Race to Mackinac reaches boat limit

The 103rd Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac has reached 361 boats and entries are now closed, race officials announced Thursday.

The 333-mile sailing race to Mackinac Island, Mich., is one of the oldest and most prestigious freshwater sailing races and attracts some of the best sailors in the world.

“The Mac,” as the race is known, will have about 3,400 sailors competing in this world class sporting event. The Cruising fleet will set sail at 3 p.m. July 15, and the Racing fleets will start at 11:30 a.m. July 16.

The race starts in downtown Chicago, two miles east of Navy Pier, with smaller, slower boats going first. The fleet will sail up Lake Michigan, continue just over four miles into Lake Huron, and finish between Round Island Lighthouse and Windermere Point off Mackinac Island, in morthern Michigan.

Last year the line honors winner was Hong Kong sailor Karl Kwok who reached the Island aboard his 80-footer Beau Geste in just over 31 hours. This year Grand Rapids, Mich., sailors Dick and Doug DeVos’s 86-footer Windquest will probably start as line honors favorite.

Race recordholders include Roy Disney with his monohull Pyewacket at 23 hours, 30 minutes and 34 seconds in 2002, and the famous adventurer, the late Steve Fosset on Stars and Stripes, which set the multihull record of 18 hours, 50 minutes, and 32 seconds in 1998.

To learn more about the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, go to the official website at www.cycracetomackinac.com.