Mack race begins with thunderstorm predictions

By Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki

July 12, 2014 at 12:08 pm Port Huron

The 90th Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race started today.

Well, the weather for the 90th Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race could be better, but the sailors say, heck, bad weather happens.

“Thunderstorms aren’t news,” said Bill Alcott of St. Clair Shores and co-owner of Equation, a STP Farr 65.

First, it’s going to be cold, with night time lows in the 40s, possibly even 30s. Next it’s going to rain, almost certainly Saturday and probably Sunday nights. And the rain will probably include thunderstorms. Did we mention sailboats have this big lightning rod called a mast, right up their middle?

Finally, there’s not going to be too much wind. Probably 8 knots both Saturday and Sunday, maybe going up to 10 knots on Monday.

The upside of the wind is that it will be southerly Saturday and Sunday, allowing the boats to fly their spinnakers and sail a little faster. The downside on Sunday is that the wind will be westerly – right on their noses.

Their dependence on the wind means sailors have respect for weather.

“I think it’s going to be a challenging race,” said former UM Athletic Director Bill Martin of Ann Arbor, owner of the SC 70 Stripes. The expected weather systems are more like October and November weather, he said.

“It’s one of those races where you don’t give up,” Martin said. He’s doing his 49th Mackinac race. “Don’t take a flyer. You should play this one conservative and jut keep going.”

What do the thunderstorms mean?

“It means I hang on to him,” said Trish Kirkman, pointing to her 11-year-old son who is doing his first Mackinac race. Kirkman is from Novi and owns Hot Ticket, a J-120. But on the whole, Kirknan isn’t worried.

“We have a great crew, everybody can do everything,” Kirkman said. “”We’ve been through thunderstorms.”

That kind of sentiment was echoed up and down the docks in Port Huron Saturday morning.

“You deal with what you’ve got,” said Brian Renn of Cincinatti, owner of Sea Questered, a Beneteau First 38. “Hopefully we have decent wind, we don’t hit thunderstorms and we just want to finish.”

John Demers of St Clair Shores, aboard Eqinox, a Hunter 31, said as long a there’s weather, there will be wind.

“You have to be ready for all weather conditions,” Demers said.