Sailors Enjoy Challenge of Mackinac to Manitoulin Race
By Eric Fish

Hiawatha, skippered by Robert Porter, sails toward the starting line Thursday, July 26, for the fourth sailing of the Mackinac to Manitoulin race. Mr. Porter also sails annually in the Chicago to Mackinac, Bayview Mackinac, and Trans Superior yacht races. Hiawatha captured first place overall in the Cruising class, winning the Manitoulin Transport Trophy.

The fourth sailing of the Mackinac to Manitoulin yacht race had a little bit of everything - good winds, poor winds, protests, victories, and milestones - but the common thread was enjoyment.

"It was a great group and it was just a lot of fun," said Mackinac Island Yacht Club Rear Commodore Dave Rowe, who sailed with Mike Foster and Sam Kovalak aboard Brent Murphy's boat Killarney.

The race, called MacMan by the sailors, was founded in 2004 to promote sailing in the North Channel and around Manitoulin Island in Canada. It begins annually on Mackinac Island and finishes at Little Current, Ontario.

"I think the sailors have a wonderful time," said Margaret Van Camp, Little Current Yacht Club commodore.

This year, 25 boats were registered for the event, but Mrs. Van Camp said 23 actually raced.

The course consists of two legs, which can be sailed independently. The first leg is an overnight passage from Mackinac Island to Gore Bay, and the second is the next day, from Gore Bay to Little Current. The second leg promotes more entries from Manitoulin Island, and Mrs. Van Camp said eight boats sailed only in the second leg.

On the first leg, boats found 15 knot winds and waves two meters high, and the fast, rocky conditions were too much for the St. Ignace boat Dragonfly to handle.

"Those two meter waves just sort of did them in and they turned," Mrs. Van Camp

Dragonfly is skippered by Steve Sjogren and crewed by his wife, Martha, and the couple's twin 11-year-old sons. The family raced in the annual Fourth of July Around the Island Regatta earlier in the month and gave the MacMan race a shot.

"If you were ever going to get seasick, you were going to get seasick on the first leg of the race," said Mr. Murphy, captain of Killarney. "We were sad to hear they had to drop out."

Following the rough waters and high winds, sailing was much quieter. Mr. Murphy said the boats normally reach Gore Bay and finish the first leg at 7 a.m. the next morning. He said Killarney finished the leg around 7 p.m.

Winning the first leg Cruising A class was Hiawatha, captained by Robert Porter. The Cruising B class pennant went to Skyship and the Racing class win for the race's first leg was awarded to Eagle.

At Gore Bay, the fleet enjoyed a fish fry hosted by the Gore Bay Rotary Club before departing the next day on the race's second leg.

In a complete reversal, the second leg of the race to Little Current saw little or no wind, and the boats were moving so slow that some of the crew from race co-chairman Dennis Centis' boat, Azzuro, went for a swim.

"They said they had no trouble catching up to the boat," Mrs. Van Camp said. "Saturday was the kind of day that a sailor would decide to become a power boater."

Mr. Porter and Hiawatha repeated their first leg performance and took the Cruising A Class win for leg two as well. The dual leg victories gave Hiawatha the overall victory in the Cruising Class and earned the skipper and crew the Manitoulin Transport Trophy. Mrs. Van Camp said that Hiawatha was the lone front-runner of the group, finishing the race about two hours before anyone else.

Hiawatha has been a busy boat this summer. In weeks prior to the MacMan race, Mr. Porter raced it in the Chicago Race to Mackinac and Bayview Mackinac Race. In the upcoming weeks, he plans to race in the Trans Superior Race, which departs from Sault Ste. Marie and ends in Duluth, Minnesota, and sail later this summer on Lake Erie.

Bill Hibbard and his boat Tack Too took the Cruising B crown for the second leg and Rick Thompson aboard on the edge took the Racing class to round out the second half of the race. Mr. Thompson also won the overall Racing class, partially because Dieter Sallewsky and Eagle were disqualified from the race's second leg.

The official reason for Eagle's disqualification was because the boat rounded James Foot Patch, a shallow part in the water near Little Current marked off by a buoy, on the wrong side on her way to the finish line. Mrs. Van Camp said the race committee attempted to contact Eagle's captain Dieter Sallewsky to warn the crew, but couldn't reach them in time.

"It was just an unfortunate error," Mrs. Van Camp said.

The fourth sailing of the race also gave birth to the first female skipper in the event's brief history. Adrienne Gamble of Naughton, Ontario, sailed her boat Ariel with a crew of two men, creating another milestone in the young tradition of the Mackinac to Manitoulin race.

Despite the finishes, Mr. Murphy said this particular race, with varied winds and unreliable weather reports, was a bit unnerving at times. In the dull winds, most of the boats stayed together.

"This had very little to do with skill, it had a lot to do with the luck of the draw," he said. "If you had favorable winds where your boat was, you would take off."

Upon arriving in Little Current, the boaters enjoyed a barbecue and the awards presentation.

"You can't have a better crowd of people," Mr. Murphy said. "Usually when you lose races, you're disappointed. We all go to these ceremonies and we clap as loud as we can for the people that beat us. I wouldn't say it's a big competition; it's a big get-together.

"We didn't place in either race [leg], but that doesn't bother me in the least bit."

Mr. Murphy estimated that the boats sailed 12 to 14 hours longer than it should've taken them, but that it was still an enjoyable time. Of all the races he's sailed in over the years, he's identified this one as one of his favorites.

"This was the most fun because of the camaraderie," he said. "I can't put my finger on it, but we all got along so well. I've laughed more than I've laughed on any race."