Around the Mitten in Three Days
Brian Pribe's Tale of the Bayview Mackinac Race '22
Published: Sunday, August 14, 2022 12:00 pm
By: Brian Pribe
Brian Pribe is the younger brother of GLS Office Manager Mindy Leppala. Twenty-three years old now, Brian has been sailing his entire life, most notably on his father’s Beneteau 367, Wingjammer. He sails at the collegiate level for the University of Toledo and is a member of UT Sailng Club, the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Associate, Storm Trisail, North Cape Yacht Club, and Toledo Ice Boat Yacht Club. When he’s not staying busy with racing, Brian likes to spend time with his friends and oversees his business, Mach Controls, LLC.
Day 1: We headed off up the St. Clair River to the starting line at 10:00 AM. Prepped and ready, we wait for our start. An AP flag went up two classes ahead of us due to light winds. Eventually, starts sounded off, and at 13:30, we were off. The wind kept steady between 6-8kts true around 30° as we sailed up the course sticking slightly left of rhum. As the day went on, the wind clocked further, allowing us to foot it and bare furthest right of rhum and to our fleet. For the GL70s and TP52s ahead of us, they ran into light winds and calm seas, allowing us to keep pace with them. We kept this course till midnight when the wind picked up and clocked further East. We launched the code-zero and sped up to 8.5kts.
Day 2: From 2:00 till 8:30 Saturday morning did all of the old goats sleep, leaving all four younglings at the helm of the boat. The first night is always difficult to adjust to. Drunk off delirium, we sat where needed as the boat drove herself up the course. Glass seas, shooting stars, and a shimmering moon glazed dimly over the lake as we continued our silent march up the podium. At dawn, winds lightened further but steady enough to keep us moving. Just before noon, we round the Cove Island mark and bared down the straights to Mackinaw. We launched the A2, keeping slightly north of rhum.
Once settled, we all were afforded a beer after a hard night's work. A boost in spirit well needed for the days to come. I took my watch down below to rest finally. Around 15:30, I came back on deck to the same landscape. We had only moved 7 miles, stuck between Cove and the Duck Islands. Winds had lightened to a meager 1-3kts true. For hours, we hobbled in this doldrum, doing what we must to fill our sails and keep rested. Watch on, watch off, we lie and wait.
Day 3: Deep into the night, the wind finally returned. The wind had backed to 0° and then to 30° at 8kts true. With four crew on deck and the main bowman down below, myself and our midmast set to launch the code-zero. Rigged up, we hoisted the sail. Checking before we unfurled, I looked up to the clew at the very bow of the boat in pitch black sea to note that the sheet came undone. We doused it back on deck to check our rigging to realize it was still attached. With this reassurance, we hoisted again and began to unfurl. Only now, the sail refused to unfurl any further. As the wind increased, so did the situation become direr. With all crew on deck, we doused the code again.
At this point, the sail couldn’t be relaunched in the state it was in. So then, we had to unfurl it by hand and launch it under the jib. We rushed to unfurl and unfuck our rigging. For the third time, we launched, and she filled, accelerating us up to 9-10kts. At 2:30, I took my watch down below. Awaking four hours later to a breakfast sandwich and coffee from the boat owner. There were still 48 miles to go and more challenges ahead. The wind had backed to 330° between 4-6kts true. Past the ducks now and off the shores of Michigan, we tacked up the coast, staying wary of our competitors. It was a dog race now. As the podium shuffled, the watch dissolved as now all nine crew were on deck. It wasn’t until Bois Blanc that the breeze increased to 12kts true at 300°. We bounced off the coast of Bois Blanc to lift us further up the course and out of the current. Bets were being made on who could throw a rock closest to shore. As we passed the point off Bois Blanc, we bared South getting further and further out of the current. Jokingly, the boat owner called for a sail change. The wind had lightened slightly but not significantly to demand it. However, the bowman, midmast, and I jumped off the rail, dragged the light J1 on deck, rigged and hoisted the sail, calling on for the helm to tack. Hailing to, the boat tacked, and all three crew doused the jib, flaking it on its way down into its bag and down the hatch. “Hey guys! I was only joking, but can we do it again?” And just like before, we peel the sails, bagged, and rerigged, ready to go again.
As the wind settled in, we made our final approach, passing our competitors one by one, counting down the miles. Right up to the finish, we pass J Hawk, one last hoorah on a hard-fought race. Our finishing time was 18:33:20 Monday with an elapsed time of 52:33:20 (hh:mm:ss).
tags: Great Lakes, Lake Huron, Sailing
