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2005 Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Race
Fastest Race on Record
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Though it was a slow beginning, with officials having to delay the Saturday (July 23) mid-day start off Port Huron, Mich., by almost an hour due to light winds, the 2005 Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Race became the fastest on record for its 81 years of existence. Proof was in the performance of Bill Alcott’s (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) Andrews 68 Equation, which--with an elapsed time of 25:29:46--broke the 2001 course monohull record of Houla (30:32:13) by more than five hours. Equation sailed in IRC Class B on the 254 nautical mile Southampton Course, one of two courses offered in the race and, for the first time, devoted solely to IRC-rated boats and Open Class multihulls. Houla’s record also was beaten by 10 of 11 Santa Cruz 70s that sailed in IRC Class A (the 11th yacht retired after running aground) and by two more of Equation’s nine other classmates. A total of 267 boats competed in 21 classes.
According to Equation crew Peter Griffin
(Detroit), it was the wind angle that
put them in the record books and the
winner’s circle (their corrected time
secured a class victory as well).
Equation fetched to the NGS buoy, a
special mark originally commissioned and
set each year by race host Bayview Yacht
Club to mark the only required turning
point of the course off Southampton,
Ontario, approximately 99 miles
northeast of the start. "We had a boat
speed of around nine knots," said
Griffin, "then went from a jib to our
code zero sail when the wind clocked
right, and we saw 10-11 knots. It was a
beautiful night, and we jibed at the NGS
mark around 2 a.m. in the morning."
After the NGS mark, Equation found
itself again pointing at its next
waypoint: the finish line off Mackinac
Island. "It was so unusual not to drift
at some point or be sailing at an angle
where you can’t get there," said
Griffin. "We just pointed to where we
wanted to go."
A squall, with 30-knot breezes, hit the
fleet during Sunday’s early morning
hours and caused some equipment mishaps;
however, Equation was far enough ahead
to miss the brunt of it. The damage,
including one demasting and several torn
sails, fell mostly upon the PHRF Racing
and Cruising Class boats sailing the
shorter (204 nm) Shore Course, which ran
along Lake Huron’s Michigan coastline.
When the wind finally clocked to become
more westerly, it served Equation an
"on-the-nose" course, but not for long,
and certainly not for as long as for
those boats following behind.
"I’ve never quite seen this race do what
it did this time," said Alcott, who
counts this as his 33rd time competing
in the event, which stands out as one of
the longest freshwater sailing races in
the world. "Breaking the record is the
last thing we ever thought we would do,
but it became fairly clear after
rounding the NGS mark and fetching
again…we started thinking about it a
little."
Alcott said his fame may be short-lived,
however. "With the way boats are being
built these days, that record won’t
stand long—maybe two, three years if
we’re lucky."
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| Bill
Alcott and crew sailing
Equation. Photo by Walter Cooper. |
IRC: MIDWEST SUCCESS
The 2005 Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Race
was the first major race in the Midwest
to offer racing under IRC, sailing’s
newest handicap system offered in the
U.S. A total of 130 boats and 11 classes
sailed IRC on the Southampton course
(three of the classes sailed one-design
as well), which meant that nearly half
the fleet eagerly embraced the
development. Eight classes sailed under
the traditional PHRF rating on the Shore
Course, with one of those classes
sailing one-design as well.
Race Chairman Luiz Kahl (Grosse Pointe
Woods) said the Bayview Yacht Club
prevailed in helping boat owners get
their IRC ratings prior to the race
despite Mother Nature’s insistence on a
long Midwestern winter. "A lot of boats
didn’t get back in the water until very
late this year," said Kahl, "so that put
a squeeze on us."
Kahl added that the Bayview Yacht Club
held two workshops in the spring to help
owners and measurers "demystify" IRC and
the process by which to get boats
measured and rated for certificates.
Helping was Barry Carroll, the head of
the IRC in the U.S.
"I’d qualify the Bacardi Bayview
Mackinac Race as a huge success from
that perspective alone," said Kahl.
"Considering the high interest and
demand for IRC Certificates in the U.S.
this spring, the U.S.-IRC office and the
RORC are to be commended, too, on all
the work they have done to get IRC off
the ground."
Barry Carroll added, "We were hoping to
have 300 IRC-rated boats for the year,
and we are already at 450 and expect
500-600 at year’s end. We are seeing
several years of malaise and ‘not much
going on’ turn into a lot of action."
According to Peter Griffin aboard
Equation, the race’s Southampton Course
teams were happy with their boat’s IRC
ratings, which take out much of the
"perception" found in PHRF and makes it
a true measurement. "There wasn’t any
rating protest or controversy that I was
aware of," he said. "And since Bayview
Yacht Club made IRC mandatory, not a
choice, on the Southampton course, it
was a great way to push it."
For a second half of the summer sailing
season in the local Detroit area, IRC
will be added to the offerings along
with the prior mainstay, PHRF.
The overall winner among all IRC-rated
boats on the Southampton Course was the
IRC A class winner Colt 45, owned by
Allan Fletcher (Alpena, Mich.).
The overall PHRF winner among racing
classes on the Shore Course was PHRF L
class winner Bantu, owned by Thomas
Kuber (Menominee, Mich.), while the
overall PHRF winner among the cruising
classes was Cruising Class A winner
Insatiable, owned by Norman Silverman
(Grosse Pointe, Mich.). Winning the Open
Class was Nice Pair, owned by Bruce
Geffen (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
All elapsed and corrected times are
available at www.byc.com/mack05/.
For its 14th year, BACARDI U.S.A., INC.,
the #1 distilled spirits distributor in
the United States and the world, is the
title sponsor of the race.
2005 Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Race
Top 3 Finishers in Each Class
CC 35 Class (Shore Course)
1. Regardless, C&C Mk-I, D Padilla,
Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. 2. Bravo, C&C
Mk-I, Frank Tenkel, Grosse Pointe
Shores, Mich. 3. Bedlam, C&C Mk-I,
Andrew Stoesser, Sarnia, Ontario
Cruising A Class (Shore Course)
1. Insatiable, Tartan, Norman Silverman,
Grosse Pointe, Mich. 2. Canvasback,
Little Harbor 52', Lee C Howley,
Vermilion, OH . 3. Dog Dayz, Tartan, Dan
VandenBossche, New Baltimore, Mich.
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| Colt 45. Photo by Walter Cooper. |
Cruising B Class (Shore Course)
1. Wind Toy IV, Morgan, Robert Bunn,
Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. 2. Allure,
Catalina, Wick Smith, Grosse Pointe
Woods, Mich. 3. First Light, Beneteau,
Brad Light, Essexville, Mich.
Cruising C Class (Shore Course)
1. ZAO, Catalina, Frank A. Kunick,
Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich. 2. Columbia
IV, Catalina, Jeff Jones, Shelby Twp.,
Mich. 3. Yare, S&S, John Tipp, Troy,
Mich.
Cruising NA40 Class (Shore Course)
1. Velero VII, NA-40, John Barbour,
Grosse Pointe, Mich. 2. Velero VI,
NA-40, Andy Denbaas, Port Huron, Mich.
3. Bananas, NA-40, Ted Tulupman,
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
IRC A Class (Southampton Course)
1. Colt 45, SC-70, Alan Fletcher,
Alpena, Mich. 2. Evolution, SC-70,
Kohler/Reichelsdorfer, Sheboygan, Wis.
3. Thirsty Tiger, SC-70, Albert Dottavio,
Joliet, Ill.
IRC B Class (Southampton Course)
1. Equation, Andrews 68, Alcott, St.
Clair Shores, Mich. 2. Denali, Nelson /
Marek, William F. McKinley, Grosse
Pointe Farms, Mich. 3. Twister, Dubois,
Herb Wake, Menominee, Mich.
IRC C Class (Southampton Course)
1. Dolphin, Mull, larry ruhland, Bay
City, Mich. 2. Natalie J, Nelson / Marek,
Philip D. O'Niel III, D.D.S., Bloomfield
Hills, Mich. 3. Margaret Rintoul IV,
Frers, K. Anderson/E. Smyth, Grosse
Pointe Farms, Mich.
IRC D Class (Southampton Course)
1. Sagitta, J-44, Jon Somes, G.P. Park,
Mich. 2. Majic, Sydney 41, Dorsey Ruley,
Chicago, Ill. 3. Eagle, Sydney 38, Shawn
O'Neill, Chicago, Ill.
IRC E Class (Southampton Course)
1. Station Wagon, SR 33, Steve
Beeler/Tom Vigrass, Port Huron, Mich. 2.
Power Tripp, Tripp 40, James Kraft,
Troy, Mich. 3. Surprise, Mumm 30, David
Irish, Harbor Springs, Mich.
IRC F Class (Southampton Course)
1. Collaboration 2, Beneteau 40.7,
Robert Vickery, Barrington, Ill. 2.
Smokum Too, Beneteau First 42S7, Pete
Mather, Thornbury, Ontario 3. First
Tracks, Beneteau First 40.7, John W.
(Jay) Hawkins, Cleveland, Ohio
IRC G Class (Southampton Course)
1. Blitz, Peterson 43, Larry Soutar,
Oxford, Mich. 2. Pendragon, Contessa, G.
Thomas/ J. Trost, Grosse Pointe Park,
Mich. 3. Gauntlet, Kaufman, GUY HIESTAND,
Grand Rapids, Mich.
IRC H Class (Southampton Course)
1. Big Schock , Schock 35, Bob Sheppard,
London, Ohio 2. Polarity, J-36, Murphy
Palmer, Clinton Twp., Mich. 3. Spectre,
Frers, B & G Schappe, Grosse Pointe
Park, Mich.
IRC I Class (Southampton Course)
1. Flyer, Oyster, Maynard Rupp, Grosse
Pointe Woods, Mich. 2. Freeway, Morgan,
Doug Carlson, Grosse Pointe, Mich. 3.
Solutions, Castro CS34, Mark Craig,
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
J105 Class (Southampton Course)
1. C-JEM, J-105, Con Ruffing, Grosse
Pointe, Mich. 2. Macho Duck, J-105,
David Klaasen, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
3. Phantom , J-105, Jim Best, Beverly
Hills, Mich.
J120 Class (Southampton Course)
1. Capers, J-120, Don Hudak, Mentor,
Ohio 2. Carinthia, J-120, Frank Kern
III, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. 3.
Merlin, J-120, R. Amsler, Clinton Twp.,
Mich.
J35 / T35 Class (Southampton Course)
1. Mr Bill's Wild Ride, J-35, William
Wildner, Harrison Twp., Mich. 2.
Bretwalda, J-35, Robert W. Pethick,
Orchard Lake Village, Mich. 3. Falcon,
J-35, Bayer/Bayer/Welch, Grosse Pointe
Park, Mich.
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| J/35 Fleet. Photo by Walter Cooper. |
Open A Class (Southampton Course)
1. Nice Pair, Crowther, Bruce Geffen,
Ann Arbor, Mich. 2. Moxie, Corsair F31R,
Gary Hall, Plymouth, Mich.3. Stampede,
Corsair, Ron White, South Bend, Mich.
PHRF J Class (Shore Course)
1. Eliminator, C&C Mk-II, P. Van Tol/ B.
Vandevusse, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. 2.
Shape, Santana 35, Win Cooper III/Chris
Benedict, Flint, Mich. 3. V Max, Santana
35, Mark Nagel, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
PHRF K Class (Shore Course)
1. Marksman, Islander, Brian R. Lang,
Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 2. Loon Magic,
Catalina, J. Shinske/B. Wilson, St.
Clair, Mich. 3. Rough Rider, Pearson 36,
Joe Parker, Caro, Mich.
PHRF L Class (Shore Course)
1. Bantu, BL, Thomas Kuber, Menominee,
Mich. 2. Chippewa, Tartan, Robert Wall,
Algonac, Mich. 3. Camelot, Tartan 33,
Ronald L. Konczalski, Grosse Ile, Mich.