J/Teams Excel in Slow, Fickle Chicago to Mackinac Race

ByStuart Johnstone
Sailboats racing on a windy day.


Wired logo with a pixelated design.

(Mackinac Island, MI)- It was a “slow-motion thriller” for the 116th edition of the 289.0nm Chicago Mackinac Race- presented by Wintrust. For nearly four days, multiple division leaders were within shouting distance of each other on Lake Michigan, swapping tacks, and trading leads as they clawed their way through the Manitou Passage and up into the Mackinac Straits. A big, fat high-pressure system with nary an isochron in sight was parked over northern Michigan, leading to light and fickle winds from the north, northwest, and easterly quadrants. As one wise navigator explained, it was as good as “rolling the dice” as to where the next breeze line would settle in for an hour or two, then just disappear. In the long run, the “stop & go driving” saw many J/Teams excel in the difficult conditions, leading to many of them garnering silverware on the podium.

This year’s Chicago-Mackinac Race reminded sailors that no two “Mac Races†are ever the same, delivering the kind of dynamic challenge that has made it one of the world’s most iconic offshore races and a fixture on every sailor’s bucket list.

Known as “America’s Offshore Challenge”, the 2025 Mac Race tested sailors’ tactical instincts, patience, and mental endurance over the course up Lake Michigan and into Lake Huron for the finish at Mackinac Island, MI.

Unpredictable wind conditions made this year’s race especially demanding, with many boats taking longer than usual to reach the finish. On average, this year, the racing division took 57 hours. In contrast, last year’s race was one for the record books as the 80-foot canting keeler MAVERICK broke the 22-year-old monohull record (just over 22 hours). It’s this unpredictability that keeps Mac Racers returning year after year. Here is how it broke down by division for the large numbers of J/Teams.

Mackinac Cup Fleet (116 larger boats)
Overall Results:
4. Doug Evans’s J/122 ELBOW ROOM- only 30 mins corrected from 2nd place!
6. Matt Songer’s J/122 EVVAI
10. Blaine Shea’s J/111 STRIKING BACK
12. The trio of Nick Gibbons, Rich Murphy, and David Normandin’s J/145 SIC PARVIS MAGNA
13. Jeff Davis’s J/111 SHAMROCK
15. Chris & Autumn Lamb’s J/111 PADAWAN
17. Scott Sellers’s J/111 NO SURPRISE

Division 2- 15 boats
1. The trio of Nick Gibbons, Rich Murphy, and David Normandin’s J/145 SIC PARVIS MAGNA
6. Bill Schanen’s J/145 MAIN STREET

Division 3- 14 boats
3. Jim Murray’s J/125 CALLISTO (a successful J/70 sailor, too!)

Division 4- 13 boats
5. Tom Papoutsis’s J/133 RENEGADE

Division 6- 14 boats
1. Doug Evans’s J/122 ELBOW ROOM
2. Matt Songer’s J/122 EVVAI
5. Len Siegal’s J/122E LUCKY DUBIE
6. Mike & Bob Kirkman’s J/120 HOT TICKET
7. Charlie Hess’s J/120 FUNTECH RACING
8. Bob Eger’s J/120 CALIFORNIA GIRL

Doublehanded Division- 6 boats
1. Andy Graff’s J/88 EXILE
2. Evan Jahn’s J/109 TUMBLER
4. Dan Floberg’s J/88 MISTY- missing podium by 3 minutes!

Mackinac Trophy Fleet (119 smaller boats)
Overall results:
2. Andy Graff’s J/88 EXILE- missing the gold medal by 19 minutes!
5. David Gustman’s J/109 NORTHSTAR- just 9 minutes in arrears of the J/88!
6. Jim Nacthman’s J/99 RAMBLER
8. Evan Jahn’s J/109 TUMBLER
9. Jim Caesar’s J/109 LIQUID LOUNGE II
10. Mike Hendrie’s J/109 BULL

Division 7- 13 boats
2. Tim & Cathy McGuire’s J/112E ELEVATION- celebrating her 25th Mac was Cathy!
3. Tom Dickson’s J/105 WARLOCK
6. Todd & Heidi Patton’s J/112E BLONDIE

Division 8- 12 boats
1. Jim Nachtman’s J/99 RAMBLER
2. Bob Asher & Wes Ory’s J/99 SHING-A-LING
3. Ray Douglas & Christine Maybach’s J/109 COURAGEOUS

ONE-DESIGN CLASSES

J/111 Class- 12 boats
1. Jeff Davis’s SHAMROCK
2. Chris & Autumn Lamb’s PADAWAN
3. Scott Sellers’s NO SURPRISE

J/109 Class- 8 boats
1. Dave Gustman’s NORTHSTAR
2. Mike Hendrie’s BULL
3. Jim Caesar’s LIQUID LOUNGE II

J/105 Class- 18 boats
1. Paul Hickman & Jody Kjoller’s KASHMIR
2. Mark Denuyl’s GOOD LOOKING
3. Mark Fruin’s NYCTOSAUR

Level 35 OD Class- 9 boats
1. Keith Stauber’s J/35 PAPA GAUCHO II
2. Hugh Haggerty’s J/35 NOBLE BUFFALO
3. Kim & Linus Isabell’s J/35 REDLINE

For more Chicago Mackina Race sailing information
https://cycracetomackinac.com/