A total of 2,500 sailors and 206 sailboats in 22 classes raced in the 86th Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race on Lake Huron July 17. The fleet, which included boats ranging in size from 28 to 86 feet in length, set sail on two separate courses from Port Huron to Mackinac Island.

The first class of boats crossed the starting line at the gun at 11:30 a.m. with a new class starting every 10 minutes until the largest class of 12 boats, ranging in size from 52 to 86 feet, crossed the line at 1:50 p.m.

Although the starting sequence began under blue skies with a light 12-knot breeze, it ended with a rainstorm and 20-knot gusts as the two final classes got underway.

The overall winner of the race was Dr. Philip O’Niel’s Natalie J with a corrected time of 33:26:59. The last boat to finish was Trim, which made the 254-nautical mile sail with a corrected time of 65:34:05.

“This was a fantastic race with several hundred thousand people coming out to watch the race start in Port Huron and take part in the Blue Water Fest,” said Bruce J. Burton, commodore of the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, which both founded and hosts the race.

Nearly 4,000 people including sailors, family friends and the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock, celebrated the successful race at the Bayview Mackinac Race Awards Party on Mackinac Island where class flags sponsored by Bell’s Brewery were given to the top three winners in each of the 20 racing classes.

Complete race results can be found by clicking here.

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