(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Saturday night’s stormy weather has made for some faster times and unusual results so far in the 113th Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac.
Lightning, rough waters and winds are to blame for some of the 26 boats that have dropped out so far - but the weather also helped others.
Race Committee Chair Sam Veilleux said the storm brought winds that peaked around 65 miles per hour on the Dakota, the sailing boat he was on.
“Breeze that is blowing at us at the speed of sticking your head out of a car window driving down the highway is not making our boat go any faster, it just making things a lot trickier and a lot hairer,” Veilleux said.
The Dakota and other boats in the Cruising Division started the race Friday afternoon so they were ahead of the storm while the Racing Division boats that began Saturday morning were further south on the lake. But it didn’t mean that Veileux’s boat escaped harm.
“We did have a handful of things aboard the boat break, but they were all things that were manageable and fixable,” Veilleux noted.
The weather helped several cruising boats finish without being passed by the racing boats, which usually finish first. The boats are rated on a handicapped system that accounts for size and performance to determine the winner.
Even though 244 boats registered for the race, Veilleux said he spoke to several racers who dropped out when they saw the forecast for storms.
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