2001 Port Huron Mackinac Race Coverage
Updates Archive - Day One - July 21

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July 21 - 9:30 PM EDT - The latest report from the race course is that it's a beautiful day for sailing. Promotion, of Gross Pointe Yacht Club is approximately 60 miles from Southampton heading at 44 degrees with spinnaker up three miles N of the rhumb line. Wind is blowing 15 - 16 out of 182. Margaret Rintoul, of Bayview Yacht Club owned by Kip Anderson and Ed Smyth is on the left with numerous boats in site. Sailors report that the start was "magnificent."

In PHRF A there was a gel coat collision at the start when Decison, owned by Stephen Murray, hit Insatable (42616), owned by Tom Ritter of Bayview Yacht Club on the transom. No injuries observed or reported.


July 21 - 7:30 PM EDT - Weather reports indicate that Lake Huron is covered with light southerly winds.  Reports from the course indicate S winds at 15-16 knots, while the weather buoys show SSE winds at 10 knots putting the fleet under spinnaker.  The Southampton course boats will spend the night in Canadian waters jbying towards the NGS turning buoy.

Forecasts show variable winds of around 10 knots overnight.  The question for the racers on both the Southampton and the Shore courses will be whether to deviate to Lake Huron's respective shores in search of more wind.  

The US shore shows a temperature of 81° at Alpena.  Typically such a temperature will be sufficiently different from the water temperature to build an offshore wind.  

On the Canadian shore Goderich Ontario shows a tempt of 66°.  This will keep the air and water temperatures similar impeding the building of a shore breeze.  The final overnight weather issue is the possibility of thunderstorms which can provide bursts of wind.

July 21, 2001 - 1:15 PM EDT - The yacht Hellsbells, Maynard Isabell's Sabre 34 from Tawas Bay YC, sailing in Cruising B - Shore Course, called in to the RC to report a spinnaker start with light winds and John Tipp's Yare of Bayview Yacht Club is behind them.