The 115th Chicago Yacht Club “Race to Mackinac” set sail Friday afternoon from Navy Pier, as the first of more than 250 boats made their way north.
The nearly 300-nautical-mile-journey, presented by Wintrust, will take sailors from Chicago on Lake Michigan up to Lake Huron and will end just off Mackinac Island.
Between and the racing and cruising divisions, there were 252 entries this year, 26 of which were first-time boats.
“We’re trying to get new people into the sport and encourage new boats to come,” said Jennifer Steffler. The principle race officer was all hands on deck Friday, helping sailors with last-minute preparations.
Planning ahead is key Steffler said, because once boats take off from Navy Pier, there’s only so much they can do on land to troubleshoot.
“Each boat has a tracker which, depending on where they are in the lake, pings about every 15 to 30 minutes,” Steffler said. Although no emergencies are expected, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel will follow the sailors the entire way to Mackinac Island.
About 50 cruisers set sail from Navy Pier Friday afternoon, including The Jug Band, where Wayne Titus is a watchman.
This year is his fourth Mac.
“I expect we’re going to have actually better weather than we did last year,” he said, also noting the severe weather that marked the 2022 race.
About 200 additional boats will set sail in classes Saturday morning, starting at 11 a.m. Included in the racing division is Tanya Bleeker, who is First Mate on Moxie.
“We’re really excited, looks like a maximum downwind course this time which is going to be so much fun,” Bleeker said. Along with her skipper Laura McCranner – their 9-crew team is made up of all women. It’s a first for the Mac in more than two decades.
“Being the first all-women’s crew in 25 years is incredibly exciting,” Bleeker told NBC Chicago.
She and McCranner hope Moxie’s success this weekend adds to more representation in the boating world.
“And we have newer people on our boat who haven’t had the opportunity to do the Mac race,” McCranner said. “We want to bring them up. That’s our goal.”
The downwind will make for a faster race this year. McCranner hoped Moxie can finish in 54 hours.
“The difference is when you’re going downwind, you have two people that are on all the time. It’s constant work,” she said. “It’s fun. It’s really run. But it’s a lot of work.”
Each year, the Mac draws sailors from nearly all fifty states and multiple countries to compete. It started in 1898 with just five boats and is now the longest annual freshwater sailing race in the world.