The Chicago Yacht Club has officially announced that its ever-popular Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust (CYCRTM) will return this summer after taking a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Started in 1898, the race annually hosts over 3,000 sailors and covers 333 statute miles, starting from Chicago’s Navy Pier on Lake Michigan and finishing at Mackinac Island, Mich. on Lake Huron. The 112th edition starts Friday, July 16 for cruising sailboats and Saturday, July 17 for performance sailboats.
“The Race to Mackinac is fresh, exciting, challenging and very different every year,” said CYCRTM Race Chair Martin Sandoval, noting that preparation, crew work, sea state and weather conditions can make or break performances. “It’s a test of strength, endurance, strategy and will power. At the same time, it is simply a scenic offshore race where you can actually see the cities along the shorelines…the bridges, the lighthouses…and then you end up at Mackinac Island, a magical destination that has to be seen to be believed. The Chicago Yacht Club is just so pleased to be back on track with this incredible sailing tradition.”
The largest boat entered thus far is Peter Thornton’s (Burr Ridge, Ill.) historic 104-foot ketch Whitehawk (in the Cruising Division). Of Thornton’s 19 crew members, nine share his surname. At the other end of the spectrum, the two smallest boats in the fleet are 26 footers, each being sailed with just two people (in the Doublehanded Division) and each having one Slovenian and one American aboard.
“The ‘Chicago Mac’ is the oldest annual freshwater distance race in the world, and it has earned a reputation as one of
the most prestigious sailing races, with entries from the Midwest and Canada as well as the East, West and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. and as far afield as Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia,” said Sandoval. “For many families it’s a rite of passage for their children and their children’s children to experience the Race to Mackinac.”
Sandoval added that the race also attracts many different types of sailors, from newbies to veterans, amateurs to pros, and youngsters to “Old Goats” (as they call them) who have completed more than 25 Chicago Macs.
For more information, www.cycracetomackinac.com or contact regattamanager@cycracetomackinac.com.
About the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac®: "America’s Offshore Challenge™"
The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust is one of the world’s largest annual offshore races, drawing top-notch sailing talent from around America and the world. Known as “The Mac” to everyone in the region, the ultimate test of Great Lakes navigation starts each July just off Chicago’s Navy Pier. Passing through some of the most beautiful coastal waters in the world on the 333-statute mile (289 nm) race route, the fleet faces the storms, reefs, calms and competition that truly make it "America’s Offshore Challenge." For more information visit www.cycracetomackinac.com
About Chicago Yacht Club
Founded in 1875, the Chicago Yacht Club is one of the oldest and most respected yacht clubs in the world. Its mission is to encourage, promote, and develop knowledge, participation, and enjoyment of all aspects of yachting. To that end, the Club hosts many world class competitions and Predicted-Log events, including its signature Chicago Yacht Club 
Race to Mackinac and numerous North American and World Championships. The Club is also recognized as a leader in sailing education, with one of the largest junior sailing programs in the United States. The Club is home to nearly 1500 members, including winning America’s Cup skippers, Olympic medalists and hopefuls, and outstanding boaters of all types, from ages 4 to 104. The Club offers an array of spectacular off-the-water amenities, including fine dining, full-service catering and year-round activities for its diverse membership at two locations on the city’s shoreline, at Monroe and Belmont Harbors. Learn more at chicagoyachtclub.org.
About Wintrust
Wintrust is a financial holding company with assets of over $45 billion whose common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Built on the "HAVE IT ALL" model, Wintrust offers sophisticated technology and resources of a large bank while focusing on providing service-based community banking to each and every customer. Wintrust operates fifteen community bank subsidiaries, with over 170 banking locations located in the greater Chicago and southern Wisconsin market areas. Additionally, Wintrust operates various non-bank business units including business units which provide commercial and life insurance premium financing in the United States, a premium finance company operating in Canada, a company providing short-term accounts receivable financing and value-added out-sourced administrative services to the temporary staffing services industry, a business unit engaging primarily in the origination and purchase of residential mortgages for sale into the secondary market throughout the United States, and companies providing wealth management services and qualified intermediary services for tax-deferred exchanges.
