Chicago Yacht Club offers tracking for Race to Mackinac participants

by Race to Mackinac committee on 23 May 2009 The Chicago Yacht Club announced that it will make position transponders available to participants in the 2009 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, presented by Lands' End Business Outfitters. The race will start off Chicago's lakefront on July 17th and 18th, 2009. 2009 marks the 101st running of the world's longest annual freshwater sailing distance race.

‘Chicago Yacht Club has long been a pioneer in tracking sailboat races. This year, we will continue that tradition by offering skippers the opportunity to carry position transponders. Our transponder program will make the 101st Race an event that millions of spectators around the world can enjoy,' Greg Miarecki, chair of the 2009 Mackinac Committee remarked.

Chicago Yacht Club has selected iBoattrack as its vendor for race tracking services. iBoattrack handled the tracking of over 400 boats in the 100th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac – the largest offshore yacht race ever tracked. This year, position transponders will be offered as an optional feature for only $75. While tracking is optional this year, most skippers are opting to participate in the tracking program.

'This year’s tracking program is shaping up to be an enormous success. So far, well over 80 percent of our skippers are choosing to have their boats tracked,' Miarecki noted.

Chicago Yacht Club looks forward to staging a world-class race for skippers and crews.