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Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series – Chicago

June 7-9, 2024  •  Hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club

Event Information

June 7-9, 2024

Notice of Race

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Scratch Sheet

Chicago Social Pass

Social events and fees are separate from entry fees; all sailors, members, and guests are welcome. It is the intent of the OA to host the Sailing World Speaker Series on Thursday, a Happy Hour post racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Chicago Yacht Club. Regatta Social Passes should be purchased in advance on the event website.

Weather Briefing Sign Up

Sign up in advance for the link to watch Shea Gibson and the Quantum Sails team provide the local weather forecast for the Regatta race area. Times vary per event.

Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Contest

The BVI Championship’s Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Contest is coming to the Chicago Yacht Club on Friday, June 7th. If you have a practiced hand or favorite recipe, sign up to create what could be Chicago’s Regatta cocktail. Mount Gay provides the mixers and the Mount Gay Rum (Eclipse, XO, Navy Strength, and Black Barrel). Space is limited.

Quantum Sails Technical Coaching

Sign up to reserve complimentary coaching from Quantum Sails. Post race technical debriefs will follow all on the water coaching. Any coaching will abide by the Race Sailing Instructions.

Regatta Series Weekend Social Pass

Includes Speaker Series and Regatta Socials all four days with Mount Gay Rum at Chicago Yacht Club.

 Chicago Weather and Expert Tips

Join Todd Basch and Dave Gerber from Quantum Sails with Shea Gibson from Sailflow Weather for interactive forecasts, local knowledge, and expert tips. Ask your questions and prepare for your day!

Regatta News: Chicago

Distance Racers Battle the Wind and the Clock

With the distance racers battling shifts and holes offshore, the buoy racing action continued on the second day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.

Soft Opening For Chicago’s Big Regatta

The breeze was light and the racing was tight on the kickoff of the 2023 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.

Chicago’s Summer Racing Season Commences

The big regatta to kick off the Chicago summer racing season gets underway this week with a few new twists to the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series lineup.

Chicago Local Knowledge With Quantum Sails

Late spring days offer some of the best sailing on Lake Michigan. Sailors with the most success will pay attention to the thermal shifts and look for the benefits of those lake breezes. Quantum Chicago’s Todd Basch breaks it down for the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.

Race Time In Chicago

The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series kicks off the racing season in Chicago one big opener sure to please.

Onboard the GL52 Natalie J

Sailing World editor Dave Reed joins the crew of the Great Lakes 52 “Natalie J” for a practice day ahead of the 2021 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Chicago with ace tactician Jonathan McKee and helmsman Bora Gulari.

More Chicago

Chicago Map and Points of Interest

Support EWE Spirit Foundation

Sailing World is partnering with the EWE Spirit Foundation, as the local charitable partner of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Annapolis. The EWE Spirit Foundation will be on-site during the Saturday BBQ to spread awareness and spirit! Sportsmanship, inclusion, and community outreach are all key components for charitable partners of the Regatta Series. Please join us in supporting the EWE Spirit Foundation!

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The Race to Mackinac: WBEZ’s guide to the world’s longest freshwater sailing competition

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This weekend, 245 boats carrying 2,000 sailors set sail from the Chicago Lighthouse in the annual event’s 114th running.

The Race to Mackinac, the longest and oldest freshwater annual sailing competition in the world, is here. On Friday and Saturday, roughly 245 boats carrying more than 2,000 crew members will sail for Mackinac Island, the resort destination off the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

Here’s your primer.

Race basics

For 333 miles — or 289.4 nautical miles — 245 entrants, give or take last-minute dropouts, will traverse the route from Navy Pier to Mackinac Island in this year’s event, according to Sam Veilleux, chairman of the 2023 race committee. The first Mackinac race took place in 1898, with just five boats, and the second was in 1904. With the exception of several years during World War I and 2020 during the pandemic, the race, organized by the Chicago Yacht Club, has happened every year, marking its 114th running this year. Competitors may enter the race, classified as an amateur event, by invitation only.

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The majority of entrants travel to the race start via water — meaning they’re coming from harbors in or near Chicago or traveling from cities along connected lakes, mostly Michigan and Huron.

“Every year, we do have a few out-of-town boats that come from the coast, but it is quite an endeavor,” Veilleux said, noting that delivering a large yacht on a truck involves reassembling the boat in Chicago after shipment. Past races have included crews and boats from Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

As described by Veilleux, the route starts at the Chicago Lighthouse, near Navy Pier, and runs the entire length of Lake Michigan, passes through Grays Reef, enters Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac, ducks under the Mackinac Bridge and finishes at Mackinac Island.

How a crew wins and what they get

First to the island wins, right? Not quite.

The Chicago Yacht Club describes the Race to Mackinac as “a unique race, where the boat equivalent of ‘family sedans’ compete against ‘Formula One cars.’ ” What this means in practical terms is that boats, which range widely in technical capability, must be assessed in advance in order to be properly grouped by similar ratings. An algorithm takes boat measurements — including weight, size, sizes of the sails and more — to produce the standardized ratings.

The entrants compete in two divisions: cruising and racing. Boats in the cruising division are, according to Veilleux, “generally more comfortable” equipped with cabins, galleys and full accommodations.

“Boats that you’d go on, for example, a family cruise around the Great Lakes or around the Caribbean,” he said. There are three sections within this division, each based on speed.

Yachts in the racing division are built for speed — lightweight carbon-fiber hulls, sparse interiors — and compete in two section types: one in which the boats have identical specs, and another in which boats are handicapped, as in golf, based on relative performance characteristics.

Roughly split in half into “faster” and “slower” groups, the racing division is then further divided into similarly rated sections — this year there are 18, each with around 12-15 boats. The winner is determined by calculating time against a boat’s rating.

Sailors compete for three main honors: the Mac Trophy and the Mac Cup for the racing division, and, new this year, the Whitehawk Trophy for the overall winner in the cruising division. Each year, the two groups in the racing division — one faster, one slower — alternate between competing for the Trophy and the Cup so crews could possibly have their names engraved on both if they raced in consecutive years. The first three places in every section also receive a brag flag to display on their boat.

To be invited to the exclusive Island Goats Sailing Society, racers must have competed in at least 25 Chicago-to-Mackinac races, for a total of about 8,325 miles. Founded in 1959 by Hobart “Red” Olson, the society was named after sailors’ “appearance, aroma and behavior upon reaching Mackinac Island,” according to the Chicago Yacht Club website.

When can we expect results?

Most of the fleet takes from 40 to 60 hours to finish the race. Cannons will fire to release the cruising sections at 3 p.m. Friday, and the rest of the sections start from 11 a.m. Saturday every 10 minutes until 3 p.m.

To race around the clock, the crews sail in shifts. The multihull record was set in 1998 at under 19 hours, and the monohull record was set in 2002 at under 24 hours. Ideally, racers finish on or before Monday so they have time to rest before the awards ceremony Tuesday. While there’s no publicly available record of the longest time a boat has taken to finish the race, Veilleux said the club has a system for sailors to submit their final times even after the finish line is taken down on Wednesday.

During last year’s race, Veilleux said wild storms battered the fleet for about 12 hours on Lake Michigan, causing 29 boats to drop out. Veilleux competed last year in the cruising division and, although only sailing on the edge of the storm, experienced wind in excess of 55 knots.

“That’s like sticking your head out of a car window at highway speed,” he said.

Chuck Nevel, the club’s on-the-water director, stays on the island to direct boats as they complete the race. Once the boats start streaming in, they don’t stop. Neither do their supporters.

“If it’s 2 a.m. or if it’s 10 a.m., there are people out there cheering their family members on, their friends on, especially if it’s their first Mac,” he said.

“Everyone stinks, hasn’t taken a shower, sweating in their weather gear,” Nevel notes of the state of the crews as they disembark. But he concedes the members of the race committee, who work through the day and night to make sure everyone arrives safely into port, aren’t the freshest smelling bunch either.

One word for the atmosphere of the awards ceremony? “Jubilation.”

How to watch the race

From 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Friday, the start of the race for the cruising division will be livestreamed on CBS .

On Saturday, you can watch the parade of boats in the racing division off the end of Navy Pier from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. An announcer will provide details of the vessels as they sail toward the start. Viewers should also be able to see the rigs from anywhere along the lakefront north of Navy Pier.

Race updates will be available on the Chicago Yacht Club’s Facebook , Instagram and Twitter feeds. But perhaps the best way to follow the race is to view each boat’s progress through the event’s race tracker website or via mobile app, which will become available on Thursday of race week. Download the YB Tracking app and “buy” the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac (it’s free).

Finally, why is it spelled “Mackinac” but pronounced “Mackinaw?”

Originally named Michinnimakinong by the Ojibwa tribe, the indigenous translation refers to the large crevice in the island: “mish” meaning great, “inni” meaning connecting sound, “maki” meaning fault and “nong” meaning land or place. The name was shortened to Mackinac by the French, and the British transcribed it phonetically as Mackinaw. Edgar Conkling, founder of Mackinaw City in 1857, was the one to spell it with a “w.”

Either way, the pronunciation is “ MACK-in-awe .”

Ysa Quiballo is the digital news intern at WBEZ. Courtney Kueppers contributed.

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Chicago Yacht Club's most famous event is the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, which is the longest annual freshwater sailing race in the world.

Starting in 1898 with a mere five boats, The Mac has evolved into a world-class sporting event. After the first race in 1898, the Race to Mackinac was not held for five years until the second race in 1904. By 1906, the race had developed a healthy following and, in that year, the original Mackinac trophy was purchased. The race has seen occasional sustained violent weather in the blows of 1911, 1937 and 1970. After gale force winds took down most of the fleet in the Mac of 1911, the finish in the 1912 and 1913 races was changed to Harbor Springs on Little Traverse Bay instead of Mackinac Island. Race organizers felt the shorter distance was safer. From 1914 until 1916 the Mac was back to its full distance until WWI. From 1917-1920 there were no Mac races due to the strains of the War, which took away yachtsmen and put many boats out of commission. Since 1921, the Race to Mackinac has run consecutively every year, remains the longest annual freshwater distance race, and is recognized as one of the most prestigious sailing races in the world.

Today, sailors from Maine to California make this race an invariable part of their summer. Moreover, each year the Mac hosts sailors from as far off as Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. Although the Mac remains primarily an amateur event, this race has a proven track record of attracting some of the finest sailing talent in the sport. The monohull record of 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 34 seconds set by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket in 2002, and Steve Fossett on Stars and Stripes set the multihull record of 18 hours, 50 minutes, and 32 seconds in 1998. Both records still stand today. The unpredictable weather and fickle winds on Lake Michigan make the Race to Mackinac a supreme test, which many competitors feel rivals any ocean race. As one veteran sailor put it, "It’s fun, but it’s serious fun."

2008 marked the 110th anniversary of the first race, and the 100th time sailors raced 333 miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island. Although there have been changes to the race over the years, the basic elements of this venerable contest have remained unchanged for over 100 years. Stripped down to its essence, The Mac, like all sailboat racing, is still primarily a test of strength, endurance, strategy and willpower. And let’s not forget the dearest friend (and most menacing foe) of all sailors-- the wind. 

The First Mac 

Although the races began in 1896, the race outcomes were not conclusive. The first race to Michigan City was disputed when Vanenna claimed the race and Siren protested because she had old sails that were inadequate for the race. To this day, the second race to Milwaukee is still in dispute, for the fog caused both sloops to sail off course and thus started the question, "did the race ever finish?"

A couple of years passed until the 1898 announcement for a series of three races sponsored by the Chicago Yacht Club. Owners George Peate of Siren and W.R. Crawford of Vanenna set out to make the record straight. They agreed to a three day regatta on June 4th, 11th and 18th. Both owners engaged in much boosting and betting, and they were prepared to spend whatever it took to be ready.

Behind this backdrop was the hangover from the loss of the Fisher Cup of 1883 between Chicago's Cora and the Canada's Atlanta. This loss began a declining effect on memberships to the Chicago yachting community for close to 15 years. By 1897, there were only six members and two yachts representing the Chicago Yacht Club. A strong drive for membership in 1898 increased this number rapidly to sixty members and sixteen yachts, thus laying the groundwork for creating new excitement and an era of racing at the Chicago Yacht Club.

After three races in June of 1898, Vanenna remained undefeated and the discussion emerged to have a very unique and challenging race. In 1897, the New York Yacht Club sponsored a long distance race attracting vessels of larger sizes. The Chicago Yacht Club saw an opportunity to create its own attraction for larger vessels and renew the sport of sailing for the Chicago sailing community. Mackinac Island was a destination that was favored by many sailors by taking a multi-port route up Lake Michigan. Many Chicago Yacht Club members throughout history had houses or stayed on the island for vacations. These members conceived of a race that would challenge every sailor to the weather, winds, storms, and seas, as well as the big question: What course do you take on a 333 mile race?

And so began the first Mac Race with two sloops, Siren and Vanenna and three schooners, Hawthorne, Toxteth and Nomad. The excitement was immediate and the wagers and posturing began. Once again, Siren and Vanenna would dance with each other on the Great Lakes.

After 52 hours 17 minutes and 50 seconds - Vanenna claimed her place in history as the first winner of the Race to Mackinac Island. Siren placed second, 37 minutes and 20 seconds behind her nemesis, but beat the schooner Hawthorne by 45 minutes. 

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The world’s longest freshwater sailing event and is recognized as one of the most prestigious sailing races in the world. Today, sailors from Maine to California make this race an invariable part of their summer. For more information please visit: www.cycracetomackinac.com

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Shamrock Shuffle 2024: More than 26K participants kick off Chicago's outdoor running season

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It is considered a rite of spring in Chicago.

The Shamrock Shuffle is back on Sunday morning.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Runners from across the Midwest and throughout the country are in Chicago for the scenic run through the city that has been kicking off the outdoor running season for more than four decades.

"It's a great launch to running in Chicago," said Shamrock Shuffle Executive Director Carey Pinkowski. "It's getting people moving. We have the whole celebration of St. Patrick's Day, and now, we're moving to a little bit more healthy and active from the parades and all the stuff we do."

The 8K run snakes through downtown started at 8:25 a.m.

SEE ALSO | Full list of street closures for 43rd Annual Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle

More than 26,000 runners from Illinois to California to New York descended on Grant Park on Sunday morning, showing how popular the Shamrock Shuffle is.

"This is really the kickoff to the running racing season, so it's great to be out here, great vibe. My favorite part is being able to do this with my daughter," said Brookfield's Zack Fijal.

It is a Chicago tradition that Zack hopes to continue with his daughter, Abby Fijal.

"I like seeing all the buildings and stuff, and all the people cheering is really fun," Abby said.

Others, like 11-year-old Tristan O'Meara, took on the Shamrock Shuffle for the very first time.

"The race went really well for me. It's my first time doing a five mile and I'm really proud of getting this medal," Tristan said. "I felt just amazed, and with my mom and dad and aunt cheering me on, it just gave me so much joy."

There was also a 2-mile walk along the Lakefront Trail and a 1-mile run.

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