Fellow Mac sailors, 

Happy Holidays! 

I wanted to send this letter out to the entire 2011 Race to Mackinac fleet to provide you with a glimpse of some of the work that the Race to Mackinac organizing committee has been addressing in the 45 days since the report was released by US Sailing. It is always our goal to run a safe race for all. It is the committee’s goal to look at the US Sailing report concerning the events of last summer with an eye towards identifying those recommendations which we can implement to make the race even safer. 

We have sought the advice of industry experts in safety and naval architecture, and have worked with the offshore office of US Sailing. In doing so, the committee is making some modifications in the key areas of personal and boat safety equipment, continuing sailor education, inspections of vessels and minimum boat stability. We hope that this letter will provide you ample time to begin your planning in these areas and, if need be, make requests for boat equipment as stocking stuffers this holiday season.

The Notice of Race (NOR) and Mac Safety Regulations (MSR) will detail the changes, and we urge you to read them carefully when issued. Of course, those documents, rather than this summary, shall govern the 104th Race to Mackinac.

In summary, the changes we anticipate making for next year’s race fall into three key areas: (a) Personal and boat safety equipment; (b) Continuing sailor education; and (c) Vessel inspections and minimum boat stability.

Personal and Boat Safety Equipment:

• GPIRB or Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) registered to each boat will be required.

• PLB devices will be recommended for individual crew members.

• Life rafts will be strongly recommended.

• Man-over-board poles will need to be attached in a way that allows for quick release, or a self-contained unit that is readily deployable may be used.

• Quick-release tethers will be required

• A Personal safety knife is to be carried by all crew. The knife needs to be readily accessible.

Continuing Sailor Education:

• Safety-at-Sea: It is the committee’s recommendation that 30% of the crew on each boat should have completed the Safety-at-Sea course in the past five years. A link to the courses we know of will be posted on our Web site. We have two classes scheduled in the upcoming months for Chicago and will be communicating additional locations throughout the Great Lakes area. We anticipate these classes will fill up quickly, so we recommend that you sign up soon.

• Weather training: To help further our fleets understanding of weather terminology, Chicago Yacht Club will be hosting a series of weather seminars that deal with basic meteorology terms and concepts and a more advanced course for those requiring additional training. We urge all sailors to take appropriate classes to learn more about the weather and weather forecasting resources. Links will be posted on our Web site.

Vessel Inspections and Minimum Boat Stability:

• The committee has determined that we will be engaging in a more robust boat inspection process. The specifics of that process will be communicated to the fleet in the months to come and will be laid out in the official Notice of Race (NOR).

• We are in the final determinations of using a minimum stability index (MSI) appropriate to the rating rule for the race (ORR); we will be communicating this MSI in the release of the NOR.

In the upcoming thirty days you can expect the release of invitations to returning competitors, NOR and opening of the request for invitation (RFI) process.

We appreciate the patience of the fleet during this process and your supportive comments and recommendations. We look forward to seeing many of you back on the docks for the 104th this coming July. On behalf of the entire Mac Committee, we wish you each a joyous holiday season and a safe and Happy New Year.

Best Regards,

Lou Sandoval
Chairman
104th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Presented by Veuve Clicquot