Top News

Mackinac Race Sailors Brave Mother Nature

Despite Weather, All 439 Boats Cast Off Saturday Afternoon

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Saturday has been marked by overcast conditions and off-and-on rain, but the weather did not put a damper on the start of the celebrated annual Race to Mackinac.

The last of the 439 boats had left Chicago by Saturday afternoon for what is considered the world's longest and most prestigious annual freshwater race.

The 333-mile race goes from Navy Pier in Chicago to Mackinac Island in Michigan. Race organizers say it takes most boats between 40 and 60 hours to finish.

On Friday night, teams were preparing for the worst as they anticipated thunderstorms.

"Sometimes it's coming out of the west and then 10 minutes later it'll be coming out of the east. So you need to be on you're a-game when you're sailing through thunderstorms," said Greg Miarecki, of the Chicago Yacht Club.

The teams said they would focus on safety and speed, always with an eye on the weather coming their way.

"I'm probably too stupid to be nervous," sailor Ron White said. "We've got an XM weather receiver on the boat so we can see storm cells. We can track them. We know what their ETA is to our location. Sometimes that just tells you whether you need to prepare to meet Jesus or not."

"That adds to the excitement," said race participant Randy Adolphs. "You never know what you get with summers in the Midwest. And thunderstorms are usually part of it."

He is racing race on with the sponsor team for Lands' End.

All 436 teams are hoping to catch winds that will push them across the finish line first.

"Whoever gets the strongest wind in a favorable direction is going to be very well positioned to win the race in Mackinac," Miarecki said.

For the first time in the race's history, every boat can be tracked by GPS on the race's Web site. Click here to see it.

CBS 2's Pamela Jones and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---