This summer, PlanetSail founder and sailing journalist Matt Sheahan joined us in Chicago to experience the 2026 Race to Mackinac firsthand and share the story of the Mac Race with sailors around the world.
From the start off Chicago to 333 miles of offshore racing on Lake Michigan, the new film explores the scale, challenge, people and traditions that make the Race to Mackinac unlike any other offshore race.
The 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust once again demonstrated the scale and competitive depth that have established it as the largest annual offshore race in the world. The 333-mile course–spanning the length of Lake Michigan–challenged 250 teams with nearly the full spectrum of offshore sailing conditions, from upwind and downwind racing to heavy air, tactical light winds and powerful overnight thunderstorms.
All competitors are safe following a strong line of thunderstorms that swept across the fleet in northern Lake Michigan overnight during the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust.
Sailors reported winds exceeding 35 knots as the storm moved through, with winds causing several teams to experience moderate damage, including one report of a broken rudder and another of a mast failure.
Peter Thornton’s 104-foot ketch, Whitehawk, claimed line honors for the fourth year in a row, finishing the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Presented by Wintrust at 3:31 p.m. ET / 2:31 p.m. CT on Sunday with an elapsed time of 1 day, 23 hours, 11 minutes.
It marks the fourth consecutive year that Whitehawk has been the first boat to complete the 333-statute-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.
The 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust is fully underway after 208 Racing Division boats started Saturday morning in ideal upwind conditions.
The “Skyline Sprint,” introduced last year in celebration of Chicago Yacht Club’s 150th anniversary, provided Chicagoans the opportunity to see the 208 Racing Division boats engaged in intense tacking battles along the shoreline towards the turning mark near Montrose Harbor.
This summer, PlanetSail founder and sailing journalist Matt Sheahan joined us in Chicago to experience the 2026 Race to Mackinac firsthand and share the story of the Mac Race with sailors around the world.
From the start off Chicago to 333 miles of offshore racing on Lake Michigan, the new film explores the scale, challenge, people and traditions that make the Race to Mackinac unlike any other offshore race.
The 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust once again demonstrated the scale and competitive depth that have established it as the largest annual offshore race in the world. The 333-mile course–spanning the length of Lake Michigan–challenged 250 teams with nearly the full spectrum of offshore sailing conditions, from upwind and downwind racing to heavy air, tactical light winds and powerful overnight thunderstorms.
All competitors are safe following a strong line of thunderstorms that swept across the fleet in northern Lake Michigan overnight during the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust.
Sailors reported winds exceeding 35 knots as the storm moved through, with winds causing several teams to experience moderate damage, including one report of a broken rudder and another of a mast failure.
Peter Thornton’s 104-foot ketch, Whitehawk, claimed line honors for the fourth year in a row, finishing the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Presented by Wintrust at 3:31 p.m. ET / 2:31 p.m. CT on Sunday with an elapsed time of 1 day, 23 hours, 11 minutes.
It marks the fourth consecutive year that Whitehawk has been the first boat to complete the 333-statute-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.
The 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust is fully underway after 208 Racing Division boats started Saturday morning in ideal upwind conditions.
The “Skyline Sprint,” introduced last year in celebration of Chicago Yacht Club’s 150th anniversary, provided Chicagoans the opportunity to see the 208 Racing Division boats engaged in intense tacking battles along the shoreline towards the turning mark near Montrose Harbor.
In just 10 days, 260 boats and thousands of sailors will gather on Chicago’s lakefront for the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust, the largest annual offshore race in the world.
Beginning Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11, the fleet will take on the iconic 333-mile course traversing the entire length of Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Michigan — a bucket-list test of preparation, navigation, endurance and teamwork that has helped define summer sailing on the Great Lakes for generations.
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