Chicago Yacht Club’s 2004 Race to Mackinac
The Country’s Longest, Annual Freshwater Race

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., July 27, 2004 – This year’s race offered two different awards ceremonies – the usual one during the day for early finishers and another for those who arrived late but not last.

As of 10:30 p.m. EST, 40 boats have still not crossed the finish line at Mackinac Island, Mich., 333 miles north of the race's starting point in Chicago.
Final results and corrected times for the for the 96th running of the "Mac" in the race's three divisions are:

Chicago-Mackinac Trophy Division

1st Place – Bozo’s Circus, J35 owned by Bruce Metcalf out of Chicago Yacht Club, 01:19:59:38.

2nd Place - Wooton 2, Sabre40 owned by W. Harris “Bill” Smith out of Chicago Yacht Club, 01:20:04:04.

3rd Place – Providence, Eric35 owned by Jerry and Greg Miarecki out of Chicago Yacht Club, 01:20:32:46.

First-to-Finish Honors - Wooton 2, Sabre40 owned by W. Harris “Bill” Smith out of Chicago Yacht Club, finished in an elapsed time of 2:17:41:14.

Mackinac Cup Division

1st Place –Esmeralda, Transpac52 owned by Makoto Uematsu out of Seabornia Yacht Club, Japan, 01:13:05:17.

2nd Place – Windquest, Max Z86 owned by Dick and Doug DeVos out of Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, 01:13:09:17.

3rd Place - Genuine Risk, Monohull/S owned by Randall Pittman out of Chicago Yacht Club, 01: 14:05:22.

First-to-Finish Honors – Genuine Risk finished the race in an elapsed time of 01:08:56:44.

Multihull Division

1st Place - Earth Voyager, Form60 owned by Ryan and Todd Howe of Genesee Yacht Club, 2:05:15:10.

2nd Place – Caliente, Criswhite44 owned by Michael Steck of MORF (Midwest Open Racing Fleet), 2:09:33:42.

3rd Place – Zingara, Corsair31 owned by Mark Segraves of MORF (Midwest Open Racing Fleet), 2:12:39:29.

First-to-Finish Honors – Earth Voyager finished the race in an elapsed time of 01:10:21:41.

Skippers and crew of winning boats in each division are awarded Lands' End squall jackets and a magnum of Korbel champagne.

More Race Comment

“There are a fair amount of people who have motored in for the Mt. Gay Party and there are still 40 out there struggling to get in. This has been one heck of a day,” said race Chairman Rick Lillie. “This has been one very interesting race. Endurance has been the [catch] word.”

According to Lillie, the race committee will stand watch at least through Wednesday. “They will be here until 24 hours after the first-to-finish in each division.”

The public can follow the progress of the boats up Lake Michigan to Mackinac Island and the latest scoring information at www.chicagoyachtclub.org.

The Race to Mackinac is Chicago Yacht Club’s world-renowned race that challenges the endurance, speed and agility of skippers and crewmembers from around the globe each year. The 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island at the northern end of Lake Michigan is the world’s longest freshwater race and one of the most prestigious in the United States.

Racers this year are competing in one of three divisions: the Mackinac Trophy division, the Mackinac Cup division or the Multihull division. Monohulls will race in either the Mackinac Cup division or the Mackinac Trophy division and are rated under US Sailing’s Americap II™ rating rule. Based on that rating, they are assigned to a section in one of the two divisions.

Contenders in the Cup division typically are larger, faster boats while Trophy division contenders are smaller, generally slower boats. Multihulls are rated under the Lake Michigan Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (LMPHRF). Both Americap II and LMPHRF are designed to help level the playing field for competitors.
Each division is scored separately and boats compete only with others in their division.

New to the race this year is the “Turbo” Section of the Mackinac Cup Division. The Turbos were carved out of Section 1 of the Mackinac Cup Division, which generally included the larger, faster boats. What sets the new Turbo Section boats apart is that they are equipped with high-tech, lightweight materials such as carbon fibers and feature new sail and hull designs, and the latest innovations such as Genuine Risk’s Canting Ballast Twin Foil technology, which replaces the conventional rudder system to enhance speed and maneuverability.

The start of the race was on Lake Michigan approximately 1.5 miles east of Chicago’s Monroe Harbor. Prior to the start, competing boats paraded for the public past Navy Pier with their ceremonial flags raised. The finish line for the race is the lighthouse on Round Island, off Mackinac Island, Michigan.

The 2004 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Lands’ End marks the 106th anniversary of the race’s founding in 1898 and the 96th running of the event. Several years passed between the first and second running of the race and the event was also suspended for a period following the United States’ entry into World War I. Two other years also did not count toward the total number of Mackinac races, as the race did not end at Mackinac Island, but rather in Harbor Springs, Mich.

The challenging conditions on Lake Michigan require the best of racing, tactics, strategy and boat speed. Participation in “The Mac” is by invitation only from Chicago Yacht Club.

About the Chicago Yacht Club

Founded in 1875 with the goal of advancing the community’s knowledge, enjoyment and participation in boating and the nautical arts, the Chicago Yacht Club remains a valuable resource for its members and for the Chicago community. The Club has been a leader for more than 75 years in teaching children and adults how to sail, and is a preeminent organizer and host of regattas, races and predicted logs in the United States.