Gale Force Sailing

It’s GO time.  I woke up this morning to the dripping drippity drips of rain on my acheing forehead.  The Pre start party took its toll on all of us and we clearly angered a sea god or two with our machinations.

So this morning we’ve got little to no wind, fog, and rain.  No problem.  Foulies on, spirits high, and big smiles all around.

I met most of these guys yesterday, and the one thing we’ve got in spades is great crew members.  So now I am really excited about this race.

This morning the weather forecast is still pretty unclear.  The real weather guys are saying something along the same lines as me.  Weird and variable with the wind shifting to the east or northeast.  This is not great news since that is the direction we are going and we’d rather sail downwind - but we’ll make the best of it.

Here is the current wind forecast (the feathers point downwind):

So the great debate on the boat is where to go.  North, West, East…these aren’t easy questions because the goal is to get north but we want to be in the weather (wind) so we have to head towards the expected new wind.  But where the heck is it?

The Fog is lifting and the boat is moving so it is probably time for me to sign off.  Remember to check back for the audio clips regularly.  I will post the player in the final post so that you can hear our latest news.

I’ll leave you with these two quotes:

Ships are the nearest things to dreams hands have ever made.  R. Rose.

These great and beautiful ships, imperceptibly rocing like waddling ducks on tranquil waters, these robust ships, with their idle and nostalgic air, aren’t they telling us in a silent tongue:  When are we leaving for happiness?  C. Baudelaire

OK… one more.  To me.  Nothing made by man is more beautiful than a sailboat underwary in fine weather and to be on that sailboat is to be as close to heaven as I expect to get.  It is analloyed happiness.  R Manry.

Thanks for all the great feedback and notes of encouragement. I appreciate it and know the other members of team En Pointe do too.

Following along is pretty easy. For the first time in the history of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, all boats in the fleet will carry position transponders, which will allow spectators around the world to follow the Race. This state-of-the-art tracking system allows anyone following the race receive hourly updates on individual boats (we are the Dehler 39 En Pointe), entire sections (we are section 5), or even the entire 436 boat fleet as the race moves up Lake Michigan.

Race tracking services are being provided by iBoattrack, a division of Horizon Marine. There are two methods to access the tracking site maintained by iBoattrack. The first way is to go to the Race to Mackinac web site then click on multimedia and race tracking. You can also bookmark the site directly at http://charthorizon.com/races/2008_chicago_mackinac/htdocs/ (the site will become active shortly before the race begins).

You can easily select individual sections to track (the ‘class’ drop down box). You can also use the movie mode to animate the race. Note that you can mouse over any boat’s current position (except when in movie mode) and get the vessel’s boat speed and other information.

If you would like more detailed data on any boat, select either the ‘Boat Mapper’ or the ‘Google Mapper’ from the links at the top of the page. These will take you to a separate page that allows you to focus on an individual boat or boats. It allows you to animate the race too.

In case you encounter difficulties with the website, there is a ‘help’ button in the top right of each page of the tracker.

This week I am off to Chicago, Illinois to prepare for, and compete in, the 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac race.

This is a great offshore race (333 miles) across the entire lenght of Lake Michigan and ends at a nifty little Island that doesn’t allow cars.

This year I’m racing aboard a Dehler 39 from Cleveland, Ohio.  It’s a great boat with good potential.  The early weather forecast shows a fast downwind start leading to a day of hard upwind sailing.  If these condition hold true this will be a challenging race from a strategy/navigation standpoint.

We are starting at 1300 on Saturday, July 19th.  We are in division 5, the boat is named EnPointe, and you can track our progress at the Mac Race Tracker.

Here is a little Mac Race FAQ:

How long is the race?
333 statute miles (289.4 nautical miles) from Chicago, starting just off Navy Pier, to
Mackinac Island, Michigan. It is the longest annual freshwater sailing distance race in the
world. The boats cross the finish line between the lighthouse on Round Island and the
race committee trailer on Mackinac Island

When was the first Race to Mackinac?
The first Mac Race was held in 1898 as an informal race of 5 boats. Vanenna won in 51
hours. The second Mac didn’t come until 1904 and then intermittently until after WWI.
Every Year since 1921 has seen the running of the Race to Mackinac. 2008 marks the
100th running.

How many boats participate?
There are usually about 300 boats and 3,000 crew members in the Chicago Yacht Club
Race to Mackinac. Participation is by invitation from the Chicago Yacht Club. 2008
marks a record number of entrants at 460 boats.

Continue reading ‘Sailing, Coaching, Racing Update Continued…’