PORT HURON, MI — Final preparations were underway all along the Black River Saturday morning, July 18 as racers readied themselves for the 102nd Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race.
The 1,652 sailors racing on 201 boats loaded up supplies and said farewell to loved ones they will next see 200 miles away on the island.
Excitement filled the air as it has with the previous 101 races, but this year the racers found themselves dealing with unique circumstances as Bayview Race Surgeon Dr. Kimberly Barbour warned they would likely face smoke from Canada’s wildfires that has plagued Boat Week since Wednesday.
Fortunately, the smoke was barely noticeable Saturday, and a warning of possible rain went unrealized.
That was a relief for Dan and Sherri Lewis, owners of mc², who were making repairs to their boat right up to the start of the race.
The team had an unfortunate start at the beginning of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. About 20 seconds before the race officially started, another boat collided with mc², leaving a big hole in the boat’s front hull.
The boat managed to finish the race and make its way to Port Huron, and for the last few days the team has been working to make sure their vessel can endure. As a division 1 boat, the team will be taking the longer Cove Island track, a journey of 259 miles that will put their work to the test.
“It’s really looking good, they did a terrific job,” Dan Lewis said of his crew. “Hopefully we have better luck, this is the second time we’ve been hit in two years.”
The name of the Lewis’ boat is a play on its previous owner. The couple bought the boat in 1998 from a man who had called it Equation. Though he allowed them to have the boat, he insisted on keeping the name. The Lewis’ rechristened their vessel as mc², in reference to Albert Einstein’s famous equation for mass-energy equivalence.
Dan Lewis said the boat will have to return to Port Huron after the race for a proper retrofitting which will include a more permanent fix to the damage to their boat.
Down the river the team aboard the Audacious were also preparing their own boat for the race. Unlike many other teams, the Audacious crew did not participate in the Chicago race and had not seen the smoke hitting the northern state. Joe Moceri Jr. said his team did, however, see plenty of smoke sailing north from Harrison Township and had bought N-95 masks in case they were needed.
“Hopefully we don’t need them,” Moceri Jr. said, noting the air in Port Huron was clearer than it had been in days. “This is the first time we’ve been able to see blue skies.”
It’s an important race for the crew. Joe Moceri Sr., Moceri Jr.’s father, came out of retirement to return to racing again. This will be Moceri Sr.’s third-to-last race before returning to retirement — provided he doesn’t change his mind again.
Watching the Audacious crew prepare were Ron and Joni Terry, two former Marysville residents who drove up to Port Huron from Cincinnati. The two were in town for a family reunion that got cancelled due to the weather.
“It’s unfortunate it got cancelled, but I am happy to be here because this is such a beautiful thing to see, all of the boats taking off,” Joni Terry said.
The Terrys were among many people seated near the Port Huron Yacht Club watching one boats pass by to line up for the race in Lake Huron. One boat caught their attention for a cabin built on the back, another for its crew dressed in all pink.
“We love watching all the types of boats,” Joni Terry said. “You never know what you’re going to see.”
The racers will travel on two courses, the shore course that stays along the Michigan shoreline for 204 miles and the Cove Island course which has the boats sail to the titular island in the northeast part of the lake before turning toward Mackinac Island, a journey of 259 miles. The participants are expected to reach their destination beginning Sunday evening through Tuesday.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Sailors leave Port Huron for Bayview Mackinac Race
Reporting by Johnathan Hogan, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Johnathan Hogan, Port Huron Times Herald | USA TODAY Network
