Windquest buys first round in Chicago-Mackinac Race

(July 21, 2014) – The chase through Lake Michigan is as much for trophies and glory as it is for a prominent seat at the famous Pink Pony Bar & Grill, Mackinac Island’s foremost entertainment establishment. Taking the prime table in the 106th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac is Windquest, a Max Z86 owned by Dick and Doug DeVos, which was first to finish in the racing fleet. Windquest and its crew of 18 finished Sunday evening at 21:55 CDT.

“Overall, the race was really good,” said Tom Giesler, captain of Windquest. “We had good conditions, but we were also the first ones to the parking lot. But that’s the Chicago Mac race.”

Giesler commented that this year’s race was “Groundhog Day” compared with 2013’s Mac with similar sailing conditions and a finish just one minute earlier than its time in 2013.

“Both years were fairly similar,” he said. “Light breezes to start, nice breezes and some tricky sailing in the middle, and the wind dying at the bridge.”

Il Mostro, a Volvo 70 owned by Peter Thornton, finished at 22:21 Sunday evening with a crew of 14.

“It was a spectacular sail,” Thornton said. “That last 12 hours was about as nice as it gets. The first three quarters of the race weren’t the best for Il Mostro because it doesn’t like light air down wind at all. But I’m proud of the crew for hanging in there and making it close to the end.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t come away with the Royono Trophy, but that’s one of our goals. As we were coming down the channel, we were already making plans for next year.”

Nearly all the teams are finished. Here are links for the results:

Overall: http://competitor.cycracetomackinac.com/results-overall.cfm
Class: http://competitor.cycracetomackinac.com/results.cfm

Tracker: http://us.yb.tl/chicagomack2014
Race website: http://www.cycracetomackinac.com

Report by event media.