Epic Mackinac Affairs

Published: Monday, August 12, 2024 11:10 am
By: Mark Reid

Epic Mackinac Affairs

It was a year for the record books and the ages for both of the Races to Mackinac Island as the 100th Anniversary for the Bayview Yacht Club’s Race from Port Huron and the Chicago Yacht Club’s 115th Race checked off all the boxes with a pair of exciting and suspenseful, action-packed sailboat races which were nail biters from the beginning until their dramatic ends.

On successive weekends, that seamlessly felt like one continuous frolicking affair with two scintillating Mission Point Awards Celebrations that no one wanted to bid farewell to and provided enough storylines for at least one or more novels plus an extended mini-series.

It was certainly a win-win for both presenting sponsors, National Fleet Services (BYC) and Wintrust (CYC), plus thousands of the sailors and their families!

First off, Maverick, the Andrews 80 from Cleveland, Ohio, etched themselves into Race to Mackinac history books (which will add at least another week or two of homework for me!), the new race record holder as they claimed the Royono Trophy for the first racing monohull to finish.

The 115th edition of the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac, presented by Wintrust, has added a historic chapter, as race records were shattered in near-optimal sailing conditions.

Maverick, an 80-ft. Alan Andrew's design, owned by Sanford Burris, William, and Ward Kinney from Cleveland, Ohio, broke Roy Disney's 2002 record of 23h 33m 34s on Pyewacket by more than one hour and six minutes in a dramatic race that saw multiple dismastings and a successful man overboard (MOB) rescue as large thunderstorms rolled over Lake Michigan midway up the 333-mile course to Mackinac Island.

“I will tell you from my perspective, I wish the record had lasted longer, but these things are inevitable,” said Disney upon hearing the news. “Given how long it took to break that record shows how difficult a course it is, and what a classic sailboat race it is! Many congratulations to the owner, the crew and the boat, Maverick.”

For most of the race, Maverick had much of the Great Lake 52 fleet nipping at her heels as Philip O'Neil's Natalie J lost track of her. When she got caught up, the other GL52s were in play as well.

Katana, Mockingbird, and Wizard were never able to close the gap either. The 80-footer's massive sail area advantage powered her to victory, and the new record sits at 22h 24m and 23s.

Six other yachts also broke the race record. All of them were GL52s. Doug DeVos from Ada, Michigan, on Windquest, was the last of that competitive class to cement their legacy at 22h 41m 56s.

DeVos was also a crewmember on Pyewacket 22 years ago.

Unfortunately for Maverick, the celebration was short-lived as she passed the Island and the champagne by to continue on her way to Port Huron in this year's Super Mac Race.

Natalie J was on pace for much of the race to be the one to break the old mark but got caught up match racing her competitors in the Straights and gave it up in the end as she failed to cover Katana in the final stretch just a few hundred yards from the finish.

By then, Maverick was already across the line, leaving the next yachts across to ponder where they "lost" their 5 minutes!

“We knew we couldn’t catch Natalie J by following them, so we stayed lower,” said John Huhn, helmsman first/owner second. “We caught them in a series of gybes and passed them at the end.”

“We did have a good broach out there, so we probably lost a few minutes there. Maverick has characteristics that set the record and they deserved it. They sailed a hell of a race!” said Huhn. “We were side by side with them for a while, but in the second half of the race they were able to stretch it out.”

“It was a fun race, we knew it was going to be windy, got a great start and started ripping and just kept stretching. We hit more than 22 knots of boat speed. It was pretty spicey with the storm out there!”

It was readily apparent a few days before the race that weather conditions were ripe for a potential race record which has now been broken three times since Amorita set the standard in 1911, which stood until Pied Piper dramatically interrupted the Club’s Porch Party at the Grand Hotel in 1987 in “TransPac” sailing conditions crushing the old mark by 5 hours!

For just the 5th time in the CYC’s Race to Mackinac history, an all-women's crew competed and finished the race as Moxie from Holland, Michigan, crossed the line with much fanfare as the ladies completed a magnificent achievement.

The first all-women's team to compete was Lady Eileen in 1905, as Evelyn Wright and her cousin Sarah Carey also double-handed their way to the Island through severe storms.

Other all-women crews purportedly raced in 1953, 1978, and 1999.

During the first night’s storms, three of the larger boats reported dismasting: Sagamore, a Farr STP 65 owned by Tone and Laura Martin; Usual Suspects, a TP 52 owned by Eric Wynsma; and Sapphire, an Arcona 435 owned by Robert Radway. No injuries were reported on board; all three are safely in or motoring to port.

Additionally, there was a man overboard reported on Callisto, a J/125 owned and skippered by Jim Murray. Madcap, a Santa Cruz 52 skippered by John Hopkins, recovered the sailor.

In the thick of Saturday night storms with winds approaching 40 knots, Callisto crewmember Shawn Dougherty was moving forward on the deck to assist the spinnaker takedown and got knocked overboard when a large gust jolted the boat. He was not tethered to the boat but was wearing a self-inflating PFD and equipped with a waist bag that contained a personal AIS (automatic identification system) crew overboard beacon, a powerful strobe light, a knife, and a whistle.

The personal AIS beacon is required safety equipment for the Race to Mackinac and several other offshore races. Upon activation, it sets off an AIS signal to notify nearby vessels of distress.

As soon as the man overboard (MOB) distress call went out, at least three boats in the vicinity responded to offer assistance, including the Santa Cruz 52 Madcap owned by John and Marian Hoskins. Due to the inclement weather, John Hoskins was already positioned down below at the navigation station to monitor the radio, a standard practice he does during inclement weather.

“Majority of the time it’s a boring job, but it’s important to have that designated person on board, exactly for this reason,” Hoskins said. “The lesson here is I was ready for this call. We quickly established we were the closest boat to offer assistance, and my crew jumped into action.”

The crew doused Madcap’s sails and headed toward Dougherty’s location under power. Hoskins said it was easy to see Dougherty from quite a distance away. “He was lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Hoskins estimated the MOB recovery from the first alert to hoisting Dougherty on board took just 20 minutes. “Everyone knew exactly what to do. Who’s the spotter, who’s operating the searchlight, who’s in charge of the lifesling. We had our best driver on the helm, so the approach was nothing to worry about. We were able to clearly communicate with Shawn in the water and could tell he was calm, he was not injured and very much in control, which helped to release our tension. It was a textbook recovery, thanks to the great preparation and coordinated teamwork.”

In a moving and tearful celebration during the Award Ceremony at Mission Point Resort, US Sailing awarded the Madcap team the Arthur B. Hansen rescue medal for outstanding seamanship, watchkeeping, and situational awareness, resulting in the rescue of a fellow sailor.

“We do our best to ensure the sailors and boats are extremely well equipped and prepared. From required Safety at Sea seminars to man overboard drills and an extensive list of equipment, this is exactly why all of it is worth it,” says Winn Soldani, Race Chair for the 115th Race to Mackinac, presented by Wintrust.

In Port Huron, the night before the race is a bit like Mardi Gras, Michigan's industrial port city style. Many of the crews only have to stumble a few feet to their boats to sleep it off for a few hours before waking up and making haste on their way to the starting line. It’s not quite like the night before the Super Bowl or the Indy 500 for the athletes!

The start was nothing to write home about as the 18 Classes and Divisions had to languish for about an hour and a half before the Race Committee was satisfied it could clear each group in time to start another in the light breezes that hovered around 4 knots at best.

But as the record number of 300+ boats worked their way up Lake Huron, more wind and a choppy lake were waiting for the fleet just around the next corner, or off Rogers City, to be more precise.

Then, halfway up the Lake Huron side of the Michigan shore, a weather system moved through, providing much-needed wind power but also wreaking havoc and setting up challenges for much of the fleet.

Prohibitive race leader Maverick, who broke the Chicago to Mackinac Race record last week, unfortunately, broke down with a "loud bang and crack" as the 140-foot mast suffered a compression failure on a reach in choppy waters off Roger's City.

That left the GL52s in charge, as Wizard finished in 22h 7m 34s, more than four hours short of the race record set by Dawn Riley’s Oakcliff Sailing Center Team in 2021 on OC 86 in 17h 11m 19s.

The winds picked up just enough though for the "turbo" GL52s as Mockingbird, along with Peter and David Askew's Wizard, took off with Doug DeVos's Windquest nipping at their heels all the way to an exciting finish as they barely edged Chris Duhon's Mockingbird by a mere 9 seconds over the original 1925 235-mile course but gave it away on corrected time with Windquest taking the victory. But ask any sailor; those first to finish and line honors are precious.

It was a family affair for Dawn Riley on OC 68. Not only was a lot of her family onboard, including her mom and many of her Oakcliff Sailing Academy students, but she also celebrated her birthday!

Literally years of planning and preparations have gone into this year’s anniversary event, none more so than an appreciation of the efforts by the BYC of the Department of Natural Resources here on Mackinac Island with their effort to allow the traditional gatherings on the docks of all the boats and crews to move forward after the challenges faced in 2020.

Past Bayview Race Chairs Chris Clark and Robert Nutter want to emphasize how much of all that is enjoyed by all during both of the Races to Mackinac would not be possible if not for the cooperation and partnership with the DNR, Police Authorities and also the local efforts spearheaded by Chippewa Hotel General Manager Brian Bailey and Shepler’s President Chris Shepler and of course Mayor Doud’s office.

Certainly, this year’s race is a testament to that, as everyone who was on the Island for the race finish was treated not only to a cold one or two but also dozens of spectacular multi-colored spinnakers blossoming around the virtual finish line around the Round Island Lighthouse on the 1925 Course, which should be a keeper!

National Fleet Services is not only the presenting sponsor but also has a pair of Eagle Ones in the race! Tim LaRiviere was rewarded with a 1st in Class E with a corrected time of 1d 10h 8m 2s on the Sydney 41 version of Eagle One, and Andrew’s 65 Cruising Class O version finished with a well-deserved 2nd.

The Mackinac Island Yacht Club Entree Rascal came close to bringing up the rear as they finally finished in 2d 14h 4m 11s for a well-earned and hard-fought race, 44 hours after the race winner to win this year’s Pickle “Banner” as last to finish. It’s actually a cool flag and award!

The team led by Bart Huthwaite on his own Catalina 34 was crewed by Islanders Andrew Doud, Jason St Onge, Mike's Hagerty and Gidley, plus Huthwaite's son.

The team has Island sponsorship from Doud's Market, Cannonball, Arnold Freight, and Mission Point Resort.

“The high point was definitely finishing the race shortly after spreading my father's ashes and then arriving to cheering on the DNR docks welcoming the crew,” said Huthwaite. “The low point was discussing whether or not we were going to drop out and sitting on the boat, looking at all zeros across the instruments.”

As Onge, Mackinac Island Fire Chief, proclaimed later: “It was the Pickle Boat or nothing!”

William Barton “Bart” Huthwaite Sr., past Commodore of the Mackinac Island Yacht Club, passed away recently. Unfortunately, a lifelong sailor, he never raced to Mackinac Island.

It was the worst to first for perennial winner and Double Goat Tim Profit on his NA 40 Fast Tango after making a rare mistake by being over the starting line early and having to circle back and restart. He won’t use the fact that his “rockstar” bowwoman Kellan McGee was on her boat, Megavolt!

Even as the rain came down at the Awards Ceremony at Mission Point Resort, spirits were hardly dampened as the 100th Anniversary celebration for the Bayview Yacht Club was a resounding success and as the Chicago Yacht Club prepares for its 150 Anniversary next year, adding a new race record to the books is not a bad thing either!