Hoofer Volunteer Keelboat Sailors Finish 2009 Chicago Mac Race in 2nd Place!
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Watson
Jul 28, 2009, 12:52:40 PM7/28/09
to Hoofer Sailing Club
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/index.php?ntid=459816
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
MON., JUL 27, 2009 - 4:30 PM
*Chicago to Mackinac Island in 88 hours, 33 minutes, 4 seconds*
By DOUG MOE
It was bad enough when the wind quit. One member of the Madison-based
crew
of the sailboat Intuition remembered Lake Michigan seeming like “a
parking
lot.”
But then, later, when the wind kicked up out of the north, it became
clear
that the Intuition was not going to be able to finish the famed
Chicago-to-Mackinac Island sailboat race in anything approaching a
respectable time.
This was last July, the 100th running of “the Mac,” the longest annual
freshwater sailing race in the world. The north wind was driving 5-
and
6-foot waves against the bow of the Intuition. They were in the
Manitou
Islands, 75 miles from Mackinac, and going nowhere fast.
The decision was made to head to land on Michigan’s west coast. They
docked
in Frankfort. The crew rented a van and drove to Mackinac, where one
last
humiliation waited. They had wanted to party with the other sailors
and they
arrived on Mackinac five minutes after the party, held under several
tents,
ended. The rum company sponsoring the party wouldn’t even find them a
beer.
“At least the Pink Pony was open,” Dan Siedlecki was saying Monday,
referencing a famous Mackinac Island watering hole.
The crew — Siedlecki, Don Hanna, Tom Kershner and Mark Gillespie (all
dedicated sailors and instructors at the Hoofers Sailing Club in
Madison),
along with Hanna’s friend Jasper Rine from California — had a drink at
the
Pink Pony and resolved to do better next time.
“Next year, we finish,” Gillespie said.
This year’s Mac began July 17, and the Intuition was once again
entered.
It’s a small boat for the Mac, just under 30 feet, competing in the
“Cruising” division against 18 similar boats (the entire race field
included
350 boats), all handicapped based on a system that rates how fast they
should be capable of sailing.
The Intuition is owned by Hanna, a UW-Madison professor who lives in
Lodi;
Gillespie, a photographer who lives in Madison; and Kershner, a
Madison
software consultant. The 2009 crew again included Siedlecki, who owns
a home
services company in Madison; and Rine, a professor of genetics at
Cal-Berkeley. A sixth crew member, UW-Madison student Andy Marin,
signed on
for the 2009 race.
The crew met several times prior to this year’s race, plotting
navigation
strategies and logistics such as food. As race day neared, they
consulted
weather professionals, because sailing is all about weather,
especially
wind.
They had resolved in their meetings that their top priority would be
to keep
the boat moving forward at all times. In the cruising groups — as
opposed to
the larger, speedier boats with larger crews — there is the temptation
to
knock off for meals or otherwise relax along the way.
This year, right from the start, the Intuition got after it. The
starting
line is off Chicago’s Navy Pier, with the city’s skyscrapers looming
behind.
They went off at 3 p.m. Friday, July 17, with all 19 boats in their
group
jockeying for position.
They raced up the Michigan coast with no major mishaps. There was one
hiccup
when the man-overboard pole — used when someone falls overboard — went
overboard itself, but it was rescued with little time lost.
There was one more dicey moment, reminiscent of a year earlier. Before
dawn
Tuesday, the Intuition was only a few miles from the finish when the
wind
died. An hour passed, then another. The majestic Mackinac Bridge
looked
close enough to touch.
Finally the air began to move. And at 7:33 a.m., a week ago today,
under a
glorious sunrise, the Intuition crossed the finish line. A cannon
roared.
The crew whooped and high-fived. Their time — 88 hours, 33 minutes and
four
seconds — gave them second place in their group.
A boisterous breakfast at the Pink Pony followed.
Will they do it again?
“Probably,” Gillespie said.
Siedlecki grinned. “Absolutely.”
[image: Moe: Chicago to Mackinac Island in 88 hours, 33 minutes, 4
seconds] Mark Gillespie photo
Left to right, the crew of the Intuition, after this year's Race to
Mackinac: Tom Kershner; Don Hanna; Andy Marin; Mark Gillepsie; Dan
Siedlecki; and Jasper Rine.
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
MON., JUL 27, 2009 - 4:30 PM
*Chicago to Mackinac Island in 88 hours, 33 minutes, 4 seconds*
By DOUG MOE
It was bad enough when the wind quit. One member of the Madison-based
crew
of the sailboat Intuition remembered Lake Michigan seeming like “a
parking
lot.”
But then, later, when the wind kicked up out of the north, it became
clear
that the Intuition was not going to be able to finish the famed
Chicago-to-Mackinac Island sailboat race in anything approaching a
respectable time.
This was last July, the 100th running of “the Mac,” the longest annual
freshwater sailing race in the world. The north wind was driving 5-
and
6-foot waves against the bow of the Intuition. They were in the
Manitou
Islands, 75 miles from Mackinac, and going nowhere fast.
The decision was made to head to land on Michigan’s west coast. They
docked
in Frankfort. The crew rented a van and drove to Mackinac, where one
last
humiliation waited. They had wanted to party with the other sailors
and they
arrived on Mackinac five minutes after the party, held under several
tents,
ended. The rum company sponsoring the party wouldn’t even find them a
beer.
“At least the Pink Pony was open,” Dan Siedlecki was saying Monday,
referencing a famous Mackinac Island watering hole.
The crew — Siedlecki, Don Hanna, Tom Kershner and Mark Gillespie (all
dedicated sailors and instructors at the Hoofers Sailing Club in
Madison),
along with Hanna’s friend Jasper Rine from California — had a drink at
the
Pink Pony and resolved to do better next time.
“Next year, we finish,” Gillespie said.
This year’s Mac began July 17, and the Intuition was once again
entered.
It’s a small boat for the Mac, just under 30 feet, competing in the
“Cruising” division against 18 similar boats (the entire race field
included
350 boats), all handicapped based on a system that rates how fast they
should be capable of sailing.
The Intuition is owned by Hanna, a UW-Madison professor who lives in
Lodi;
Gillespie, a photographer who lives in Madison; and Kershner, a
Madison
software consultant. The 2009 crew again included Siedlecki, who owns
a home
services company in Madison; and Rine, a professor of genetics at
Cal-Berkeley. A sixth crew member, UW-Madison student Andy Marin,
signed on
for the 2009 race.
The crew met several times prior to this year’s race, plotting
navigation
strategies and logistics such as food. As race day neared, they
consulted
weather professionals, because sailing is all about weather,
especially
wind.
They had resolved in their meetings that their top priority would be
to keep
the boat moving forward at all times. In the cruising groups — as
opposed to
the larger, speedier boats with larger crews — there is the temptation
to
knock off for meals or otherwise relax along the way.
This year, right from the start, the Intuition got after it. The
starting
line is off Chicago’s Navy Pier, with the city’s skyscrapers looming
behind.
They went off at 3 p.m. Friday, July 17, with all 19 boats in their
group
jockeying for position.
They raced up the Michigan coast with no major mishaps. There was one
hiccup
when the man-overboard pole — used when someone falls overboard — went
overboard itself, but it was rescued with little time lost.
There was one more dicey moment, reminiscent of a year earlier. Before
dawn
Tuesday, the Intuition was only a few miles from the finish when the
wind
died. An hour passed, then another. The majestic Mackinac Bridge
looked
close enough to touch.
Finally the air began to move. And at 7:33 a.m., a week ago today,
under a
glorious sunrise, the Intuition crossed the finish line. A cannon
roared.
The crew whooped and high-fived. Their time — 88 hours, 33 minutes and
four
seconds — gave them second place in their group.
A boisterous breakfast at the Pink Pony followed.
Will they do it again?
“Probably,” Gillespie said.
Siedlecki grinned. “Absolutely.”
[image: Moe: Chicago to Mackinac Island in 88 hours, 33 minutes, 4
seconds] Mark Gillespie photo
Left to right, the crew of the Intuition, after this year's Race to
Mackinac: Tom Kershner; Don Hanna; Andy Marin; Mark Gillepsie; Dan
Siedlecki; and Jasper Rine.
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