Grizz
Grizz
The 2021 Chicago to Macinac Race is almost upon us, as 6 will crew Shoe String north to Mackinac, with our start occurring this Friday 7-16-2021 at 3:10 PM CDT (or 1510 in Military Time). The 6 have a combined experience of 44 Macs, a far, far preferred total than the 'experience' (quotes intentional) on board Shoe String for her 1st Mac in 2011: 7 years, at the finish, with technically 1 year (yours truly) at the start of that 2011 Race. Wow.
There are 2 links attached, 1 provides a Tracking overview, the other is supposed to plug directly into the YB Tracker. This will not go live until Thursday afternoon 7-15, perhaps Friday morning (a bit fuzzy on this). This Tracker will provide ampleammunition information so you can ask "what in the heck were you thinking?", or words to that effect. This year, unlike every other year, we are plugged into Weather Routing software (Predict Wind), which is tied to our Polars (which tell us how fast we should be sailing on any/every point of sail) which will give us on Friday morning a confusing total of 6 (or more) options to pick from [insert weatherman joke here]. We're going to pick 1 and stick to it regardless of what's happening on the water from a micro viewpoint. There will be no shaking of the Magic 8-Ball...
It's the 1st Mac for 5 of the 6 since 2018, which was a brutal, slogging, pounding, upwind race for all 289 nautical miles. '19 was a breather, '20 was, well, you know, THAT. We've got a few new systems woven into our fabric this year (pun not intended): new suit of UK sails , new interior crew and gear management components (port and starboard pipe berths), a spin sheet rigging system that cleaned up the cockpit cobweb and all hot meals will be from an array of crew selected freeze dried options. The latter has been a revelation, bordering on revolutionary, as we've jettisoned the need to keep pre-cooked meals cold, which added weight, volume and hassle. Now we only have to keep liquids for beverages cold/cool, which is much easier and simpler, and starts with just (5) 1-gallon jugs of frozen water, which can eventually be used for drinking water. Plus...anyone can boil water, so meal prep can be spread out amongst the 6. Awesome.
The 'Weather Watch' has begun for some, but not all. 5-6 days out is still 'too far'; the 9 AM Friday Morning 'Skipper's Meeting' will solidify plans once 'The Weather God' (not his real name) pontificates. We'll also learn which of the 3 ORC Ratings (Upwind, Offwind, General Purpose) will be used to score the race, an announcement that's usually accompanied by a blend of hoots/yea! and groans/crap!.
The topsides were scrubbed and washed yesterday (thanks Tim), a full system MOB drill will occur tomorrow evening (which requires signatures from each crew member), the below-the-waterline hull gets scrubbed Thursday. The 'Get Back Home Loretta' car for the 3 not returning the boat is headed to St Ignace Michigan today (Sunday 7-11) and it's full of all the 'Return Gear' and crew shore bags. Lots of moving parts...
We believe we're ready. We'll know more as the race unfolds. On to the day!
http://yb.tl/chicagomac2021
https://cycracetomackinac.com/the-race/race-tracking
There are 2 links attached, 1 provides a Tracking overview, the other is supposed to plug directly into the YB Tracker. This will not go live until Thursday afternoon 7-15, perhaps Friday morning (a bit fuzzy on this). This Tracker will provide ample
It's the 1st Mac for 5 of the 6 since 2018, which was a brutal, slogging, pounding, upwind race for all 289 nautical miles. '19 was a breather, '20 was, well, you know, THAT. We've got a few new systems woven into our fabric this year (pun not intended): new suit of UK sails , new interior crew and gear management components (port and starboard pipe berths), a spin sheet rigging system that cleaned up the cockpit cobweb and all hot meals will be from an array of crew selected freeze dried options. The latter has been a revelation, bordering on revolutionary, as we've jettisoned the need to keep pre-cooked meals cold, which added weight, volume and hassle. Now we only have to keep liquids for beverages cold/cool, which is much easier and simpler, and starts with just (5) 1-gallon jugs of frozen water, which can eventually be used for drinking water. Plus...anyone can boil water, so meal prep can be spread out amongst the 6. Awesome.
The 'Weather Watch' has begun for some, but not all. 5-6 days out is still 'too far'; the 9 AM Friday Morning 'Skipper's Meeting' will solidify plans once 'The Weather God' (not his real name) pontificates. We'll also learn which of the 3 ORC Ratings (Upwind, Offwind, General Purpose) will be used to score the race, an announcement that's usually accompanied by a blend of hoots/yea! and groans/crap!.
The topsides were scrubbed and washed yesterday (thanks Tim), a full system MOB drill will occur tomorrow evening (which requires signatures from each crew member), the below-the-waterline hull gets scrubbed Thursday. The 'Get Back Home Loretta' car for the 3 not returning the boat is headed to St Ignace Michigan today (Sunday 7-11) and it's full of all the 'Return Gear' and crew shore bags. Lots of moving parts...
We believe we're ready. We'll know more as the race unfolds. On to the day!
http://yb.tl/chicagomac2021
https://cycracetomackinac.com/the-race/race-tracking
. As for which way to go.... we have a total of one Chicago Mac between our crew of 6... should be interesting, but you have to start somewhere....
