2015 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race – Fast finish overall

by Barby MacGowan on 22 Jul 2015 2015 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race – More than 5,000 people gathered on the grounds of Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel today to celebrate the fast finish of race, which started Saturday, July 18, from Port Huron. Out of 250 registered boats, 244 actually started, and seven boats did not finish, making the total count for boats completing the race 237.

According to Chairman Peter Wenzler, who sailed aboard Bill Alcott’s (St. Claire Shores, Mich.) 65 footer Equation, a “white squall” hit the fleet shortly after the start, making a whole lot of wind out of what started as a light downwind breeze. While some spinnakers became streamers at the tops of masts, others were locked and loaded or temporarily switched out for easier-to-handle headsails before the wind calmed and then elevated again to a more sustainable and “for the most part wonderful” 22 knots over flat, waveless water.

Equation was fourth over the line at 17:27:24 Sunday afternoon, after the Orma 60 Arete (12:53:51), the Volvo 70 Il Mostro (13:30:54) and the 86 foot Windquest (the largest boat in the fleet, 15:08:18). All of them had sailed the 259 nm Cove Island Course for faster, bigger boats, enjoying a strong beat home in 18-22 knots after rounding the turning mark at Cove Island. Smaller boats sailed the 204 nm Shore Course, with the bulk of that fleet finishing mid-morning on Monday after reaching in a solid 20-25 knots. “From 5:45 to 8:00 a.m., there was a cannon going off every few seconds, as they came in fast and furious,” said Wenzler.

The big winner was Il Mostro, owned by Peter Thorton and his son Christopher Thorton (Bay Harbor, Mich.) It not only topped Class A but also took Division I and Overall honors.

On Monday, the elder Thorton was enjoying sunset on his boat in Mackinac Harbor, reflecting on his team’s victory and thinking about how “life is good,” a recurrent theme that seems omnipresent from start to finish at this 91-year-old event, keeping it relevant in the sport of yacht racing each year. “There was a lot of carnage in the beginning, and we were dodging boats left and right…and with all the spectators…it was something to see,” said Thorton, “but that’s where I think we got jettisoned and pulled ahead. In the first 30 minutes of the race, we just fired through there with a J4 (storm jib) up. Our nemesis, Windquest, they are great competitors and beat us in Chicago (at the Chicago to Mackinac Race), but we weren’t going to allow them to do it twice.”

Thornton said the wind lightened at times, mostly when the fleet encountered fog banks, but for the most part, it was in the upper teens, enabling Il Mostro to establish a new elapsed time Cove Island Course record for monohulls of 23:39:54. “On Sunday, we were tacking to the finish from noon on. If we had been able to keep reaching like we had been earlier, we probably would have shaved a couple of hours off that. Our race was near perfect, and my hat’s off to my team. It is my most memorable Bayview Mackinac Race of all time.”

Thornton added that Il Mostro, which finished second in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race, lives up to its thoroughbred reputation in conditions like it encountered here. “When it gets a breeze, there’s nothing faster; anything 11 knots or over, it just takes off. It’s a pleasure to drive – the most exciting yacht I’ve ever owned.”

Division II (Shore Course) and Class Q was won by the 36’ Flying Buffalo, owned by Al and Bob Declercq (Clinton Township, Mich.). The boat was designed by the Declercqs’ father in the early 1960s (the design later sold to Cheoy Lee) and famously won the Bayview Mackinac in 1964, 1967, and 1968, as well as the Chicago Mackinac overall in 1966 and 1967. Al Declercq, who sailed in his first Mackinac Race in 1966 (he was 12) on Flying Buffalo with his father, said he and his brother tracked the boat down a few years ago and bought it last Fall.

As notoriously fast as the boat is, however, Al Declercq declared that it’s “people who win races.” He explained that his crew is as good as they come and included three father/son duos (Al/Matthew Declercq, Bob/Robert Declercq, Fred/Ward Detwiler). “At the start, we were probably too prepared, expecting it to blow harder than it did, but it only blew 30 knots. We had the storm jib under the asymmetrical, then dropped the asymmetrical, and then we sailed without our main for about five minutes. But it’s a 50-year-old wooden mast, so you don’t want to lose the race because you break something on the boat.”

Declercq said what would make this race stand out from the other 46 Bayview Macs he has sailed is the move his team made at Middle Island, a third of the way up the Shore Course. “We were beating in eight knots when we saw flags on the island just ripping, so we tacked into where weed grows like straw on the bottom, and we were in 15-20 (knots of breeze) on a reach for eight miles up the shore. We went into it three miles behind, came out three miles ahead! I’ve never been in there and I don’t think anyone else has either. We bought the boat to win this race, and it looked like we weren’t going to, so we had to take a chance, and it worked out well for us.”

Mulithull Division was won by the 30-foot Corsair Triceratops, owned by Jonathan Alvord (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.), who counts this as his first time here.

“The storm helped us,” said Alvord. “We didn’t drop any sails and took off through the fleet, so it set us up really nicely. It also changed our game plan to run up the Michigan shoreline and catch a lift off the land. Instead, after the storm hit, we sailed the downwind course on the Canadian coast. It is a beautiful thing to see 70 footers in front of you and no one behind you that has to beat you boat-for-boat.”

A total of 19 classes (12 on the Cove Island Course, and seven on the Shore Course) sailed. The aforementioned Arete, owned by Rick Warner (Marine City, Mich.) established a new elapsed time Cove Island Course record for multihulls of 23:12:51.

Joining Bell’s Beer in sponsoring the 2015 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race is Grand Hotel-Mackinac Island Michigan, Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Frankenmuth Insurance/Aiken Shores Insurance Agency, Bayview Yacht Club Foundation, Quantum Sail Design Group, Barefoot Winery, Shellback Rum, Tito’s Vodka, Rest Assured, Shepler’s Ferry, and Pentastar Aviation.

Full results

 Division I - Cove Island

Boat	Owner / Skipper	Finish Time	Elapsed Time	Corrected	Class	Div.
USA 1948	Il Mostro	Peter Thornton	Sunday - 13:30:54	23:39:54	39:32:35	Class A - Racing	1
USA 28686	Windquest	Doug DeVos	Sunday - 15:08:18	25:17:18	41:05:37	Class A - Racing	2
USA 52575	Defiance	Dale Smirl	Sunday - 20:16:33	30:25:33	41:38:07	Class A - Racing	3
USA 323	Equation	Bill Alcott / Tom Anderson	Sunday - 17:27:24	27:36:24	42:37:23	Class A - Racing	4
USA 25168	Stripes	Bill Martin	Sunday - 21:57:47	32:06:47	42:51:41	Class A - Racing	5
USA 5252	Natalie J	Philip D. O'Niel III, D.D.S.	Sunday - 20:55:03	31:04:03	43:03:26	Class A - Racing	6
USA 97363	Denali	Rick Hennig	Sunday - 21:44:47	31:53:47	43:06:12	Class A - Racing	7
USA 50345	Ihnsanity Too	Marvin Ihnen	Monday - 05:07:41	39:46:41	43:14:13	Class C - One Design Racing	8
USA 52329	Heartbreaker	Robert Hughes	Sunday - 20:28:14	30:37:14	43:16:05	Class A - Racing	9
USA 52701	Windancer	Brien Baker	Sunday - 21:57:08	32:06:08	43:17:29	Class A - Racing	10
USA 61005	To The Moon	Robert Berg	Monday - 01:46:11	36:15:11	43:19:01	Class B - Racing	11
USA 50045	Details	Lance Smotherman	Sunday - 22:36:53	32:45:53	43:54:41	Class A - Racing	12
USA 70	Evolution	Kohler/Reichelsdorfer	Sunday - 22:35:36	32:44:36	44:09:21	Class A - Racing	13
USA 25669	Notso EZ Money	Michael Medwid	Monday - 05:28:03	39:57:03	44:18:51	Class B - Racing	14
USA 7145	Vortices	Chris Saxton	Monday - 01:48:52	36:17:52	44:20:56	Class B - Racing	15
USA 52774	Courtesan	Dane Christy	Monday - 01:31:20	36:00:20	44:39:48	Class B - Racing	16
USA 60102	Sociable	Robert Arzbaecher	Monday - 06:58:53	41:37:53	44:48:07	Class D - Racing	17
USA 25328	Hot Ticket	Michael Kirkman	Monday - 06:34:08	41:13:08	44:48:11	Class C - One Design Racing	18
USA 25497	Carinthia	Frank Kern	Monday - 06:35:38	41:14:38	44:49:49	Class C - One Design Racing	19
USA 90	Utah	Bradley faber	Monday - 04:24:01	40:43:01	44:56:02	Class F - Doublehanded Racing	20
USA 77984	Sagamore	Tone Martin	Monday - 00:24:55	34:33:55	45:01:30	Class A - Racing	21
USA 64986	Surface Tension	Jeffrey S. Schaefer	Monday - 06:24:45	41:03:45	45:05:08	Class D - Racing	22
USA 25668	Mostly Harmless	Wick Smith	Monday - 08:20:14	43:59:14	45:05:50	Class I - Racing	23
USA 25439	Victrix	Curtis A. Kime	Monday - 06:52:00	41:31:00	45:07:37	Class C - One Design Racing	24
USA 51778	Liberty	C. David Phelps	Monday - 08:49:31	43:38:31	45:10:15	Class E - Racing	25
USA 4215	Tsunami	Stephen Polk	Monday - 03:29:46	37:58:46	45:22:47	Class B - Racing	26
USA 416	Windshadow	James Murphy	Monday - 08:42:28	44:31:28	45:25:59	Class J - Racing	27
USA 87666	Thirsty Tiger	Albert Dottavio	Sunday - 23:44:49	33:53:49	45:31:22	Class A - Racing	28
USA 123	Good Lookin'	Mark DenUyl	Monday - 09:01:11	44:50:11	45:32:13	Class J - Racing	29
USA 25580	Sagitta	Jon Somes and Larry Oswald	Monday - 06:26:07	40:55:07	45:37:16	Class B - Racing	30
USA 40036	Norboy	Leif Sigmond	Monday - 03:29:39	37:58:39	45:37:45	Class B - Racing	31
USA 212	Spar Wars III	Bruce Hubble	Monday - 10:26:18	46:15:18	45:41:33	Class J - Racing	32
USA 84002	Denali²	william f mckinley	Monday - 01:15:09	35:44:09	45:43:30	Class B - Racing	33
USA 25656	Liberty	Robert Bert	Monday - 08:57:58	44:36:58	45:44:31	Class I - Racing	34
USA 26226	Pendragon	Gregory Thomas / John Trost	Monday - 09:15:25	44:04:25	45:50:12	Class E - Racing	35
USA 25329	Nauti Boys	Hughes / Vermet	Monday - 07:33:36	42:12:36	45:52:50	Class C - One Design Racing	36
USA 25999	Night Moves	Henry Mistele	Monday - 07:34:15	42:13:15	45:53:32	Class C - One Design Racing	37
USA 40740	Brandilee	Steve Nadeau	Monday - 09:09:04	44:48:04	45:55:54	Class I - Racing	38
USA 52723	Jug Band	Harry Simmon	Monday - 10:00:23	45:39:23	45:56:21	Class K - Cruising	39
USA 42968	Mr. Bill's Wild Ride	William Wildner	Monday - 08:49:18	43:58:18	45:57:04	Class G - Racing	40
USA 35009	Chico 2	Jim Weyand	Monday - 06:44:04	41:13:04	45:57:17	Class B - Racing	41
USA 406	Snake Oil	DON HARTHORN	Monday - 09:28:30	45:17:30	45:59:58	Class J - Racing	42
USA 617	Pterodactyl	Symonds	Monday - 09:32:19	45:21:19	46:03:50	Class J - Racing	43
CAN 152	Irresistible too	Gerald Hines	Monday - 07:45:41	42:24:41	46:05:58	Class C - One Design Racing	44
USA 25900	Perversion	Dennis A. Dettmer	Monday - 07:45:52	42:24:52	46:06:10	Class C - One Design Racing	45
USA 25628	Weather Edge III	Colton Weatherston	Monday - 09:25:38	44:34:38	46:08:20	Class H - One Design Racing	46
USA 25686	Saralysia	Chester S. Kolascz	Monday - 09:26:01	45:15:01	46:10:26	Class J - Racing	47
USA 11508	Maskwa	Don Waller	Monday - 09:23:05	44:12:05	46:11:28	Class E - Racing	48
USA 77	Dolphin	Larry Ruhland	Monday - 05:40:34	40:09:34	46:12:04	Class B - Racing	49
USA 51457	Das Boot	Jay Muller	Monday - 08:22:08	43:01:08	46:17:43	Class D - Racing	50
USA 52772	Carrera	Rod Spearin	Monday - 09:35:06	44:44:06	46:18:08	Class H - One Design Racing	51
USA 25418	Venom	Doug Livermore	Monday - 09:08:30	44:57:30	46:18:43	Class J - Racing	52
USA 15004	Fast Tango	Tim Prophit	Monday - 09:31:47	45:10:47	46:19:12	Class I - Racing	53
USA 35427	Epic	Ray Adams	Monday - 08:11:34	42:50:34	46:20:09	Class D - Racing	54
USA 35006	Hell Bent	Erik Schwanz	Monday - 06:52:33	41:21:33	46:21:03	Class B - Racing	55
USA 117	Say Uncle	Kevin Lemonds	Monday - 08:38:47	43:17:47	46:21:49	Class D - Racing	56
USA 42763	Major Detail	William Vogan	Monday - 09:13:08	44:22:08	46:21:58	Class G - Racing	57
USA 10101	Overkill	Thomas McNeill	Monday - 09:47:21	44:36:21	46:23:24	Class E - Racing	58
USA 482	Talisman	Bruce Aikens	Monday - 00:37:39	34:46:39	46:25:03	Class A - Racing	59
USA 31377	Blitz	Larry Soutar	Monday - 08:54:55	43:33:55	46:25:19	Class D - Racing	60
USA 77899	Red Hawk	Ralph Hodek	Monday - 08:23:22	43:02:22	46:32:55	Class D - Racing	61
USA 1717	Blue	Mike Schoendorf	Monday - 02:07:23	36:36:23	46:33:50	Class B - Racing	62
USA 15240	Genesis	Paul Lee	Monday - 10:12:41	45:51:41	46:34:41	Class I - Racing	63
USA 5455	FUNTECH Racing	Charlie Hess	Monday - 08:12:27	42:51:27	46:35:03	Class C - One Design Racing	64
USA 25633	Titan	Aitken, Schultes, Dumouchelle	Monday - 09:45:54	44:34:54	46:35:19	Class E - Racing	65
USA 40025	Solution	Bill Francis	Monday - 04:19:20	38:48:20	46:37:27	Class B - Racing	66
USA 25363	Flyin' Irish	William Bresser	Monday - 08:15:26	42:54:26	46:38:18	Class C - One Design Racing	67
USA 52725	Imedi	Mark Hauf	Sunday - 23:30:12	33:39:12	46:38:28	Class A - Racing	68
USA 51405	Bad Habits	Mark Hanke	Monday - 08:43:30	43:22:30	46:40:42	Class D - Racing	69
USA 25412	Engager	Paul Latham	Monday - 08:43:45	43:22:45	46:40:58	Class D - Racing	70
USA 52488	Sirocco 3	Robert Klairmont	Monday - 06:07:03	40:36:03	46:42:32	Class B - Racing	71
USA 90	Legend	David Shriner	Monday - 10:01:14	45:10:14	46:45:11	Class H - One Design Racing	72
CAN 18	Wicked-R	Ron Bildfell	Monday - 10:00:39	45:49:39	46:45:46	Class J - Racing	73
USA 58484	Shorthanded	Bob hughes	Monday - 10:00:04	44:49:04	46:50:07	Class E - Racing	74
USA 15044	Velero VII	John S. Barbour, Jr.	Monday - 10:02:31	45:41:31	46:50:42	Class I - Racing	75
USA 51377	Vayu	Ron Buzil	Monday - 08:54:42	43:33:42	46:52:45	Class D - Racing	76
USA 61367	Gail Force	Robert Duker	Monday - 10:09:19	45:18:19	46:53:33	Class H - One Design Racing	77
USA 25145	Chizzler	Steven Lawson	Monday - 10:34:20	45:23:20	46:58:44	Class E - Racing	78
USA 93096	En Pointe	Frank Kups	Monday - 10:35:47	45:24:47	47:00:14	Class E - Racing	79
USA 25	Unplugged	Tim Clayson	Monday - 08:09:59	42:38:59	47:04:00	Class B - Racing	80
USA 51541	Radiance	Benjamin White	Monday - 11:15:49	47:04:49	47:04:49	Class J - Racing	81
USA 43940	Affirmed	Jason M. Geisz	Monday - 10:18:45	45:07:45	47:09:39	Class E - Racing	82
USA 93335	Resolute	Gregg Remer	Monday - 09:58:04	45:47:04	47:09:47	Class J - Racing	83
USA 51678	Patriot	Ken Sharpe	Monday - 10:25:11	45:34:11	47:09:58	Class H - One Design Racing	84
USA 143	Manitou	John C. Burke	Monday - 10:26:02	45:35:02	47:10:51	Class H - One Design Racing	85
USA 15019	Leading Edge	Mark Bevins	Monday - 10:23:19	46:02:19	47:12:02	Class I - Racing	86
USA 43881	Mystic 3	Fred Wilhelm	Monday - 09:05:28	44:44:28	47:12:38	Class K - Cruising	87
USA 25524	Grizzly	Charles M. Bayer, Jr.	Monday - 10:34:14	45:43:14	47:19:20	Class H - One Design Racing	88
USA 22077	Eagle One	Timothy P. LaRiviere	Monday - 08:40:07	43:19:07	47:19:22	Class D - Racing	89
USA 92	Capers	Don Hudak	Monday - 08:24:13	42:53:13	47:19:43	Class B - Racing	90
USA 18188	Gauntlet	GUY HIESTAND	Monday - 09:32:53	44:11:53	47:19:45	Class D - Racing	91
CAN 54505	Sidewinder	Kyle Griffin	Monday - 10:22:02	46:11:02	47:20:58	Class J - Racing	92
USA 23937	Split Decision	Michael West	Monday - 10:34:47	46:13:47	47:23:47	Class I - Racing	93
CAN 602	Kazuri	Stuart Bletcher	Monday - 10:40:55	45:49:55	47:26:15	Class H - One Design Racing	94
USA 50799	Willie J	Doug Petter	Monday - 07:13:40	41:42:40	47:28:55	Class B - Racing	95
USA 97481	Whiplash	Gregg Whipple	Monday - 10:17:29	45:26:29	47:29:13	Class G - Racing	96
USA 40937	Time Machine	Robert Gordenker	Monday - 10:17:36	45:26:36	47:29:20	Class G - Racing	97
USA 25326	Snipe	Denny Meagher	Monday - 10:19:55	45:28:55	47:31:46	Class G - Racing	98
USA 25622	Viper	Roger Pollack	Monday - 09:18:50	43:57:50	47:32:54	Class D - Racing	99
USA 25187	Amante	Greg Velez	Monday - 10:22:13	45:31:13	47:34:10	Class G - Racing	100
USA 15025	Majic Star	John Rummel	Monday - 10:46:34	46:25:34	47:35:52	Class I - Racing	101
USA 56565	Relentless	mark hagan	Monday - 05:21:19	39:50:19	47:36:05	Class B - Racing	102
USA 43851	Standard Deviation	Douglas Van Der Aa	Monday - 10:24:28	46:13:28	47:36:59	Class J - Racing	103
USA 25620	Red Iguana	Mark Nagel	Monday - 10:55:11	46:04:11	47:41:01	Class H - One Design Racing	104
USA 25208	Shenanigan	Dick & Dan Synowiec	Monday - 10:43:54	46:32:54	47:43:23	Class J - Racing	105
USA 52754	Sohest	Jerry Somalski	Monday - 10:58:10	46:07:10	47:44:06	Class H - One Design Racing	106
USA 10102	Windseeker	Eric Vermandere	Monday - 11:05:17	45:54:17	47:44:27	Class E - Racing	107
USA 43828	Falcon	Bayer/Bayer/Barnes	Monday - 10:33:46	45:42:46	47:46:14	Class G - Racing	108
CAN 34741	White River	Ryan Lefebvre	Monday - 09:50:44	46:09:44	47:46:46	Class F - Doublehanded Racing	109
USA 51793	War Chant 2	REID STROMBERG	Monday - 11:01:18	46:10:18	47:47:21	Class H - One Design Racing	110
USA 25161	Steelin' Gold	W. White/W. Mosher	Monday - 10:41:05	45:50:05	47:53:53	Class G - Racing	111
USA 33140	Collina	James J. Gerometta	Monday - 11:50:11	47:39:11	47:56:53	Class J - Racing	112
USA 38005	Painkiller 4	Alice O. Martin	Monday - 08:05:31	42:34:31	47:57:42	Class B - Racing	113
USA 33547	Quick Silver	Gintaras Karaitis	Monday - 10:27:43	45:16:43	48:00:42	Class E - Racing	114
USA 33599	Covert	Bill Ryzyi	Monday - 11:13:57	46:02:57	48:07:20	Class E - Racing	115
USA 251	Phoenix	William Hamilton	Monday - 11:15:20	46:04:20	48:08:46	Class E - Racing	116
USA 16826	Absolute	James Hodson	Monday - 12:02:49	47:51:49	48:09:36	Class J - Racing	117
KA 3928	Margaret Rintoul IV	Tim Wilkinson	Monday - 07:13:32	41:42:32	48:14:23	Class B - Racing	118
USA 7779	Ocean	Jim Banovitz	Sunday - 20:52:24	31:01:24	48:14:31	Class A - Racing	119
USA 405	White Water Dragon	Tom White	Monday - 10:48:12	46:27:12	48:32:40	Class K - Cruising	120
USA 69311	Griffin	Paul Levin	Monday - 11:18:56	46:27:56	48:33:26	Class G - Racing	121
USA 60913	Chantey	Jim Baubie	Monday - 11:51:24	47:00:24	48:39:12	Class H - One Design Racing	122
USA 111	Skull Cracker	Daniel Kitchens	Monday - 09:53:47	44:22:47	48:58:33	Class B - Racing	123
USA 42418	Rowdy	Val A. Saph	Monday - 11:49:54	46:58:54	49:05:48	Class G - Racing	124
USA 35999	Vanguard	Michael Goran	Monday - 10:09:27	44:48:27	49:11:51	Class D - Racing	125
USA 60812	Wavelength	Alan Linne	Monday - 12:14:19	47:23:19	49:31:19	Class G - Racing	126
USA 40888	Swiftsure	Ronald Ehlert	Monday - 08:05:47	42:34:47	50:19:17	Class B - Racing	127
USA 25637	Carol J	Charles Jessup	Monday - 16:42:27	52:21:27	** 50:34:05	Class K - Cruising	128
USA 60563	Fast Forward 41	Mary and Gary Gmeiner	Monday - 13:44:53	49:23:53	50:38:41	Class I - Racing	129
USA 35007	Advantage	John Vermeulen	Monday - 14:52:58	49:41:58	51:26:26	Class E - Racing	130
USA 51	Xcessive	Warren Roosen	Monday - 15:20:13	50:59:13	51:32:31	Class K - Cruising	131

 Division III - Cove Island Multihull

Boat	Owner / Skipper	Finish Time	Elapsed Time	Corrected	Class	Div.
USA 142	Triceratops	Jonathan Alvord	Sunday - 22:51:47	33:10:47	34:47:08	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	1
USA 8	Arete'	Rick Warner	Sunday - 12:53:51	23:12:51	35:15:19	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	2
USA 12	Panic Button	Todd Howe	Monday - 00:59:09	35:18:09	37:22:16	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	3
T 1	Ollie	Tim Walli	Monday - 00:39:34	34:58:34	38:43:45	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	4
X 12	Strings	Mark Cadotte & Greg Bull	Monday - 02:42:31	37:01:31	40:35:00	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	5
E 5	Adagio	Meade Gougeon	Monday - 03:48:30	38:07:30	42:25:59	Class 00 - Multihull Racing	6