Their off! The race started today with stronger initial sustained winds than in many previous years. Unfortunately, I'm not racing this year due to schedules and injuries, but the boats that are in the mix are off to a great start. Now, admittedly, it may be difficult for a stock Hunter to compete against multihulls, SC70's, GL70s, and many of the one design boats. I did a quick search by design and saw the obvious standouts - lots of J boats, quite a number of Farr's, C&C's, and Nelson Marek's, and off course the Tartan-10 contingent. There were a lot of Beneteau 36.7 amd 40.7's, along with the aforementioned Great Lakes 70's. Hmm, Hunter's . . . I'd be surprised not to see Viper, a Hunter 35.5, which has been in the hunt many a year, and a 37.5, Friendly Confines, as well. I haven't had a chance to meet either skipper, but good luck to them. Wait, what's this?? A Hunter 50?? Hunter's Child II?? Does Steve Pettengill & Warren Luhrs ring a bell? Here's hoping to their success and putting in a good performance. I truly hope that schedules and a recovered back will allow me back into the mix next year. I know that I'm not destined for the front of the pack, but I sure do like to mix it up with the rest. My goals last time were as follows - Finish, Finish Safe, and Not Finish Last. Met those. Now to set them a little higher for next year. Good luck Great Lakes sailors! T J Furstenau
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Hunter's Child II has one hellova crew list, 3 Lurhs, Steve Pettengill, and Bruce Roberts. What I wouldn't give to be on board with them. 
Looking at her competition, she stands a better than even shot at winning her division. A pretty nice collection of boats for the race, should be a blast. ;D
Looking at her competition, she stands a better than even shot at winning her division. A pretty nice collection of boats for the race, should be a blast. ;DSlowest Mac in Years
It's the Tuesday morning of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, normally the day when the preparations for this afternoon's awards ceremony are made, and over half the fleet is still on the water. Only 108 boats have finished, and 19 have retired. There are still 172 boats on the lake, and they are trying to catch any puff of breeze they can. This is by far both the fastest and slowest Mac in years. The strong breeze and small craft advisory at the start of the race on Saturday, July 14 was in no way an indication of what was to come, proving the unpredictability of Lake Michigan. The boats flew across the start line with their colorful spinnakers flying in the strong winds. Some boats report going over 25 knots. And then the wind died. 'This is the slowest race in all the years I have been racing since 1962,' Island Goat and past Race Committee Chairman Lloyd Karzen, explained. The Island Goats Sailing Society is a group of sailors who have completed the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac at least 25 times. Only two sections have all the boats finished, Section 1 and Section 2, which are the bigger boats in the fleet. In this situation, after one boat in the section finishes, the rest of the fleet has 24 hours to cross the line between Round Island and Windermere Point. Not one boat from the Cruising Division, Section 8, Section 9, or Section T-10 have finished. The awards ceremony will be short today, as we can only report a few section winners. Due to the handicap system, it is impossible to announce any overall winners until the majority of the boats finish. So we wait. The winds are between 5-10 knots by noon, increasing to 6-11 knots around 5:00 p.m. We'll see how many sailors make the Mount Gay Rum Party, the annual post race party, held this afternoon. Ouch, Hunter's Child II came in last in Section 2, both elapsed and corrected. Alan, I'm not sure I WOULD want to be on board after that!
It's the Tuesday morning of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, normally the day when the preparations for this afternoon's awards ceremony are made, and over half the fleet is still on the water. Only 108 boats have finished, and 19 have retired. There are still 172 boats on the lake, and they are trying to catch any puff of breeze they can. This is by far both the fastest and slowest Mac in years. The strong breeze and small craft advisory at the start of the race on Saturday, July 14 was in no way an indication of what was to come, proving the unpredictability of Lake Michigan. The boats flew across the start line with their colorful spinnakers flying in the strong winds. Some boats report going over 25 knots. And then the wind died. 'This is the slowest race in all the years I have been racing since 1962,' Island Goat and past Race Committee Chairman Lloyd Karzen, explained. The Island Goats Sailing Society is a group of sailors who have completed the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac at least 25 times. Only two sections have all the boats finished, Section 1 and Section 2, which are the bigger boats in the fleet. In this situation, after one boat in the section finishes, the rest of the fleet has 24 hours to cross the line between Round Island and Windermere Point. Not one boat from the Cruising Division, Section 8, Section 9, or Section T-10 have finished. The awards ceremony will be short today, as we can only report a few section winners. Due to the handicap system, it is impossible to announce any overall winners until the majority of the boats finish. So we wait. The winds are between 5-10 knots by noon, increasing to 6-11 knots around 5:00 p.m. We'll see how many sailors make the Mount Gay Rum Party, the annual post race party, held this afternoon. Ouch, Hunter's Child II came in last in Section 2, both elapsed and corrected. Alan, I'm not sure I WOULD want to be on board after that!
Chi-Mac- on the scene report
Watched the HC 50 start. They were switched to section 2 where they rated even with the Farr 40s. In 25 knots and the wind slightly aft of the beam they powered off the line at warp speed. It might of helped if they were any where near the start line as they were about 50 seconds late. Saw them 8 hours later down the course and they were parked in super light air. Passed them about 1 mile to weather as we inched up the course. Final results show them finishing last (20th) in their section with an elapsed time of 61 hours+. 1st place boat in division, a N/M46 rated the same and finished in a shade under 49 hours.
Watched the HC 50 start. They were switched to section 2 where they rated even with the Farr 40s. In 25 knots and the wind slightly aft of the beam they powered off the line at warp speed. It might of helped if they were any where near the start line as they were about 50 seconds late. Saw them 8 hours later down the course and they were parked in super light air. Passed them about 1 mile to weather as we inched up the course. Final results show them finishing last (20th) in their section with an elapsed time of 61 hours+. 1st place boat in division, a N/M46 rated the same and finished in a shade under 49 hours.
Come to think of it......
...I gotta agree. It's going to be a pretty gruesome post race event. Warren is not going to be a happy camper. I'm no Dennis Conner, but how in hell can any boat crewed by guys with reputations like theirs be 50 SECONDS LATE for the start.
...I gotta agree. It's going to be a pretty gruesome post race event. Warren is not going to be a happy camper. I'm no Dennis Conner, but how in hell can any boat crewed by guys with reputations like theirs be 50 SECONDS LATE for the start.
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