutes!” said skipper Michael Porter aboard Anxiolytic from London, Ontario.

This was Mr. Porter's fourth race, and his first time on the Shore Course.

“I think it was a much more enjoyable course because you run up the Michigan shoreline and it was really pretty,” he said.

The crew also enjoyed the course because it keeps all of the boats together, so they always felt like they were in a race. The crew counted at least 75 boats around them all the time.

“I think we do it because it's fun, but I think we'd like to do better,” Mr. Porter said.

Bob and Pam Wall of Algonac had their 18th race on Chippewa this year with a crew of six. They arrived around 8:30 a.m. Monday and placed fifth in their class in the Shore Course.

“It was a nice race, pretty quick race,” said Mrs. Wall. “We had good wind for most of it, though we ran into some areas where the wind sort of died and there were big waves, and that made us go back a bit. But overall, we had a great time, always do.”

She said the end was the most exciting part for them as they watched the group of Great Lakes 70s race to the finish line.

“They were racing sort of neck and neck with each other because they're all sort of equal boats and we kind of crossed paths with them,” she said. “One was in front of us and one was behind us and it was just kind of a cool sight because they are just beautiful boats and they were really moving and we were really moving, too, but not like they were.”

First place in the Great Lakes 70 class went to Details, owned by Lance Smotherman of Harrison Township with a corrected time of 55 hours 22 minutes and 5 seconds. It was closely followed by Nitemare owned by Pat Considine of Chicago with a corrected time of 55 hours 22 minutes and 21 seconds. These boats take the Cove Island course.

“It's always an interesting race,” Mrs. Wall said. “It's a great time to come to the Island.”

Last year, she said, she and the crew were unable to race for the first time in 17 years. They were glad to be back this year.

“We missed it [last year], and everybody has said that this is the highlight of our year.”

Some of the racers headed for Chicago right away, and the starting line of the Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac this weekend.