Mackinac Island, MI – Nearly the entire fleet of 191 entries in the 101st edition of the
Bayview Mackinac Race organized by the Bayview Yacht Club crossed the finish line with
the impression that this was a remarkable race, one likely to be remembered for years to
come. Everyone in the fleet of boats ranging from 27 to 68 feet in length finished in 45 hour
or less since starting on Saturday in Port Huron, half a day faster than the slowest entries in
last year’s 100th edition. 
This year’s race was supported by presenting sponsor National Fleet Services. 
The brisk southwest winds on Lake Huron on Saturday propelled both fleets at high speed
downwind sailing northwards on the the 259-mile Cove Island course and the 205-mile
Shore course along the Michigan coast. 
“This was the fastest start to the race I remember in 10 to 15 years,” said Tim Prophit, who
was not only this year’s Race Chairman from Bayview Yacht Club, but also skipper of his
perennial class winner, the North American 40 FAST TANGO. “For us headed to Cove
Island it was a drag race up the lake, also for those sailing on the Shore course.” 
There was, however, one hiccup to these ideal conditions when a squall came through the
course a few hours into the race and resulted in rig, gear and sail damage for some, two
crew-overboard incidents that fortunately resulted in successful recoveries. In all 8 boats
retired from the race but no significant injuries reported in any incident. 
“We are grateful to the US Coast Guard and those competitors who participated in the
successful search and rescue of the sailors who were in the water. It’s a testament to their
skill, preparedness, and the shared commitment to safety that all sailors share any time
they are on the water. Well done,” said Paul Falcone, Commodore of Bayview Yacht Club. 
The remainder of the first half of the race for both fleets remained fast until the wind speed
dropped and shifted towards the west on Sunday night. 
“There was a transition zone when the wind shifted, and then things got interesting,” said
Wally Cross, tactician on Tim LaRiviere’s Italia 14.98 EAGLE ONE racing in Class B on the
Cove Island course. “Not everybody does well when there are zones like this, but these are
where the race can be won or lost.” 
EAGLE ONE favored the north side of the rhumb line initially, trying to stay ahead of our
pack, and Cross said he noticed a lot of wind shear and even adverse current in this area.
They then broke free of the pack to head to the Michigan shore where the new shift was
expected, caught this shift, and vaulted to a more comfortable lead to carry into the finish at
12:30 AM on Monday and earn victory in Class B. 
Seven hours ahead of them the group of three frontrunners in this race – the TP 52’s
HEARTBREAKER skippered by Bob Hughes, MOCKINGBIRD skippered by Chris Duhon
and NATALIE J skippered by Phil O’Niel – finished their intense 28-hour boat-for-boat battle
only minutes apart, with HEARTBREAKER emerging victorious in both Class A and overall

Division I results. MOCKINGBIRD placed second overall, and NATALIE J third among 95
teams who finished the race on this course. 
On the shorter Shore course the wind angles resulted in even more of a drag race, with lead
changes coming from speed more than tactics, until the transition in breeze produced a few
light air speed bumps in the course along the northern Michigan shoreline. Some went out
into the lake to find better wind, others stuck close to the rhumb line, but all who won their
class were better than their rivals at keeping up their speed in these transitions. 
Emerging victorious in Division II overall after finishing Sunday night at 10:10 PM was
Cameron Paine’s C&C 35 Mk I UNDERDOG, who is also the top-finishing Canadian entry in
the race, followed by Rob Bunn’s Morgan 42 WIND TOY in second and Everett and
Cameron Benedict’s Santana 35 SHAPE in third among the 33 finishers racing on this
course.
Winner of the Division III Cruising classes was John Seago’s Oceanis 400 SEAGOIING II,
winner of the Doublehanded entries on the Shore course was John and Johnny Walton on
their Express 27 RIPTIDE, and the winner of the Multihulls in Division IV was Matt Scharl’s
Gougeon 35 trimaran ADAGIO. 
Complete results can be found at https://bycmack.com/results.
A group of eleven of the Cove Island fleet finishers did not turn right and head ashore at
Mackinac Island to enjoy the post-race festivities but kept sailing west under the Mackinac
Bridge to then head south racing towards Chicago to finish the 548-mile Ultra Mac race. 
First to finish yesterday afternoon in this long race was Trey Sheehan’s TP 52 HOOLIGAN,
followed by Mike Evans on his Pogo 50 POMMES FRITES early this morning, then Doug
Evans on his J/122 ELBOW ROOM, and then Mike Tobey’s Nelson/Marek 40 FREYJA.
There are five remaining teams still in the race, with two retired. 
“This race was truly unique,” said EAGLE ONE’s Wally Cross, who said this was his 54th
race to Mackinac. “We had great wind, enough transitions to make for interesting tactics,
and a really diverse range of boat types in our class to race against. Its not like a really long
race where you can settle into a watch system, you have to be awake and on your game
the entire time to win. I love it! 
During the race twice-daily race analysis videos were produced by veteran offshore race
commentator Dobbs Davis and available at https://www.youtube.com/@DobbsDavis. These
shows were supported by National Fleet Services and VanTol and Vitelli Insurance Group. 
For more information on the 101st Bayview Mackinac Race presented by National Fleet
Services, visit the event website at https://bycmack.com/. Media resources may be found at
https://bycmack.com/press.  
More information on the 2025 Ultra Mac race is at https://www.the2025ultramac.com/.