Chicago Mackinac 100 år

Jag fick en inbjudan om att vara med på en amerikansk J/109 under Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Förra året var det 11 J/109 på linjen och de kom bl.a. 2:a och 3:a totalt i ett mycket lättvindsbetonat race (290 distans tog 55 timmar för snabbaste J/109 “Zeitgeist”).

Sex månader innan starten i juli har man 425 anmälda båtar. Man har tvingats stänga anmälan ett tag för att skaffa fram fler hamnplatser!!! Synd att slutet av juli & början av augusti är uppbokat. Annars hade ju detta varit skitkul.

Starting in 1898 with a mere five boats, The Mac has evolved into a world class sporting event. Although the Mac remains primarily an amateur event, this race has a proven track record of attracting some of the finest sailing talent in the sport. Last year, Doug DeVos’ record breaking Windquest and 2006 Volvo Ocean Race winner ABN AMRO TWO, skippered byMike Sanderson, were the boats to watch. Although neither monohull beat the record of 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 34 seconds, set by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket in 2002. Steve Fossett on Stars and Stripes set the multihull record of 18 hours, 50 minutes, and 32 seconds in 1998. The unpredictable weather and fickle winds on Lake Michigan make the Race to Mackinac a supreme test, which many competitors feel rivals any ocean race. As one veteran sailor put it, “It’s fun, but it’s serious fun.”

Sailors from Maine to California make this race an invariable part of their summer. Moreover, each year the Mac hosts sailors from as far off as Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. In 2007, over 20 million website hits were recorded, as spectators watched real-time updates of boats tracked with global positioning satellite.