Port Huron, MI – Yesterday’s strong 15-20 knot southwest wind in southern Lake Huron
helped propel the 191 entries to a fast downwind start of the 101st Bayview Mackinac Race,
organized by the Bayview Yacht Club and presented by National Fleet Services. The
favorable weather promises to deliver one of the fastest races in the history of this race.
The brisk conditions at the start were not, however, without cost. Several entries suffered
breakdowns in sails, rigs, and even rudders, and two crew-overboard incidents fortunately
resulted in successful recoveries. In all, 8 boats have retired from the race, but there are no
reports of significant injuries 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,” stated Paul Falcone, Commodore of Bayview Yacht
Club. 
Out on the lake the favorable conditions persisted all day yesterday and last night and have
vaulted Chris Duhon’s Botin TP 52 MOCKINGBIRD into a narrow lead over Phil & Sharon
O’Neil’s Botin TP 52 NATALIE J and Bob Hughes’s Botin TP 52 HEARTBREAKER with 80
miles left to go to the finish at 0700 this morning on the 259-mile Cove Island course.
Meanwhile, similarly favorable winds are being enjoyed by the teams racing on the 204-mile
Shore course, where Jim Weyand’s turbo 1D 35 CHICO 2 is leading that pack with only 64
miles to go at 0700 this morning.
While so far this race is proving to be exceptionally fast in the long history of this event, the
21.7-hour elapsed time records for monohulls and multihulls on the Cove Island course are
safe, as is the 17.2-hour monohull course record for the Shore course.
While the TP 52’s battle for the outright elapsed time lead on the Cove Island course,
leading Class A using ORC handicap ratings at 0700 this morning was Mark Hollerbach and
Michael Kiss’s Santa Cruz 70 VALOR DBA STRIPES. Leading Class B was Fred Eaton’s
narrow Hubbard 55 canting-keeled ketch RED HERRING, one of several Canadian entries
in the race, and leading Class C was Scott & Merrit Sellers’s J/111 NO SURPRISE. In Class
D among the competitive J/120’s Charlie Hess’s J/120 FUNTECH RACING had the lead,
and another Canadian entry – Matt Lane’s C&C SR 33 C4 – had the lead in Class E.
Leaders in Class F and Class G were Mark DenUyl’s J/105 GOOD LOOKIN’ and yet
another Canadian entry – First 42s7 SMOKUM TOO – respectively.
While CHICO 2 is leading the Shore course fleet in elapsed time as of 0700 this morning,
the leader in the Cruiser/Racer Class K using ORC handicap ratings is Rachel Byrne’s
Arcona 380 LA REVE. Other current class leaders in the Shore course fleet include Everett
and Cameron Benedict’s Santana 35 SHAPE in Class H, Spencer Channel’s Morgan 35
COURAGE in Class I, Steve Straub sailing with Brad Kania on their Hunter 33-2
SPAGEETO BYTE in the Doublehanded Class J, Jeremy Thompson’s Grampian 30

TRAV’LER in Class L, and Greg Doyal’s Nonsuch 30 catboat CHALLENGE in Cruising
Class M.
Trey Sheehan’s TP 52 HOOLIGAN RACING is leading the 10 entries that will be sailing
past the Mackinac Island finish line and continuing west and then south towards another
finish line in Chicago in the 548-mile Ultra Mac Race.
The weather forecast is indicating somewhat lighter winds are anticipated today, yet still
favorable for a fast finish for both fleets, with fleet leaders expected to arrive in the late
afternoon today.
Offshore race commentator Dobbs Davis started his twice-daily race analysis video shows
last night, with the first viewable on YouTube at https://youtu.be/AfDs6DqzzmY and this
morning’s show published at https://youtu.be/15O1LCmbG-k. These shows are 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/.