2010 MacMan International Race Is In the Books

by Dave Naples on 31 Jul 2010 The race to the best cruising grounds in the world is over. After a start on Mackinac Island, a stop in Gore Bay, Ontario, and a finish in Little Current, the race is completed. There were 26 boats participating as divergent as a 40-foot racer to a 24-foot cruiser. The common thread being they all wanted to race and enjoy the waters of the North Channel.

The race started in light-fluky southwest winds that turned into a steady southeast breeze of up to 17 knots for the larger boats who dominated the results for the first leg. Brandilee with Steve Nadeau as the skipper was the first to finish. Brandilee was also first overall for leg one. They had a beat to windward for most of the leg. Unfortunately for the smaller boats, the wind went to bed early on Friday morning and only six boats chose to finish the first leg. The last boat finished at around 4:00 PM. The rest of the fleet motored in as late as 9:30 PM.

Saturday morning the fleet started in a brisk westerly breeze. Many of the boats carried a spinnaker right from the start. It was a colourful start as spinnakers could be seen against a cliff covered with trees as the background. Since all legs of the race had a westerly heading, either northwest, southwest or plain west, many of the boats were able to carry spinnakers for the whole race. However as the wind increased, there were boats because of the seas and short crews that had to abandon their spinnakers for headsails in order to keep their boats under control as the wind increased.

At the finish the race officials and spectators had a great view as these fine yachts made their way down the North Channel to the finish. A number of boats sailed on the edge of control as they crossed the finish line to get the traditional one gun salute. Some of the boats came in bunched together which made for great viewing and a hectic time for the race committee. In fact, 'Two boats came in at exactly the same time. Something I have never seen in 34 years of sailing or officiating.' said David Naples, Race Chair.

The second leg being a reaching boat's delight saw some changes in the winners. Mollikett with John Rilett at the helm won the overall flag for the second leg. Comfortably Numb with skipper Mike Miller managed a first in class and a sixth overall. Skyship who was sixth overall on the first leg managed a second in class and a second overall on leg two. Since both Comfortably Numb and Skyship had a total of eight points overall, we had to go to total elapsed time to break the tie. Based on total elapsed time Comfortably Numb won the overall for the Racing Division. Ariel skippered by Adrienne Gamble won the Cruising Division overall by having the best time for a non-spinnaker boat on the second leg where nine boats were eligible for that honor.

All in all, the race was a great success for everyone. The participants had a good time; three service clubs on Manitoulin Island raised funds; and our silent auction raised almost $2,000 for Little Current Yacht Club's Youth Sailing Program. Our Youth Sailing Program had 75 participants this year a new high. These funds will go a long way towards purchasing some additional boats to accommodate our growing program.

If you like to race sailboats, enjoy pristine waters, and good camaraderie, you might want to circle July 21st. 2011 on your calendar. As usual, the start will be on Mackinac Island for the eighth Annual MacMan. To receive more information and be put on the mailing list for the race, please send an e-mail to macman@lcyc.ca.

2010 MacMan Challenge

Racing Division First Overall	Manitoulin Transport MIYC Trophy	Comfortably Numb
Cruising Division First Overall	Manitoulin Transport LCYC Trophy	Ariel
Gertrude Hibbard Memorial Trophy		Mark Smith, Gemini
On the Edge Trophy		Mark Smith , Gemini
First Overall Leg 2		Mollikett