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Port Huron to Mackinac 2003 News and Updates The UnOfficial, Independent Source of Port Huron to Mackinac Race Information
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| Torresen Sailing Site presents PortHuronMackinac.com If you are looking for Chicago to Mackinac Coverage see www.chicagomackinac.com. This race is traditionally one of the most talked about and celebrated annual sailing events on the Great Lakes. Next to the Chicago Yacht Club's race to Mackinac, it is the race to watch. Each year nearly 300 sailing yachts come together to take on the challenges of Lake Huron along two different courses to the Island.
The race rotates annually to the position either before or after the
This year the Port Huron Mackinac is 2nd. Sponsored by Bayview Yacht Club it will be the race's 79th sailing. 275 boats are entered.
This race features two courses. The longer of the two is the Southampton Course. This takes boats 253 miles from Port Huron to the NGS America buoy off Southampton Ontario and then to Mackinac Island. There will be 13 sections including the 4 boat turbo class with Alchemy rating -147 and the multi hull class.
The multi hull class will once again feature Earth Voyager. The 60 foot trimaran was damaged when it was hit by a derailed train when stored in the winter of 2002. Earth Voyager has now been rebuilt and will look to post a similar time to that of the 24 hours plus set in 2001. For comparison purposes Earth Voyager's PHRF # is -207.
The second course is the Shore Course for the smaller boats. This 204-mile course allows the boats to sail straight up the Michigan Shoreline to the finish.
The Port Huron race will handicap boats using PHRF with the exception of the GL 70's. PHRF is a bit simpler than Americap II which was used for the Chicago Mac. Using the ratings above, Earth Voyager owes Alchemy 60 seconds a mile, or 4 hours 13 minutes. If Alchemy finishes ahead of Earth Voyager, or less than 4 hours 13 minutes behind they would be the handicap winner.
Early weather forecasts call for SW winds of 10-15 knots increasing slightly to 10-20 knots as the fleet sails north. This would give the boats a relatively fast reach up the course.
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