403 replies to this topic

[MR.CLEAN]

It's a bright and early 7 AM here in Chicago, and we're just now starting to pack our shit up so we can get on the water all day and bring you starts and interviews from this great race.

The party was pretty damned insane - you can tell that no one has seen a 436-boat regatta before - but the CYC is well prepared, the people here are just happy to be part of this, and frankly, this could be a model for anyone else in the US who's planning a big distance event. The kids have done a hell of a job.

We've got a lot of LONG video that we'll be mixing with our coverage over the next couple of days, but today, we're focusing on getting on the water so you all can see the starts.

A couple of big reminders: First, SAVE MY NUMBER (248) 563-0657 and call me anytime from the lake. If you can't reach me, either send a text, or call the Torresen Marine Racer's Hotline at 231-740-8900 and leave a message. We've got some four dozen boats with our contact info - we'd love to see reports from a hundred of you guys. We don't care where you are - there's a tracker for that - we just want to know your story, what you're dealing with out there, and what you'd like to say to the folks following along from home.

You can also e-mail me if your aircard is working - but I've been on the lake, and you won't get much signal for the first day. Alan (at) blocksail (dot) com.

Thanks folks.

Enjoy this video from Vegas, sailing with Meade and Jan Gougeon last week on their incredible trimaran Adagio in the Port Huron-Mackinac race. They broke their boom a bit after this video.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's the latest weather from the Accuweather dude:


Mackinac Race
Saturday, July 19, 2008 11:17:00 AM

AccuWeather.com Forecast for the Yacht Club Race from Chicago to Mackinac
By Kevin Witt, Meteorologist

A stationary front will be draped across the lower Great Lakes on Saturday. Showers and a few thunderstorms will roll across the central and southern portions of Lake Michigan, with the heaviest activity concentrated on Saturday morning. An area of low pressure, approaching from the west and along the front will generate additional showers and thunderstorms across Lake Michigan later on Saturday night and during much of the day on Sunday. Drier conditions will ensue as the storm moves east later in the day on Sunday. The next disturbance will push across Lake Michigan on Sunday night into Monday morning. This is when round three of showers and thunderstorms could erupt across Lake Michigan. The more intense showers and thunderstorms should be concentrated across the southern half of Lake Michigan. From Monday night through Wednesday, drier conditions will evolve as high pressure builds in across Lake Michigan.

Waves will average 1-2 feet through the weekend. The waves could briefly reach 4 feet near any thunderstorm. Visibility should be unrestricted much of the time, although rain from any thunderstorms can lower visibility to under a mile.


For the lower third of Lake Michigan, winds will be southwesterly at 6-12 knots on Saturday. Wind will become more westerly at 5-10 knots on Saturday night, then will become west to northwest at 10-20 knots on Sunday.

Across the central portion of Lake Michigan on Sunday, winds will be southeast in more southern areas and northeast farther to the north at 8-16 knots, becoming northwest at 8-16 knots on Sunday night, northwest at 7-14 knots on Monday and 5-10 knots on Monday night.

For the northern third of the lake, winds will be out of the northeast at 8-16 knots on Sunday night and generally north at 7-14 knots on Monday.
Current conditions at the start:

[DryArmour]

Here's the latest weather from the Accuweather dude:
Mackinac Race
Saturday, July 19, 2008 11:17:00 AM

AccuWeather.com Forecast for the Yacht Club Race from Chicago to Mackinac
By Kevin Witt, Meteorologist

A stationary front will be draped across the lower Great Lakes on Saturday. Showers and a few thunderstorms will roll across the central and southern portions of Lake Michigan, with the heaviest activity concentrated on Saturday morning. An area of low pressure, approaching from the west and along the front will generate additional showers and thunderstorms across Lake Michigan later on Saturday night and during much of the day on Sunday. Drier conditions will ensue as the storm moves east later in the day on Sunday. The next disturbance will push across Lake Michigan on Sunday night into Monday morning. This is when round three of showers and thunderstorms could erupt across Lake Michigan. The more intense showers and thunderstorms should be concentrated across the southern half of Lake Michigan. From Monday night through Wednesday, drier conditions will evolve as high pressure builds in across Lake Michigan.

Waves will average 1-2 feet through the weekend. The waves could briefly reach 4 feet near any thunderstorm. Visibility should be unrestricted much of the time, although rain from any thunderstorms can lower visibility to under a mile.
For the lower third of Lake Michigan, winds will be southwesterly at 6-12 knots on Saturday. Wind will become more westerly at 5-10 knots on Saturday night, then will become west to northwest at 10-20 knots on Sunday.

Across the central portion of Lake Michigan on Sunday, winds will be southeast in more southern areas and northeast farther to the north at 8-16 knots, becoming northwest at 8-16 knots on Sunday night, northwest at 7-14 knots on Monday and 5-10 knots on Monday night.

For the northern third of the lake, winds will be out of the northeast at 8-16 knots on Sunday night and generally north at 7-14 knots on Monday.
Current conditions at the start:

CLEAN - JUST SENT YOU AN EMAIL.

Yes, I am shouting

[Grinder]

Hope your boat likes beating.

Have fun everyone,

Thanks for a great party!

The Goblinator

[MR.CLEAN]

Alright y'all - we are fully on station, with lots of fun stuff for you and a full day of starts. Hopefully the weather will improve a bit so that our pics and vids aren't grainy gray crap.

Weather is now very strange. 5 knots from 195 degrees, with a nasty lump left over from last night.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's the first start - Cruising 2




And here's Cruising 1

[MR.CLEAN]

We just heard some crazy news from our pal Anarchist REW - chief measurer for the race. Convictus Maxiumus, the Farr 42 that used to be called Sue - was DSQ'd for the race. They did not have the required invitee on the boat, so thy got tossed. More on that later.

[MR.CLEAN]

Vids are coming in as we speak - this is so painful to watch, lumpy, light and fugly.

[Tri-Flow]

We just heard some crazy news from our pal Anarchist REW - chief measurer for the race. Convictus Maxiumus, the Farr 42 that used to be called Sue - was DSQ'd for the race. They did not have the required invitee on the boat, so thy got tossed. More on that later.

Hmm..

sounds like Chicago politics as usual

[Capo26]

Sucks...............got a friend on Sue.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's some action from the Navy Pier, where each boat is announced on a loudspeaker to the assembled public - not that many of them on this rainy day. Good thing is that the rain is finally clearing.





And here's a little multihull tour:

[MR.CLEAN]

There's some pretty strange current coming from the East - Betsy Altman, Etchells sailor, is down here playing with us on the photo boat.

[Tri-Flow]

Nice work clean,

I can still get my Mac info while I sit here in france.
while I had some decent offers this year for the Mac's
I took the one in the Med
love the Euro
much better coversion for us sepos

[MR.CLEAN]

Stick with us - we're injecting a bit of a delay into things so you can see the starts in order, but every one of 'em is on camera.

[MR.CLEAN]

While we're out of sequence a bit, it's interesting to note that Mojo, a Beneteau 40.7, took over ten minutes to get back over the line and restart after being OCS.

[MR.CLEAN]

Class 10 Start



Class 9 Start

[chaosmaster]

Award winning commentary!!!

"Ugh....Ugh....Egh...Ugh.... Glad I'm not racing today....Ugh!!!"

[DC/Chicago]

Award winning commentary!!!

"Ugh....Ugh....Egh...Ugh.... Glad I'm not racing today....Ugh!!!"

I did half the race already .I helped my friends on Wooton push off and I am driving up North with the Familly Sunday.I will be there on time to take their lines at the dock without the so many hours of being wet..It was wet this morning and happy to have dryed out.

DC

[akaGP]

Class 10 Start

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Class 9 Start

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Hey Mr. Dirty,

You posted the same video for both Section 10 and Section 9 starts.

Must be the alcohol from last night.

[MR.CLEAN]

It's still so damned wet here - we've got to keep things dry, so the "award-winning commentary" will remain a bit delayed - but we're going to be posting every video between now and around 8 PM. Then the offshore reports will start coming in.




Very cute george - already fixed. Plenty more to come.

[MR.CLEAN]

Holy crap we just had a huge cell move in, and visibility is down to about 200 feet. Finally a bit of breeze though!

We're almost finished with all the starts, and took copious notes - it'll take about an hour for us to start posting everything in order, so be patient por favor!

[MR.CLEAN]

Hey all - we're finally situated, with multiple videos uploading. Pics too. Sit tight, and here it comes.

[TMSAIL]

Here's some action from the Navy Pier, where each boat is announced on a loudspeaker to the assembled public - not that many of them on this rainy day. Good thing is that the rain is finally clearing.

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.c...v/DrMj0CJhrwQ"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.c.../v/DrMj0CJhrwQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>
And here's a little multihull tour:
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Well that was fun. Actually ended up with 300+ on the end of the pier once the rain let up. Great job getting anything up and posted, Trying to do that from a small power boat let alone in the rain is a chore.

Best question asked by a spectator “How do they know when they get there?"

TM

[stevedallas]

Best question asked by a spectator “How do they know when they get there?"

TM

When they hit the island, of course.

[MR.CLEAN]

As you've probably figured out by now, we're going to be giving you news all day and all night for the next couple of days. There's a neat thing you can do that many of you already know about - that's to subscribe to the forum, so it'll send you e-mails when there is news from OTW Anarchy. Go to the forum index here, and click on "forum options" to find the subscription options.

As of now, the routers for the fastest boats have them getting to the island late...really late. Equation's was something like 54 hours. Unlikely, but still - it may very well be "connect the dots" for two or three days.

[MR.CLEAN]

This is section 7 - that's 40' C&C's, a J/92, some other big old boxes.





And here is the drifting start of 37 Tartan 10s - easily the biggest fleet here, and one of the distinctive classes here in Chicago.

[MR.CLEAN]

If you want to see the full screen version of the vids, you can just double click on them and then in Youtube, there's a little icon that will let you see the full screen.

[MR.CLEAN]

J/105s start without sinking. They're gonna have a hell of a ride in this lumpy calm.




Chasing J/105 Vytis around a bit in this vid. Right around the J/105 start the wind shut off for a while - from then on, it was on and off - squalls brought a bit more wind and lots of rain, and a right shift, then left with nothing but lumped glass in their wake.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's a little sample of the action last night. It really is one of the parties of the year - the CYC bash on Mackinac Eve. We overheard some of the Equation crew bitching about the "circus" that the Mack has become - but considering the size of the regatta and the number of people enjoying it, we'd say that the CYC is probably doing it pretty well. Besides, it's mostly a handicap race - and the handicapped deserve parties.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's the Section 6 Start - that's C&C 110s, J/35s, and similar-rated boats.

[MR.CLEAN]

I liked this dude - his name is Jamal, he's a native Iraqi who's been in Chicago for a couple of decades. His wacky Lexcen 34 is called Scherezade, and I asked him about it:

[MR.CLEAN]

The Beneteau 36.7 start - 26 boats I think, including a shit ton of Anarchists as well as our old friend Dave Reed, editor of Sailing World. Also from that illustrious pub is Herb McCormick, who definitely won "rock, paper, scissors" and is sailing on the mammoth Earth Voyager. Herb seems like a hippie - I liked him.

[MR.CLEAN]

We just got our first report from the water - Hellion called in from the 40.7 "Mojo" I think - they were meant to sail on Tsunami, which ran aground hard, and couldn't be put quite back together again. Hellion said that the 40.7s found a NW'ly breeze around 2.5 hours after the start (unforecast, of course) and were jamming along in a pack.

[MR.CLEAN]

The tracker, while a bit dopey, seems to be coping with the 436 tracks pretty well. Check it out here.

[MR.CLEAN]

Mer is driving at the moment, but we're going to take a break from posting videos in a bit so she can get her photos edited and posted. Chicago is always a good backdrop for shots, and we could even see it for a few minutes here and there.

Here's the Beneteau 40.7/J/109 start.

[MR.CLEAN]

And here's the start of Class 5 - This one's got Shorthanded, on his SR-33, as well as Pepe on the C&C 115 "Blue Dog" - hopefully they'll keep us posted during the race. Also Liberty, the Dehler 39 that's got Jerry from Ionearth.com on board. He's got something interesting planned, and we hope to be able to see it soon. A little exhibition of what a sailboat tracker should be.

[MR.CLEAN]

According to the tracker, the Bayview Beneteau 36.7 Grizzly is off to a big lead. Speaking of trackers, the biggest, fastest boat in the fleet has a malfunctioning tracker. That's Earth Voyager. I'm pretty confident she's not tied up to the dock. We paced her for a bit at the start in a rare 4 knot puff, and she was doing 9 knots.

[MR.CLEAN]

Class 4 is a really interesting one to watch, with a bunch of mini-battles within a class that has multiple copies of the same boat.

We've got Sydney 38s - Painkiller, Eagle, and Serenissima. Also a pair of Mumm 30s, including the shiny new Jack-a-roe, which just got here a couple of days ago. There are also a half-dozen Mumm 36s, the Nelson-Marek 36 Surface Tension, and some other one-offs.

[MR.CLEAN]

I'm pretty sure that Kathleen Torresen is watching this - so if you are, KT - register and introduce yourself. If you don't already know, Kathleen has been doing this kind of Mack report for about 15 years in one form or another - the fate of the sailboat industry family member that doesn't do the race, I guess.

Kathleen is assembling everything she can on www.chicagomackinac.com, which Torresen sponsors as a permanent archive of the Chicago-Mackinac race for everyone to watch and share with their friends, families, crews, prospective crews, and so on. This race is such an important part of the year, and KT devotes the kind of time to it that it deserves. We're grateful that KT brought us on board to help make this year's coverage the best yet, and we hope to continue this partnership going forward.

If you need to buy anything for your boat, check out Torresen now, and give 'em a call to find out what kind of discount they'll give to fans of Torresen's race coverage...

[MR.CLEAN]

I can't help myself - Here's some more of US Sailing Queen and King Janet Baxter and Jim Capron aboard their chartered Beneteau 44.7. I don't even want to write the name, but suffice to say, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Check it out.

[MR.CLEAN]

The Farr 395 and J/120 start goes off in zero point zero...good fun!

Just blew the fuse in the dashboard...we'll take a break and get some gas and change the fuse before getting you the big boat starts, the Flying Tigers and Melges 32s, the Farr 40s, and the Multis. Stay tuned, and thanks for watching...

[DetroitOD]

The tracker, while a bit dopey, seems to be coping with the 436 tracks pretty well. Check it out here.

according to the tracker the entire fleet just made a 30 degree turn to the east. Looks like it's going to be another long one for The Cone. They have fallen way behind the Section 2 fleet.

[DC/Chicago]

according to the tracker the entire fleet just made a 30 degree turn to the east. Looks like it's going to be another long one for The Cone. They have fallen way behind the Section 2 fleet.

Also I think they are heading in to a hole.Night night.There is a guy Wasaby in the 105 section that is heading to Wisconsin .Maybe he knows better.
I talked to my buddies that they were going to favor left of the line but it looks like they may be drawn in to the east.Will see

[MR.CLEAN]

We are back online - interesting to see the rightie now - we did see a very few boats - maybe 10% of the fleet, favoring the right, including Natalie J who went hard right immediately at the start and disappeared off to the East pretty quickly. Genuine Risk, Windquest, and the bulk of the 70s and fast 50s were on the left.

[nueva30]

Clean,
what happened to earth voyager? their transponder has them stuck at the start line, and you haven't got that start up yet. I have been watching since the start.
Tim
friend of EV

[MR.CLEAN]

Henry the navigator brought up Windquest on the other thread - she is last in her fleet right now, according to the tracker. Even though she was pretty far back in her fleet a half hour after the start, I'm finding it hard to believe that she is behind boats like a TP52. Either there are tracker issues, or she got stuck in a hole the size of Cook County. When we left her, she was in zero wind, her code zero flapping like a wounded duck's wings. Soon after, Genuine Risk did a horizon job on her, finding the new NW'ly pressure and hauling ass at 7 or 8 knots upwind. The race has become a beat, and we expect nearly all of our waterborne contributors to be out of cell phone coverage for most of the night - obviously, depending on how close to shore they get. Still, though, we should get something from someone.

I did get a funny call from oneguyfromdetroit aboard Bounder - the successful Sydney 36 out of Bayview. "We were OCS with about five other boats, and 17 minutes later we still hadn't gotten back to the line! We weren't alone either - 1 knot of wind and 1 knot of adverse current is not a good combination," Tim said. "Still, at least our competition isn't getting very far away."

[MR.CLEAN]

We just heard from Kathleen up on the island that the protest board is quite stacked with start-line protests, most of them from the GL70 fleet. That one started in a blinding rainstorm - you'll see the video shortly and maybe we can discern what happened.

[MR.CLEAN]

Come to think of it, Windquest was pretty far to the left. It's conceivable that they got stuck West when the NE'ly came in, and have had to beat all the way back to the rest of the fleet in 5 knots (light and variable

[MR.CLEAN]

Clean,
what happened to earth voyager? their transponder has them stuck at the start line, and you haven't got that start up yet. I have been watching since the start.
Tim
friend of EV

Tim - I don't have a clue, but I'll find out as soon as I can. They went far to the East at the start and quickly tore through what little part of the fleet that was there, although Gamera and the other F-25 were still ahead of them when we left. Nice Pair was over early, as I think was Cheekee Monkee.

[MR.CLEAN]

Our friend Kristen Barry (annapolis sailors will know he ain't a chick) is trying to blog from the course. He's a sailing coach and I think maybe a distributor of some boat lines, and you can check out his site for more info. He's also got a podcast player that is supposed to take his phone calls or something, but I can't get it to work just yet. Here's an excerpt from before the race:


So from the start to the finish of the race we should have fairly regular cell phone and wireless access, and with any luck at all this will be the most blogged race I’ve done. I always start with good intentions and end up getting too busy to write or post pics but this time…this time will be different.

The guys (eight of them) are a great group. I’ll be introducing them to you in future posts. But we’ll also be staying in touch by calling in reports from the water. Using a podcasting tool called GCast I should be able to post directly to the website. So check back often, turn up your volumn and get ready. Below is the first official podcast of this race. Please let me know if you can’t hear or have trouble using it.

Kristen doesn't realize that not even Satphones seem to work in the middle of the lake, where he is right now.

[MR.CLEAN]

If someone can verify something I just noticed: I showed just the GL70 fleet on the tracker, and more than half the boats showed the little red bar that says "track is more than one hour old" - meaning they aren't working anymore. Did iBoats crap out already?

[RtWL]

Here's the weather within five miles of Sec. 1 and the Turbos. It's gonna be a loooong night. What happened to Windquest? Still behind sec. 3 boats and only going 4 knots? 4 knot shitbox? They must be praying for some more shift.

Wind Direction (WDIR): NW ( 310 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD): 3.9 kts
Wind Gust (GST): 5.8 kts
Wave Height (WVHT): 0.7 ft
Average Period (APD): 3.2 sec
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): 29.90 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY): +0.02 in ( Rising )
Air Temperature (ATMP): 67.3 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP): 67.3 °F
Dew Point (DEWP): 67.1 °F
Combined plot of Wind Speed, Gust, and Air Pressure
Continuous Winds TIME
(CDT) WDIR WSPD
9:50 pm NW ( 309 deg ) 4.3 kts
9:40 pm NW ( 318 deg ) 4.9 kts
9:30 pm NW ( 309 deg ) 3.7 kts
9:20 pm NW ( 321 deg ) 2.7 kts
9:10 pm NNW ( 332 deg ) 3.3 kts
9:00 pm NNW ( 336 deg ) 4.1 kts

[janthony20]

I have been getting the same message for a lot. It will probably lag for most if not all of the race.

[joopy]

If someone can verify something I just noticed: I showed just the GL70 fleet on the tracker, and more than half the boats showed the little red bar that says "track is more than one hour old" - meaning they aren't working anymore. Did iBoats crap out already?

it looks to me that they all say that?
not sure if that's good or bad!
hey clean and crew thanks for all the effort awesome job as usual- great meeting you last evening.
i'm here in chi-town(should be sleeping-5 a.m. shove off for the island) the problem is i'm driving the van up and it's really hard to pack this puppy.
not alot of clothes and gear just ALOT OF BOOZE what are you people thinking!!
SA party should be legendary-hope they all make it!
GO TEAM ADAGIO AND CAN CAN DEUX!
aka mrs. vegas

[MR.CLEAN]

Thanks Ms. Vegas - nice to meet you too. That was a hell of a party you missed last night, but we'll do it harder up on the island.

[MR.CLEAN]

A little peek at some of the big boats:

[MR.CLEAN]

I'm getting a little mixed up now that it's 1 something in the morning, but I think this is the Farr 395 start.

[MR.CLEAN]

This is the start of Class 3 - the sportboats and more. This is where all our friends seem to be sailing - we've got the Evenlyn 42here - the one that Mer and I used to sail on and the funny story from the kids on Pterodactyl is that they committed one too many for the race, and no one was volunteering to jump ship. So one of the owners jumps ship for a Carroll Marine 1200 with hotties on board, while the dirty Detroit lizard loses a good bowman - a commodity on an Evelyn.
FINS and the boys on the Melges 32 Saturn, another old ride of ours from Detroit. There's Flying Tigers, 1D35s, a bunch of big Beneteau shitters including Janet Baxter and Jim Capron's US Sailing, Reprographics-sticker-festooned "Indecision." There's also a little Kiwi 35 - an extreme sportboat that is still extreme 25 years after she was built in Saginaw Bay as a trainer for the insane Formula 40 trimaran "Adrenalin."

Anyway, here's the start.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's the start of the Farr 40s et. al. This will be a fun class to watch.

[MR.CLEAN]

It all happened. Here are a few pics.

Attached Files

•  2008_CHICAGO_to_MACKINAC___STARTS_6.jpg   74.71K   28 downloads
•  2008_CHICAGO_to_MACKINAC___STARTS_0.jpg   51.32K   22 downloads
•  2008_CHICAGO_to_MACKINAC___STARTS_1.jpg   52.3K   21 downloads
•  2008_CHICAGO_to_MACKINAC___STARTS_3.jpg   47.77K   20 downloads

[DC/Chicago]

Clean
Check section 9 "Wind Quest".It seems a litlle fast for that section as in being only 161 miles to finish.I believe this is your "windquest" the turbo kind

Dorin

[reverend mother]

It all happened. Here are a few pics.

It appears Windquest and Wind Quest had their trackers switched when distributed.

[jzk]

Here are some shots from just before and then into the race:



Thirsty Tiger with its new rig.



Cathexis, who at the moment seems to be sticking it to Lickety Split.

[jzk]

Thirsty Tiger

[jzk]

[jzk]

[GreatLakes]

Guessing the favoring of the East side of the lake has paid some dividends for boats. Looks like this race could hold numerous position changes throughout. Great tactical race, but not the sleighride many were hoping.

Anybody else starting to put less trust in the iboat info? Just curious it definately beats guessing.

[jzk]

It seems that the location fixes are taken at different times for different boats, so it may seem like one boat is ahead of another, but it really isn't.

[MR.CLEAN]

Well shit - being that last night was the last time that we will probably get a full night sleep, we're glad we did. It looks like the kids are going awfully slow up the lake. Let me shake the cobwebs out - in the meantime, here's an interview with Sam Kashy, owner of Flying Tiger number 006.
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#70 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 01:07 PM

It appears Windquest and Wind Quest had their trackers switched when distributed.

That's pretty damned funny right there. There are also two or three "Twisters" and a bunch of other duplicate names. At least there's no "Ecsta-Sea" in this race.

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#71 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 01:28 PM

Just heard from Bruce Geffen on "Nice Pair" - seems the hard right (east) route paid so far.

"Just at Whitehall (MI) almost to Luddington. Almost on the beach, tracker says we're doing very well. Winds light, maybe 4 or so, seas very flat, rainy, cold, and we're at 6.9 knots."

Bruce has some serious rock stars aboard this year - guess that's why we got bumped Seriously, he has Paul "Whirly" Van Dyke, who held the crewed RTW record aboard Playstation. He's also got Jim Anderson from Harken on board, and his old standby right-hand man and double hand partner, Chris Landeman. When it gets really hairy and the hull is 5 feet off the water, they send Geff down below to chill out. Good fun.

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#72 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 01:33 PM

Here's Roy Disney, Honorary Race Chairman, talking about Morning Light and promoting it. Of course, he talked about his record on the lake (Pyewacket).

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#73 Iceman22

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:26 PM

Here are some pictures (over 600) I took yesterday at the start. Thanks to Copernicus for the ride out on the water!

http://www.flickr.co...8688013/detail/

Ed is out on the Farr 395 Mosquito and it looks like the whole pack is hanging together. I'm heading up to the island currently with Mrs. Vegas to meet them when they eventually arrive...

-Becky

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#74 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:30 PM

Thanks for adding the pics, jzk - what boat were you out on?

It's a damned good thing that Torresen brought us in to do this live news update - as expected, CYC and the official site dropped the ball once the race started, and their "tales from the water" is bereft of anything after yesterday morning, as is their "latest news." Not surprising, given the look of fatigue and annoyance on Communication Director Kristi Kirschner's face as we were leaving the club. I think CYC suffers a bit from the same thing Sailing World does - infatuation with the local TV and newspaper reporters and Jobson - to the detriment of the media that actually reach sailors. It's important to play both games, and for this one, CYC didn't do it. When will people learn that a big event needs a dedicated staff member doing nothing else?

Oh well - the private market took care of it, and that's why Torresen and Saiing Anarchy rule. Thanks to everyone for the great reports so far.


Report from Multihull 2 - wind is at 1 knot or less.

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#75 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:37 PM

Bob Hughes, Heartbreaker (F40) sends this: Wind at 358, 10 knots, hit the shore right at the start and got a nice jump. We're trying to get the rig right for upwind - the step is too far forward [Heartbreaker stuck this brand new rig in just two days ago, after losing the last one to a lightning strike that turned it into an expensive paperweight]

Just to give you an idea how quickly things change, that report was from ten minutes ago. Just now, I got this:

"7 knots from 208 deg now, wind is picking up, we're on port going 6 knots."

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#76 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:42 PM

Are these videos working for all of you?

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#77 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:50 PM

Right now, I'm loading the starts for the GL70 class, as well as Class 1, Turbo, and the Multihulls. after that, we've got a dozen more interviews and boat tours, including the guts of Windquest.

Let me know if you're having any technical difficulties with our report. For you "guests" - you need to sign up to see all the photos that we attach to the report. Unregistered viewers can only see file names, while members can see the actual photos. Don't worry - we won't sell your info to the spammers...not unless you piss us off, that is.

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#78 dain bramage

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:54 PM

Clean,

All but two vids came thru. Pissing away my whole weekend watching this stuff.

Keep up the great work!

THANKS
Dain

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#79 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:58 PM

Clean,

All but two vids came thru. Pissing away my whole weekend watching this stuff.

Keep up the great work!

THANKS
Dain

Wait'll the webcams start kicking. Thanks for the confirmation - lots more ahead.

From KT on the island:

"Sunday morning on the island and all is calm. The wind is starting to fill in - from the east. And the freighters go by.

A webcam update - the first camera is in place and will be live shortly. The webcam link will appear on http://www.chicagomackinac.com at that time. This camera looks out at the finish line. The other two cameras will over look the harbor where the bulk of the fleet will be docking."

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#80 Elixir

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 02:58 PM

This video does not work for me...

here's an interview with Sam Kashy, owner of Flying Tiger number 006.

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#81 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:08 PM

Geff on Nice Pair from over by the Sand Dunes - sailing 345, bearing to the point is 018. We're tied to the back end of the sleds, wind has filled in from the WNW a tad. We're strapped with the kite, sailing around 3.8-4.4 in about 1.5 knots of breeze with occasional puffs to 3. We're catching some of the sleds, Thirsty Tiger is well to windward on the lake. Everyone is on pretty much on the same angle though, and the sun's coming out finally.

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#82 RtWL

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:26 PM

From the midlake buoy where the majority of the boats are camping right now......seems they are finally getting a breeze. Looks like it was a long night out there. Fog has finally lifted in Milwaukee and the breeze is up to about 5 from the east.





Station 45007 - S MICHIGAN 43NM East Southeast of Milwaukee, WI




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conditions at 45007 as of
(9:50 am CDT)


Wind Direction (WDIR): W ( 260 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD): 5.8 kts
Wind Gust (GST): 5.8 kts
Wave Height (WVHT): 0.3 ft
Average Period (APD): 3.0 sec
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): 29.92 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY): +0.04 in ( Rising )
Air Temperature (ATMP): 67.3 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP): 67.3 °F
Dew Point (DEWP): 67.3 °F
Continuous Winds TIME
(CDT) WDIR WSPD
9:50 am W ( 259 deg ) 4.7 kts
9:40 am W ( 261 deg ) 4.5 kts
9:30 am WSW ( 258 deg ) 4.9 kts
9:20 am WSW ( 257 deg ) 4.3 kts
9:10 am WSW ( 250 deg ) 4.9 kts
9:00 am WSW ( 254 deg ) 4.1 kts

Previous observations
MM DD TIME
(CDT)
WDIR WSPD
kts GST
kts 07 20 8:50 am WSW 3.9 3.9
07 20 7:50 am SSW 1.9 3.9
07 20 6:50 am S 3.9 5.8
07 20 5:50 am SE 1.9 3.9
07 20 4:50 am S 1.9 1.9
07 20 3:50 am ESE 3.9 5.8
07 20 2:50 am SE 3.9 3.9
07 20 1:50 am W 1.9 3.9
07 20 12:50 am - 0.0 1.9
07 19 11:50 pm NNW 1.9 3.9
07 19 10:50 pm NW 3.9 3.9

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#83 lkmichsailor

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:51 PM

The first of three web cameras are now active on the Island (the finish line camera).

http://www.chicagoma...om/2008/webcam/

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#84 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:53 PM

This video does not work for me...

Let's try it again.

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#85 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:54 PM

And finally the GL-70 start!

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#86 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:56 PM

Just got some great news from our pals on the J/24 "Baby J" up in the middle of nowhere, Michigan - they went out this morning with the express goal of seeing as many boats as they can, and they're sending us updates from near Pentwater.

More on that soon, in the meantime, here's the start of Class 1 - the big boys.

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#87 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:59 PM

So, now - a little real-world testing. I'm always talking about IonEarth's tracking program - take a look at what they're doing in one class, and compare to IBoats, and let us know what you think. IonEarth president Jerry Miller is on Liberty, the Dehler 39.

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#88 jzk

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 03:59 PM

Thanks for adding the pics, jzk - what boat were you out on?

We have a Monterey 298ss. It has a blue hull with a yellow stripe. After the start we went from boat to boat and just followed right behind them for a bit. It was pretty sweet, especially trying to follow Genuine Risk. There was a bit there after the big rain that she was hauling pretty good. I hope we weren't too irritating, but we didn't interfere with them in any way. Its a pretty sweet way to watch the race - up close and personal. Last year we took many more pictures as the weather was much better.

I was surprised to see how much Lickety Split was hobby horsing.

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#89 CaptnPea

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 04:16 PM

So, now - a little real-world testing. I'm always talking about IonEarth's tracking program - take a look at what they're doing in one class, and compare to IBoats, and let us know what you think. IonEarth president Jerry Miller is on Liberty, the Dehler 39.

WOW.... something that actually is user friendly... good work
Have them add the track lines and movie and we have a real winner.

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#90 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:18 PM

So I just figured out that if you turn on "section 9" and "Turbo" you can see that Windquest and GR are in a full-on battle somewhere near Manistee! You'll see a video later today with Brian Janney on Windquest talking about that very thing - a light-air battle is their only hope against the big canter, and we just got confirmation that Spithill is the primary helm on GR.

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#91 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:19 PM

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

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#92 jzk

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:24 PM

So I just figured out that if you turn on "section 9" and "Turbo" you can see that Windquest and GR are in a full-on battle somewhere near Manistee! You'll see a video later today with Brian Janney on Windquest talking about that very thing - a light-air battle is their only hope against the big canter, and we just got confirmation that Spithill is the primary helm on GR.

Yeah, it seems that they are pulling away each doing 10 knots.

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#93 jzk

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:36 PM

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

So why wouldn't you?

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#94 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:44 PM

Like -

Just spoke to Vanessa on Baby J. Here's her report:

"We motored out at 9:30 with a full tank of fuel - the first thing we saw was Earth Voyager with four

A few boats to the North that we couldn't make out [probably GR, Windquest, Lucky, Vincitore]

Here are the boat's we've seen come through Pentwater: Denali was motoring North, sails down, toward Luddington at 0959
Equation and Runaway were together
Seen Evolution, Mirage, Stripes, Windancer...

Beer is very cold, life is very good. Breeze is 10-13 from the SW."



WE will have more from Vanessa shortly. She wants everyone to know about the biggest post-race party on the lake - that's the "Back from the Mack" party in I think Pentwater for the returning boats to Chicago.

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#95 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:54 PM

So why wouldn't you?

Alright - we're donna do it. Someone said Pyramid Point would be a good spot to get pics - can anyone confirm?

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#96 Miss Mackinac

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 05:55 PM

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

While these guys try to figure it out how they are getting here....
I will report that the wind has been steadily filling in on the island - almost straight out of the east. Any reports that say the wind is zero from the north or 6 from the east - are wrong. My guess is an average of 10-12 with the occasional gust.

My 1:30 report from Geff is that they are around Ludington, have the spinnaker up, and continue to see a bit more wind.

KT
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ChicagoMackinac.com
Your Independent, Unofficial Source for Chicago to Mackinac Race Information

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#97 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 06:05 PM

Just got the report from Bora aboard N/M 46 Natalie J:

"We're trucking now - we've got 9 knots out of 242 degrees - we're just to leeward of Main Street going past them, Nice Pair is about a half mile ahead of us, and we are running the Taliban...umm...Talisman down.

I haven't slept yet, and probably won't - too jacked up from blowing the start [still got to the right and picked up the shift nice and early though]."

Report from Matt aboard F-25C Gamera:

"Not feeling too good with all these small boats around us. We got out too far in front, and I think the other boats went around us to the East. I've been trying to get right all day, and I just can't do it fast enough. We've got 6 knots from the SW"

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#98 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 06:08 PM

I'm not sure if this video is fully processed yet, but it's a good one - Ike Scott talks about his Farr 47 Big Country, and the bastards that stole his trailer full of sails and boat parts this winter. A total bitch of a loss, but Ike's getting over it and the boat is racing...with new sails.

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#99 Sandstone

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 06:20 PM

Alright - we're donna do it. Someone said Pyramid Point would be a good spot to get pics - can anyone confirm?

Pyramid Or the lookout on the PS scenic Drive would work as it is on the approach from the south. Pyramid point is further to the north adjacent to the islands and the PS scenic drive lookout is south of the islands. You could actually hit both if you timed it right. Being that the wind is out of the ENE. PP micht make a better strategic location. I would hit the PS scenic drive to check it out first, and then haul ass up to pyramid point. Bring skeeter spray. The wife and I went hiking & kayaking there 2 weeks ago, and they are hungry!

Photo I took from the PS Scenic Drive Lookout.




One from PP.



Both of the same Island.

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#100 MR.CLEAN

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Posted 20 July 2008 - 06:35 PM

Good thing Mer's got the big zoom and a tripod!

Just heard from Hippie aboard Big Country - "We're just a little south of little sable point, we're going about 8 knots, 10 knots of breeze from 211 degrees. Night was slow and then breezy - it went from 0 to 12 and back with 270 degrees worth of shifts. We got the NE to SW shift around 10 in the morning.

we passed painkiller about 4 hours ago. We saw Raven a bit ago, we saw J/105s about five hours ago."

For all you assholes who let hundreds of balloons go for your rugrat's birthday party, Hippie reported sailing through "hundreds of balloons all morning"

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[MR.CLEAN]

It appears Windquest and Wind Quest had their trackers switched when distributed.

That's pretty damned funny right there. There are also two or three "Twisters" and a bunch of other duplicate names. At least there's no "Ecsta-Sea" in this race.

[MR.CLEAN]

Just heard from Bruce Geffen on "Nice Pair" - seems the hard right (east) route paid so far.

"Just at Whitehall (MI) almost to Luddington. Almost on the beach, tracker says we're doing very well. Winds light, maybe 4 or so, seas very flat, rainy, cold, and we're at 6.9 knots."

Bruce has some serious rock stars aboard this year - guess that's why we got bumped Seriously, he has Paul "Whirly" Van Dyke, who held the crewed RTW record aboard Playstation. He's also got Jim Anderson from Harken on board, and his old standby right-hand man and double hand partner, Chris Landeman. When it gets really hairy and the hull is 5 feet off the water, they send Geff down below to chill out. Good fun.

[MR.CLEAN]

Here's Roy Disney, Honorary Race Chairman, talking about Morning Light and promoting it. Of course, he talked about his record on the lake (Pyewacket).

[Iceman22]

Here are some pictures (over 600) I took yesterday at the start. Thanks to Copernicus for the ride out on the water!

http://www.flickr.co...8688013/detail/

Ed is out on the Farr 395 Mosquito and it looks like the whole pack is hanging together. I'm heading up to the island currently with Mrs. Vegas to meet them when they eventually arrive...

-Becky

[MR.CLEAN]

Thanks for adding the pics, jzk - what boat were you out on?

It's a damned good thing that Torresen brought us in to do this live news update - as expected, CYC and the official site dropped the ball once the race started, and their "tales from the water" is bereft of anything after yesterday morning, as is their "latest news." Not surprising, given the look of fatigue and annoyance on Communication Director Kristi Kirschner's face as we were leaving the club. I think CYC suffers a bit from the same thing Sailing World does - infatuation with the local TV and newspaper reporters and Jobson - to the detriment of the media that actually reach sailors. It's important to play both games, and for this one, CYC didn't do it. When will people learn that a big event needs a dedicated staff member doing nothing else?

Oh well - the private market took care of it, and that's why Torresen and Saiing Anarchy rule. Thanks to everyone for the great reports so far.


Report from Multihull 2 - wind is at 1 knot or less.

[MR.CLEAN]

Bob Hughes, Heartbreaker (F40) sends this: Wind at 358, 10 knots, hit the shore right at the start and got a nice jump. We're trying to get the rig right for upwind - the step is too far forward [Heartbreaker stuck this brand new rig in just two days ago, after losing the last one to a lightning strike that turned it into an expensive paperweight]

Just to give you an idea how quickly things change, that report was from ten minutes ago. Just now, I got this:

"7 knots from 208 deg now, wind is picking up, we're on port going 6 knots."

[MR.CLEAN]

Are these videos working for all of you?

[MR.CLEAN]

Right now, I'm loading the starts for the GL70 class, as well as Class 1, Turbo, and the Multihulls. after that, we've got a dozen more interviews and boat tours, including the guts of Windquest.

Let me know if you're having any technical difficulties with our report. For you "guests" - you need to sign up to see all the photos that we attach to the report. Unregistered viewers can only see file names, while members can see the actual photos. Don't worry - we won't sell your info to the spammers...not unless you piss us off, that is.

[dain bramage]

Clean,

All but two vids came thru. Pissing away my whole weekend watching this stuff.

Keep up the great work!

THANKS
Dain

[MR.CLEAN]

Clean,

All but two vids came thru. Pissing away my whole weekend watching this stuff.

Keep up the great work!

THANKS
Dain

Wait'll the webcams start kicking. Thanks for the confirmation - lots more ahead.

From KT on the island:

"Sunday morning on the island and all is calm. The wind is starting to fill in - from the east. And the freighters go by.

A webcam update - the first camera is in place and will be live shortly. The webcam link will appear on http://www.chicagomackinac.com at that time. This camera looks out at the finish line. The other two cameras will over look the harbor where the bulk of the fleet will be docking."

[Elixir]

This video does not work for me...

here's an interview with Sam Kashy, owner of Flying Tiger number 006.

[MR.CLEAN]

Geff on Nice Pair from over by the Sand Dunes - sailing 345, bearing to the point is 018. We're tied to the back end of the sleds, wind has filled in from the WNW a tad. We're strapped with the kite, sailing around 3.8-4.4 in about 1.5 knots of breeze with occasional puffs to 3. We're catching some of the sleds, Thirsty Tiger is well to windward on the lake. Everyone is on pretty much on the same angle though, and the sun's coming out finally.

[RtWL]

From the midlake buoy where the majority of the boats are camping right now......seems they are finally getting a breeze. Looks like it was a long night out there. Fog has finally lifted in Milwaukee and the breeze is up to about 5 from the east.





Station 45007 - S MICHIGAN 43NM East Southeast of Milwaukee, WI




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conditions at 45007 as of
(9:50 am CDT)


Wind Direction (WDIR): W ( 260 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD): 5.8 kts
Wind Gust (GST): 5.8 kts
Wave Height (WVHT): 0.3 ft
Average Period (APD): 3.0 sec
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): 29.92 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY): +0.04 in ( Rising )
Air Temperature (ATMP): 67.3 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP): 67.3 °F
Dew Point (DEWP): 67.3 °F
Continuous Winds TIME
(CDT) WDIR WSPD
9:50 am W ( 259 deg ) 4.7 kts
9:40 am W ( 261 deg ) 4.5 kts
9:30 am WSW ( 258 deg ) 4.9 kts
9:20 am WSW ( 257 deg ) 4.3 kts
9:10 am WSW ( 250 deg ) 4.9 kts
9:00 am WSW ( 254 deg ) 4.1 kts

Previous observations
MM DD TIME
(CDT)
WDIR WSPD
kts GST
kts 07 20 8:50 am WSW 3.9 3.9
07 20 7:50 am SSW 1.9 3.9
07 20 6:50 am S 3.9 5.8
07 20 5:50 am SE 1.9 3.9
07 20 4:50 am S 1.9 1.9
07 20 3:50 am ESE 3.9 5.8
07 20 2:50 am SE 3.9 3.9
07 20 1:50 am W 1.9 3.9
07 20 12:50 am - 0.0 1.9
07 19 11:50 pm NNW 1.9 3.9
07 19 10:50 pm NW 3.9 3.9

[lkmichsailor]

The first of three web cameras are now active on the Island (the finish line camera).

http://www.chicagoma...om/2008/webcam/

[MR.CLEAN]

This video does not work for me...

Let's try it again.

[MR.CLEAN]

And finally the GL-70 start!

[MR.CLEAN]

Just got some great news from our pals on the J/24 "Baby J" up in the middle of nowhere, Michigan - they went out this morning with the express goal of seeing as many boats as they can, and they're sending us updates from near Pentwater.

More on that soon, in the meantime, here's the start of Class 1 - the big boys.

[MR.CLEAN]

So, now - a little real-world testing. I'm always talking about IonEarth's tracking program - take a look at what they're doing in one class, and compare to IBoats, and let us know what you think. IonEarth president Jerry Miller is on Liberty, the Dehler 39.

[jzk]

Thanks for adding the pics, jzk - what boat were you out on?

We have a Monterey 298ss. It has a blue hull with a yellow stripe. After the start we went from boat to boat and just followed right behind them for a bit. It was pretty sweet, especially trying to follow Genuine Risk. There was a bit there after the big rain that she was hauling pretty good. I hope we weren't too irritating, but we didn't interfere with them in any way. Its a pretty sweet way to watch the race - up close and personal. Last year we took many more pictures as the weather was much better.

I was surprised to see how much Lickety Split was hobby horsing.

[CaptnPea]

So, now - a little real-world testing. I'm always talking about IonEarth's tracking program - take a look at what they're doing in one class, and compare to IBoats, and let us know what you think. IonEarth president Jerry Miller is on Liberty, the Dehler 39.

WOW.... something that actually is user friendly... good work
Have them add the track lines and movie and we have a real winner.

[MR.CLEAN]

So I just figured out that if you turn on "section 9" and "Turbo" you can see that Windquest and GR are in a full-on battle somewhere near Manistee! You'll see a video later today with Brian Janney on Windquest talking about that very thing - a light-air battle is their only hope against the big canter, and we just got confirmation that Spithill is the primary helm on GR.

[MR.CLEAN]

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

[jzk]

So I just figured out that if you turn on "section 9" and "Turbo" you can see that Windquest and GR are in a full-on battle somewhere near Manistee! You'll see a video later today with Brian Janney on Windquest talking about that very thing - a light-air battle is their only hope against the big canter, and we just got confirmation that Spithill is the primary helm on GR.

Yeah, it seems that they are pulling away each doing 10 knots.

[jzk]

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

So why wouldn't you?

[MR.CLEAN]

Like -

Just spoke to Vanessa on Baby J. Here's her report:

"We motored out at 9:30 with a full tank of fuel - the first thing we saw was Earth Voyager with four

A few boats to the North that we couldn't make out [probably GR, Windquest, Lucky, Vincitore]

Here are the boat's we've seen come through Pentwater: Denali was motoring North, sails down, toward Luddington at 0959
Equation and Runaway were together
Seen Evolution, Mirage, Stripes, Windancer...

Beer is very cold, life is very good. Breeze is 10-13 from the SW."



WE will have more from Vanessa shortly. She wants everyone to know about the biggest post-race party on the lake - that's the "Back from the Mack" party in I think Pentwater for the returning boats to Chicago.

[MR.CLEAN]

So why wouldn't you?

Alright - we're donna do it. Someone said Pyramid Point would be a good spot to get pics - can anyone confirm?

[Miss Mackinac]

We're trying to decide now whether we drive to the coast and see if we can get the money shot of all money shots - sunset on the Michigan west coast, with GR and WQ match racing on glass. That would have to be worth the cover of a magazine for Mer!

While these guys try to figure it out how they are getting here....
I will report that the wind has been steadily filling in on the island - almost straight out of the east. Any reports that say the wind is zero from the north or 6 from the east - are wrong. My guess is an average of 10-12 with the occasional gust.

My 1:30 report from Geff is that they are around Ludington, have the spinnaker up, and continue to see a bit more wind.

KT
--
ChicagoMackinac.com
Your Independent, Unofficial Source for Chicago to Mackinac Race Information

[MR.CLEAN]

Just got the report from Bora aboard N/M 46 Natalie J:

"We're trucking now - we've got 9 knots out of 242 degrees - we're just to leeward of Main Street going past them, Nice Pair is about a half mile ahead of us, and we are running the Taliban...umm...Talisman down.

I haven't slept yet, and probably won't - too jacked up from blowing the start [still got to the right and picked up the shift nice and early though]."

Report from Matt aboard F-25C Gamera:

"Not feeling too good with all these small boats around us. We got out too far in front, and I think the other boats went around us to the East. I've been trying to get right all day, and I just can't do it fast enough. We've got 6 knots from the SW"

[MR.CLEAN]

I'm not sure if this video is fully processed yet, but it's a good one - Ike Scott talks about his Farr 47 Big Country, and the bastards that stole his trailer full of sails and boat parts this winter. A total bitch of a loss, but Ike's getting over it and the boat is racing...with new sails.

[Sandstone]

Alright - we're donna do it. Someone said Pyramid Point would be a good spot to get pics - can anyone confirm?

Pyramid Or the lookout on the PS scenic Drive would work as it is on the approach from the south. Pyramid point is further to the north adjacent to the islands and the PS scenic drive lookout is south of the islands. You could actually hit both if you timed it right. Being that the wind is out of the ENE. PP micht make a better strategic location. I would hit the PS scenic drive to check it out first, and then haul ass up to pyramid point. Bring skeeter spray. The wife and I went hiking & kayaking there 2 weeks ago, and they are hungry!

Photo I took from the PS Scenic Drive Lookout.




One from PP.



Both of the same Island.

[MR.CLEAN]

Good thing Mer's got the big zoom and a tripod!

Just heard from Hippie aboard Big Country - "We're just a little south of little sable point, we're going about 8 knots, 10 knots of breeze from 211 degrees. Night was slow and then breezy - it went from 0 to 12 and back with 270 degrees worth of shifts. We got the NE to SW shift around 10 in the morning.

we passed painkiller about 4 hours ago. We saw Raven a bit ago, we saw J/105s about five hours ago."

For all you assholes who let hundreds of balloons go for your rugrat's birthday party, Hippie reported sailing through "hundreds of balloons all morning"