Our closest competition, a slightly smaller boat from the same manufacturer, retired from the race just a few miles short of the finish line rather than continue to tack through these treacherous conditions. I think I saw a camera crew from Wipeout filming an episode in the v-berth. At one point, we were in 18-knot winds and 4-6 foot seas making just 2 knots of forward progress. Toward the end of the race, we were back into nasty winds coming from exactly the wrong direction. Mike had warned us about the possible slow speed ahead of time, so we’d all taken at least a week off for vacation in order to stick with it rather than retire from the race. Don’t feel bad for us, though – rationing water just meant we had to drink beer. We had to ration water because our slow progress meant we might be in for a week-long race. It was so calm, I could actually hear people coughing on other boats.
And yes, it’s as unclean as you might imagine.īy day 3, we were sitting idle off the Manitous, surrounded by sailboats with sails hanging straight down. I found myself wishing the toilet had a seat belt. Picture, if you will, your bathroom being thrown ten feet in the air like a giant pizza while you take care of your bodily functions. I remember holding out as long as possible before making the trip from the bunk to the bathroom due to the pain and effort involved in the ten-foot journey, and once inside the head, I received the beating of a lifetime. We almost ran into a city water intake, and we beat the bejeezus out of ourselves and the boat. The first day we had 20-knot winds that shifted all over the place, especially during the start. Boats retired because the race was a rock-and-roller-coaster of conditions. When they say “very tough race”, they don’t mean the race was close.
We entered the race just hoping to finish, though, so I can’t complain about the outcome. In sailing parlance, this is known as being The Pickle Boat, and we even won an official Pickle Boat Trophy (a green Heineken DraughtKeg) from the Chicago Yacht Club.
That’s right: we came in dead last – both on real time and corrected time. Congratulations to the crew of the Hannah Frances for sticking it out in a very tough race.” The boat was the cruising division boat the Hannah Frances, who starting on Friday, raced with an elapsed time of almost 111 hours. “While 33 boats chose to retire, most citing reasons related to the slow conditions such as lack of provisions or crew commitments elsewhere, at nearly 6:00 am Wednesday morning the last of the fleet arrived on Mackinac. The bad news was the way we got mentioned: Hannah Frances Skipper Mike Cook Receiving the Pickle Boat Trophy The good news: in the official press release announcing the winners of the Chicago-Mac sailing race, the Hannah Frances was included along with the winners.
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