The world’s biggest annual offshore race……Is on a lake

The Chicago–Mackinac is a 330-mile offshore sailing race across Lake Michigan — and one of the great yacht races in the world. Hundreds of boats head north from Chicago to Mackinac Island. It’s the largest annual offshore in the world, it started over 120 years ago and yet very few people have heard of it. It’s a race that can throw almost anything at its competitors: violent squalls, glassy calms, intense heat, freezing nights and torrential rain — sometimes all in the same day. The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac has built a fiercely loyal following. For many sailors, doing it once simply isn’t enough. Twenty races is commonplace. Some competitors have completed more than twice that number. The race has produced remarkable performances, unforgettable stories and, over its long history, moments of tragedy. All have contributed to the reputation of one of America’s great sailing events. Yet outside the Midwest sailing community, surprisingly few people know much about it. So PlanetSail headed to Chicago to follow the fleet, meet the people who return year after year along with some of those doing it for the first time to discover what makes the Chicago–Mackinac Race so special. And we’re very glad we did. This is the Chicago–Mackinac Race, one of sailing’s great offshore adventures, hiding in plain sight.