2010 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac

[MLovett]

Looking forward to Chicago’s Next Cup


CHICAGO -- Chicago has mastered the ice; now it’s time for the water. The next Cup on the minds of Chicagoans and thousands of Midwest sailors is the prestigious Mackinac Cup, the perpetual challenge emblem for the oldest and largest freshwater sailing race this side of the world — the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot.

The Mackinac Cup was commissioned in 1905,12 years after Lord Stanley’s, although the NHL has been using the Cup as its championship for only 83 years, where the honor of the Mac Cup will be contested for the 102nd time this year. The 2010 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot, begins July 24th .

Impressive in size and grandeur, the Mackinac Cup was designed to model a Native American war canoe, to commemorate the Native American heritage of Mackinac Island. Crafted with $1,500 worth of silver, the exquisite detailing includes flanking on all sides of massive Native American heads. As one of the two most coveted awards in the Race to Mackinac, the Mackinac Cup (along with the Chicago - Mackinac Trophy, est. 1927) is rotated between the two monohull divisions as top prize for the best corrected time. The Mackinac and Stanley Cups also have one major tradition in common — the silver vessels are filled with champagne for the winners to enjoy. Of course, it’s only fitting that the Mac’s presenting sponsor is Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

2009’s Mackinac Cup winner was Chicagoan Jon Weglarz and crew on The Asylum , a 35-foot J-105. Will another Chicagoan be added to the list of engravings for 2010?

Starting July 24th, 375 skippers will vie for the chance to win one of the divisional honors in this year’s race. To see who is racing, keep up with reports from the water and to track all the boats online by GPS, go to www.cycracetomackinac.com.

[MLovett]

July 27, 2010 (Mackinac Island, Mich. ) -- Any sailor you ask about the conditions for the 102nd Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot, will tell you they got a bit of everything. The fleet started on a reach in the Chicago Mac, which began Saturday, July 24th in nice winds following the storm system that passed through the city. The game changed to sailing upwind, in heavy air into early Sunday. Then winds clocked to east south east, and boats were downwind reaching and running in both heavy and light air.

“These conditions rewarded well rounded boats that were well sailed,” said Ron White, Chief Measurer and crew aboard Nice Pair, a multihull that placed 3rd overall. “The physical conditions were also spectacular. We saw a full moonrise with a simultaneous sunset in the Manitous.”

The light air made for very close and competitive conditions all the way to the finish. In the Chicago-Mackinac Trophy Division, overall winner and Section 7 winner Lady K fought for the win with every boat length.

“At one point we knew we were in first place boat for boat, but when we turned can #3 [a racecourse turning mark], things got very slow as the breeze went behind us,” explained Aaron Scott (Grand Rapids, Mich.), crew aboard Lady K. “There was a lot of calculation and tension and emotional stress trying the keep our time over Smokum Too.” Lady K finished with a corrected time of 46:53:05 less than 20 seconds over Smokum Too (Thornbury, On.) with 46:53:24.

“It was just a great race,” owner of Lady K Mike Stewart adds. “We seemed to sail the boat well, with awesome crew and we just had a lot of fun. It seemed to work out for us. We take the sailing serious and we take the fun serious.” Stewart is from Muskegon Mich.

“This was a fantastic race with our second largest fleet, and every kind of sailing imaginable -- calms with files to 25 knots on the nose,” summed up Greg Freeman, Mackinac Committee Chair and crew about Salsa. “With the early arrival of the fleet, everyone is looking forward to celebrating with a flute of Veuve Clicquot today at the Awards Ceremony and enjoying Mackinac Island.”

For a full listing of results go to cycracetomackinac.com