Roy Disney’s 22-year run smashed by more than an hour
Sanford Burris and Andrew Kinney’s Maverick team will be etched in Mac Race history as the new race record holder for the fastest Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust in 22 years, earning the honor from Roy Disney and Pyewacket.
Maverick also claimed this year’s Royono Trophy for the first racing monohull to finish the 115th edition. This year’s southerly winds and overnight storms created the perfect conditions for an incredible downwind race, which they completed in 22 hours, 24 minutes, 23 seconds, breaking Pyewacket’s record by more than one hour, six minutes, 11 seconds.
“I will tell you from my perspective, I wish the record had lasted longer, but these things are inevitable,” said Disney upon hearing the news. “Given how long it took to break that record shows how difficult a course it is, and what a classic sailboat race it is! Many congratulations to the owner, the crew and the boat, Maverick.”
Burris, from Kirtland, Ohio, sails with his sons and many longtime friends on the carbon fiber Andrews 80 they have spent the past three years upgrading. Joining the 20 crew onboard is Evolution Sails founder Rodney Keenan.
The team celebrated briefly as the Maverick team crossed the Race to Mackinac finish line between Mackinac Island and the Round Island lighthouse … and then kept on sailing.
Maverick is one of 25 sailboats competing in this year’s “Super Mac” race, a combination of the Chicago Mackinac and the Bayview Mackinac races, which means they will continue into Lake Huron, heading south to Port Huron for a total of 565 statute miles (495 nautical miles).
What does it take to break the Race to Mackinac record?
Many factors need to align for record-setting conditions, especially over a 333 statute-mile (289 nautical-mile) race that is well known for multiple weather patterns in a short time span. This has earned the race its moniker as “America’s Offshore Challenge.”
“Most important is a southerly wind direction and strength, combined with advancements in boats and sails,” said Winn Soldani, chair for the 115th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust. “Plus you add in last night’s storms that brought increased breeze and it’s literally the perfect setup for a record-breaking year.
“On behalf of the Chicago Yacht Club, we congratulate the Maverick team for an incredible accomplishment.”
This year, the Race put a special emphasis on encouraging and attracting new boats and sailors. Across the 250-strong fleet, 26 new entries (10 percent) and more than 380 sailors (20 percent) are experiencing their first Mac. The Mac Race, known as America’s Offshore Challenge™, begins in front of Chicago’s magnificent skyline and finishes 289 nautical miles (333 statute miles) north on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, at Michigan’s iconic Mackinac Island.
Next year, the Chicago Yacht Club celebrates its 150-year anniversary.
