Well, I finally have a minute to sit and write about my adventure in this summer's Chicago to Mackinac race. It is billed as the longest and oldest fresh water race. My First Mate gave the thumbs up to doing the race at the beginning of the year. As she and I turned 40 this year, we decided it would make a great adventure to celebrate the milestone. We knew getting into it that we'd be incurring a fair amount of expense to get the boat race ready, and I'm talking about meeting all of the varied safety requirements mandated for the race. As she handles the accounting end, I was given a green light to spend what was necessary on safety equipment and to meet race requirements. The red light came out on purchases simply meant to increase speed. Unlike Alan, my boat is definitely set up more as a cruiser, but I did my best to put her in racing trim based on time and finances. I have a decent dacron main, a 105% jib, and 2 very similar spinnakers. To this was added an ATN Gale sail to meet the requirements of a storm jib. The second reef on my main allowed me to meet the requirement for being able to minimize sail there. To this add SOLAS flares, a second manual bilge pump, a rented liferaft, and a seemingly unending list of safety stuff. When we set out to do the race, our goals were simple - finish, finish safely, and not finish in last place. I might have set my goals higher, but as things progressed my crew list changed from the more experienced group that I had sailed with in the past (with several Mac's under their belts), to a greener crew with minimal navigation, tactics, and spinnaker experience (and no Mac races between us). This left a considerable amount of responsibility on myself, not that I didn't feel up to the task, but I knew that it might limit our performance out on the course. Who was on board? Myself, my wife, my 11 year old daughter, and four friends whose experience ranged from daysailing with me to racing M-Scows to crewing a season in the Chicago race scene. After all that intro, how did it go and how did we do? Read on - (One cool note, we had a transponder on board which reported back hourly speed, heading, and position info. Following boat speed info came from that) Saturday: (0-5 knots NE most of the day) Very light wind start, nice job timing crossing the line considering the painfully slow speeds, came a little closer to the committee boat than I would have liked - but my watch captain for my off-watch assured me we would clear, and he was right. It was painful to still see the Chicago skyline as the sun was setting. My wife asks me, "What could we be doing to be going faster?". I hope that my answer of "A 150 Genny like all those other boats have" will help in the decision to by a new sail for next year. I had two crew (my best friend and my daughter) jump overboard claiming they were hot, and they proceeded to swim around the boat. That didn't sit well with the captain. Speeds from .5 to 3.8, averaging 2.1 Sunday: (Starting 0-5 knots W-NW, shifting to 10-15 knots S-SW) As we awoke (no more Chicago skyline, but still much further south than we'd like), we started discussing whether we'd even be able to finish with the pace we had. Then around 9am, the wind started clocking around and building. Spinnaker time boys! We got the chute up and the actually started moving. We had a 12+ hour flawless spinnaker run, and then it got dark and I couldn't stay awake any longer. Winds had picked up and I didn't have the confidence in my crew to be able to sleep with the chute up in those conditions. My other watch captain later thanked me for making the call. He said he would have done whatever I asked, but wasn't really excited about taking control with it up. Speeds today were from .5 to 6.5, average jumped to 4.2 Monday: (Starting 10-20 S-SW, shifting to 20-25+ N-NW) My early morning watch saw us getting the spinnaker back up. The wind was somewhat shifty and gusty, which was causing the spin pole to bounce/slide up and down the sheet. Enough of this saw the cover to the sheet chafe through, so down comes the chute, quick repair to the line and it goes back up. During my afternoon off-watch, I went below to catch a quick nap. I wasn't below 20 minutes when the boat motion changes and I get called back on deck. Heading into the Manitous, they hourglassed the spinnaker and wrapped it around the furling jib. Waves had built to 2-4's, so harnesses and tethers on, I head to the foredeck to try and unwrap the mess. The Reader's Digest version has us eventually get the spinnaker down. After some untwisting, we put the same chute back up. We must have gotten a small tear at the head of the sail through all that which went unnoticed. It came back to haunt us a few hours later, between the Manitous and Gray's Reef, with a loud pop when the sail blew out at the top and tore down the port side, and dropped into the water. Quick action got it back on board without fouling the keel or rudder. At this point, the wind was starting to clock back around through the west, eventually settling out of the N-NW. So the jib was unfurled and on we went. As midnight approached, we neared Gray's Reef with the wind building. Speeds today were from 3.8 to 9.2, average now up to 6.7 (This was based on the transponder. The GPS and knotmeter actually had us surfing some of the waves with the chute over 10 knots) Tuesday: (20-25+ N-NW, VERY short dip to 10 knots W, then back to 20+ N-NW) 1am had us at the south end of Gray's Reef, with winds out of the north. GPS bearing says I need to make 14 degrees to get through without tacking. GPS heading shows that I can pinch up to 12, so it all looks good. As we head into the entrance, I notice my sails briefly light up and I look around at the crew to see who might have shined a flashlight on them. Nope, not them. Look off my aft quarter and see a very larger container ship approaching with his spotlight out, he passed us over as he was lighting up the lighthouse and the reef. I hail him to make sure he sees us and make sure we are both clear on each others intentions. He tells me that he had had me on radar for some time (thanks reflector) and he was actually just looking for the trimaran that had flipped on the reef earlier that day. We hadn't heard about that, and it was a sobering thought to us all. (That crew was quickly pulled out by a nearby powerboat with very minimal injuries.) The container ship also let me know he was backing off to let me get through the reef, and then we'd be able to steer a clear path from each other heading towards the Mackinac Bridge. As we made the turn east coming out of Gray's Reef, the wind seemed to shift back from the west and let up to about 10. Was like that long enough for my brain to click in, "Spinnaker to the bridge??" I tell the crew that it looks like it could be a nice spinnaker run to the bridge, I've blown one out, but still have my favorite packed and ready to go. They're in. I head to the foredeck, get the pole out, get it rigged, I'm ready to go. I call back to the cockpit, tell them to go ahead and furl the jib. Jib is in and a shout back, "Ready?" Answer from the cockpit, "Ready!" "Hoist away" I call. The chute is half way up when the sh*t hits the fan. Wind abruptly clocks back to the north and jumps back to 20+. The cockpit wasn't REALLY ready when they said ready. Spin sheets aren't wrapped around winches. Sheets start to fly through blocks, the port sheet has a wrap in it less than a foot from the end and jams in the block, with not enough on the bitter end to get around the winch. Clew ends are too far out to release, spin pole has way too much pressure on the forestay than I would like, the boat is sliding sideways, not making any headway, and thus no steering. Not sure how far we were heeled over, but I was on the leeward side with water over my ankles. I quickly scrambled back, made sure the spin halyard was clear and popped the lock for the halyard. It fed out, raced up the mast, the boat popped back up and we had control again. Of course, we were "shrimping" with the sail in the water, it got close in to the rudder, but we managed to get it back on board with little incident. At that point, we did a quick inventory to make sure we had no injuries. Everyone was ok, a few a little shaken up, and all humbled. With the wind back in the north, it was an easy reach to the end. Speeds today were from 2.2 to 6.5, averaged 4.9 We crossed the line at 4:44am Final results: - We weren't dead last. We finished over four hours ahead of a boat in our section, but they corrected over us. We finished an hour behind a boat in the section ahead of us and corrected over them. - We finished safely. A few minor rope burns, one minor bump on the head from a spin pole, one blown spinnaker. - We finished. It was a great adventure. My wife isn't sure that she'd do it again, but my crew is ready to go and already planning for next year. Now to start looking for a bigger headsail! The trip back from Mackinac, after dumping the crew and picking up my 5, 7, and 9 year old? That's another story. T J Furstenau s/v Silent Voice USA 52395 ps - One side note, mine was one of only two Hunters entered in the race. The other, another 35.5 Legend is set up better for racing than mine and is one section ahead. He ended up 6th in his section and 40th out of 136 in our division.
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Very cool TJ
That's exactly why I like racing, especially the distance races. You sail for a purpose, you try things you wouldn't when cruising, you learn, and hopefully you get to try it all again. I didn't quite understand why your spinnaker pole was occilating. Were the afterguy, topping lift and foreguy locked down? If you have any pictures, please post them. Go FAST! Mark
That's exactly why I like racing, especially the distance races. You sail for a purpose, you try things you wouldn't when cruising, you learn, and hopefully you get to try it all again. I didn't quite understand why your spinnaker pole was occilating. Were the afterguy, topping lift and foreguy locked down? If you have any pictures, please post them. Go FAST! Mark
"won't chafe your guy"...
yeah, that's what your wife said last night!!! Sorry Alan, I couldn't resist;D. TJ, sounds like a good time was had by all and you guys learned a lot. Late happy 40th! You more than accomplished your goals and laid a sound foundation for next year. You gotta love it when the wife says "what could we do to go faster". Thanks again for your advice on the holding tank project.
yeah, that's what your wife said last night!!! Sorry Alan, I couldn't resist;D. TJ, sounds like a good time was had by all and you guys learned a lot. Late happy 40th! You more than accomplished your goals and laid a sound foundation for next year. You gotta love it when the wife says "what could we do to go faster". Thanks again for your advice on the holding tank project.
Lift and downhaul
Alan - That was pretty much the problem, I've never been thrilled with the set up (or acually lack of set up) for the lift and downhaul for the pole. I rigged up a jam cleat for the lift, but obviously didn't do an adequate job securing the downhaul. Looking towards next year, I'm hoping to work an upgrade to my headsail into the mix. I was wondering how big of a genny you were using for your #1. Not sure how exotic I can budget for materials, and had actually considered trying to find something used to work into my poor-man's racing budget. But I'd hate to throw money after a poorly fit sail, if it didn't provide some advantage over where I am now. T J
Alan - That was pretty much the problem, I've never been thrilled with the set up (or acually lack of set up) for the lift and downhaul for the pole. I rigged up a jam cleat for the lift, but obviously didn't do an adequate job securing the downhaul. Looking towards next year, I'm hoping to work an upgrade to my headsail into the mix. I was wondering how big of a genny you were using for your #1. Not sure how exotic I can budget for materials, and had actually considered trying to find something used to work into my poor-man's racing budget. But I'd hate to throw money after a poorly fit sail, if it didn't provide some advantage over where I am now. T J
A little advice....
...on a downhaul. If you make the deck attachment right at the front of the mast, you will need little or no adjustment as the pole is moved forward or trimmed back. I made that mistake early on, and was constantly have to adjust the downhaul as the AWA moved. After moving the block back to the bottom of the mast on a bail, no more adjustment. Now though, we've gone one step further and elimanated the pole completely in favor of a sprit pole and a big asymetrical. Can't sail DDW and who wants to, but on a broad reach the speed is awesome.
...on a downhaul. If you make the deck attachment right at the front of the mast, you will need little or no adjustment as the pole is moved forward or trimmed back. I made that mistake early on, and was constantly have to adjust the downhaul as the AWA moved. After moving the block back to the bottom of the mast on a bail, no more adjustment. Now though, we've gone one step further and elimanated the pole completely in favor of a sprit pole and a big asymetrical. Can't sail DDW and who wants to, but on a broad reach the speed is awesome.
When it comes to your sails...
...THEY are your engine that drives the machine. This is the place to spend your money. Shopping wisely can save you money, but in the end good sails make for a fast and well sailed boat. Poorly made sails are, well to be honest, not worth the cloth they are made from. Use your 130 stock headsail for cruising with the family and use your 153 triradial kevlar for racing. When the race is over, drop it and fold it. Looking after your sails is key to longevity.
...THEY are your engine that drives the machine. This is the place to spend your money. Shopping wisely can save you money, but in the end good sails make for a fast and well sailed boat. Poorly made sails are, well to be honest, not worth the cloth they are made from. Use your 130 stock headsail for cruising with the family and use your 153 triradial kevlar for racing. When the race is over, drop it and fold it. Looking after your sails is key to longevity.
Sail's make the difference
First good job on doing the race. I have done 3 of the Port Huron to Mac races. Every year duing the race on the 3rd night and we are tired and needing a nice shower I think this is my last. After a week after the race I am thinking that wasn't so bad and I want to do it again. Being competitive in this race means the right sail's. We had a light # 1 a Heavy # 1 a #2 and a # 3. Plus 3 spinnaker's. Allot of sail's for a Tartan 30 with 5 guys on the boat. It takes allot of work to do this race just getting all the stuff on the boat to do the race is allot of work. Work on your sail trim and buy a new # 1 over the winter when the discounts are the best and you will have a shot of moving up. But remember you are racing with the best sailor's on the Great Lakes when you do this race. If you finish mid class that alone is saying something. This is a very tough race and one that needs allot of work and $$ to do well. Luck also has a big part of it for us it is deciding where to go along the shore of way off shore. Last year we thought we had done real well to find out 3 of the boats in our clas huged the shore line and finished the day before us. As you know it really sucks to get in thinking you had done well only to see some of the boats in your clas tied up way into the raft which means they have been there a while. Cliff
First good job on doing the race. I have done 3 of the Port Huron to Mac races. Every year duing the race on the 3rd night and we are tired and needing a nice shower I think this is my last. After a week after the race I am thinking that wasn't so bad and I want to do it again. Being competitive in this race means the right sail's. We had a light # 1 a Heavy # 1 a #2 and a # 3. Plus 3 spinnaker's. Allot of sail's for a Tartan 30 with 5 guys on the boat. It takes allot of work to do this race just getting all the stuff on the boat to do the race is allot of work. Work on your sail trim and buy a new # 1 over the winter when the discounts are the best and you will have a shot of moving up. But remember you are racing with the best sailor's on the Great Lakes when you do this race. If you finish mid class that alone is saying something. This is a very tough race and one that needs allot of work and $$ to do well. Luck also has a big part of it for us it is deciding where to go along the shore of way off shore. Last year we thought we had done real well to find out 3 of the boats in our clas huged the shore line and finished the day before us. As you know it really sucks to get in thinking you had done well only to see some of the boats in your clas tied up way into the raft which means they have been there a while. Cliff
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