Boats to Watch in the 2009 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac

9:59 PM Sat 18 Jul 2009 GMT

'Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac'

The 101st Running of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac is underway, with today's first start at 11:30 a.m. The new Doublehanded Division kicked off the race as the first section today to begin the 333 mile course to Mackinac Island, Mich. 'The Mac,' one of the world's oldest and most prestigious freshwater sailing races, brings hundreds of talented and experienced sailors to the waters of Lake Michigan every year.

The official count for the fleet is 337 boats, among 21 different sections. For today's racers, winds are out of the north, north-west,and the first few starts got off in about five knots of wind. Conditions with such light air are not ideal for racing, but veteran Mac sailors are used to Lake Michigan's tricky conditions and know that things can and often do change. As one crew member put it this morning, 'It's always a crap shoot.'

Chicago Yacht Club &copy

As for the 'favorites' in this year's race, the section line-up makes for some hotly contested racing.

All eyes will be on the 16 boats in the Doublehanded Division, as each boat is manned by two crew working the sails for optimum starting position under the day's conditions. This type of shorthanded sailing takes extra experience and skill. These are qualities demonstrated by the crews in this section, such as Bill Zeiler and Rich Stearns on Skye, a J122. Skye won Section 3 in last year's Mac with a full crew, so watch to see how they place with two. The Skye duo will be up against Mac veterans on the Beneteau 36.7 Program, crewed by Warren Levins and Victor Allen, J105 Keith Krause and Blain Shea on Striking, and David Wagner and Lars Hansen on J105 Gigi, topping the list.

In the Multihull section, the 27' Gamera, skippered by Matt Scharl will be going for their 4th consecutive Division title- a Mac Race record.

Other multihulls to watch are Cheekee Monkee, skippered by Ronald White and Janet C, skippered by West Systems guru Meade Gougeon.

The largest section this year is the Tartan-10 fleet, with 30 boats on the start line. Favorites in this highly competitive one design section are 2008 Section winner Wombat, skippered by Rick Strilky, 2007 Section winner Wild Norwegian, skippered by Arvid Eiesland, and Cheap Thrill, skippered by Tim and Nancy Snyder. Don't forget Rick and Maryanne Lillie and crew on Waterworks - who are easy to spot with their vibrant yellow uniforms and Crocs that match their hull. The T-10 fleet is alive and well in Chicago and around the Great Lakes.

Other popular one design sections like the Beneteau First 36.7s, feature exciting competition. Having won their section four out of the last five years, will Karma be able to maintain their top spot on the podium? They will face competition such as Maggie Mae, a new boat owned by Peter and Dan Wright and the top racing program Grizzly, led by Charles Bayer from Bayview, Mich. Also, the 14 boat Beneteau 40.7 Section will see both veterans and newbies on the line. No strangers to the Mac, the crew on Broderi has a combined experience of over 200 Mac Races, while Katie Goldman will be skippering her first Race to Mac on Rhumb Runner. Six ladies total will be on Runner working together to get to the Island fast.

Other boats to watch are Section 1's, Goblin, owned by Lindy Thomas. This year, Thomas predicts he'll be among the top three because last year he was 13th, losing his 5 year track record! Among the Turbo's, Jim Mitchell and his crew on 52' Vincitore have traveled all the way from Europe for the event, and have had a very successful year with the boat.

In Section 6, keep an eye on Jim Burch and crew on Trip 33 Thunderbolt, of Farmington Hills, Mich., and Miley Lowry on Beneteau 10R Tallgrass (Wheaton, Ill.). The Section 4 favorite is Eagle. Father and son Jerry and Shawn O'Neill have one of most successful track records in the last decade, having placed in most every Mac race they have entered. Lastly, we'd be remiss if we neglected to mention Winddancer with John Nedeau doing his 61st Mac race -- the most of any sailor in the race.

by Christie Denson