chi mac is on

May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
20 to 30 k wind on the nose right now, oh boy. al & bob declerq in the lead for the mac cup again, but only half way home. flying buffalo is their boat.
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,885
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Woof.. the kind of race where ya say at the end "I am not going to do that again." Then a few months later, ya remember that it was fun and the cold wet clothes and bunk is forgotten..
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
windquest dropped out, misty too. high priority capsized, cg rescued the crew. lots of carnage.
steep 8 footer makes cooking a chalenge. smoked oysters out of a tin might work
 
Feb 22, 2011
71
Hunter Legend 37 Muskegon, MI
Last I saw was, the drop out rate was really high this year. I followed it on YB race. The cruising class seems to have fared best to have beaten the 80 Knot winds that the Cross Lake Ferry reported. They started a day ahead of the rest. A neighbor in our marina quit and limped in with a blown out main and shredded spinnaker. Injuries were up this year also. When the top boats drop out, something ain't right.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
What kind of boat is Flying Buffalo? We have (Had) a boat called Flying Buffalo here in Greenport which was said to have been a veteran of several chi mac races. It was a one off design that was listed as a "Flying Buffalo." I wonder if it was moved back to the lakes.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I just checked a scratch sheet. I think it is the same boat.


WHITEBREAD 21 SCRATCH SHEET OCTOBER 4, 2014
5411

Flying Buffalo

Baumann

Jim

DeClercq Custom 36

234

I've raced against them in the Greenport Ocean Race and got my butt kicked.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
The long great lakes races are always behind one of four doors.

1) Went and glad you did
2) Went and wish you hadn't
3) Didn't and wished you did
4) Didn't and glad you didn't

This year was Door #4.
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
flying buffalo history ( ish ): in the early 60s ish the hot boat on the lakes was the pilot 35. maury declerq made a model of the pilot and designed his own boat to beat it. lots of model testing behind a little motor boat. when he got his boat to where he wanted it, he built it in the families back yard / garage. al and bob were little boys at the time.
maury's boat was drug down the alley and launched when finished. maury won a lot on the boat. i think that choey lee bought the design and produced it as the offshore 36. i think the 50s boat Cock Robin influenced maury.

al and bob found their dad's boat a couple of years ago, talked a deal, brought her back to the lakes.
last year when flying buffalo won it all, it became the first vessel to win the chi mac over all 4 times. now going for 5.
al and bob have their kids on board crewing as well.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
this morning the fleet was dead in the water. many vessels showing 0 mph
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
off shore / bluewater sailing has it's own skill set and mind set. the challenge to take on whatever mother nature throws at you all while trying to beat the other guy to the finish is great fun for some. i've always enjoyed this aspect of sailing. no engines allowed.
that being said, i need to get back to thinking about the pressing issues of the day: the beaches of catalina and the bitches of the marina. :)
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
this morning the fleet was dead in the water. many vessels showing 0 mph
After a storm blows through it always sucks all the energy out of the lake, causing still air.
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
well, i see that flying buffalo was first in division and second in mac cup. now he'll head to port huron to try and win the port huron mac, again.
what i like about CCA boats the most is the ride. like a 56 caddi limo, just can't beat the ride.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Thanks for that video history. I only knew a bit of it. It's a beautiful boat - even as it's pulling away. I believe it won our Whitbread overall award while it was here. That's not chi mac level but lots of locals would like to be able to say that.
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
the 17' chi mac is now history. flying baffalo was second for the mac cup. i see rick stearns was on the jboat that won the mac.
playing with the big dogs is fun! rick is a yooper, born and raised

 
Oct 26, 2008
6,049
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
i see rick stearns was on the jboat that won the mac.
playing with the big dogs is fun! rick is a yooper, born and raised

Would that be Northfield (Illinois) native Rich Stearns, who graduated in my high school class in Illinois? If he was a yooper, you'd never know it (maybe a vacation home?). I knew him as a champion swimmer, spending most of his time away from sailing in the pool during those years. I find it hard to believe he was born in the u.p. as his father ran a business in Chicago.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
my bad, i misunderstood , you are correct

ain't the first time
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,049
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Well it's good to see he was on the winning boat! We had the same group of friends all thru HS, yet, I wouldn't say we were much more than acquainted. We came from a big school. Rich was one of the top swimmers in the state and a relatively serious student, as I recall, so I'm sure he didn't have a lot of time for the regular party routine. Sue and I connected with him for a few beers at CYC a few years ago. If they had a vacation home up along the Lake Michigan shore or Door County, I'd not be surprised. It surprised me when I learned that he was a good skier in high school, because skiing was strictly verboten if you were on the swim team (that's the reason I quit the swim team). I imagine he could have spent time up at Pine Mtn or Indianhead when he was young. You know his father is in Sailing Hall of Fame and was a medalist sailor in Tokyo Olympics. Stars, I believe.
 
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