Record 74-Boat J/Fleet Ready for 117th Chicago Mackinac Race

(Chicago, IL)- Next week, 211 sailboats 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 Saturday, July 11, the fleet will take on the iconic 289.0nm 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.

“The Mac Race has been part of Chicago’s sporting fabric since 1898 — older than the World Series and the Indianapolis 500 —, and it remains one of the city’s great summer traditions,” said Kevin Foote, chair of the Race to Mackinac. “This year, with competitors representing 45 states and eight countries, the race once again brings sailors from around the world to Chicago for one of the most iconic challenges in offshore sailing.”

“The Race to Mackinac is a Chicago tradition that has brought people together for generations, and Wintrust is proud to support this rich history,” said Rich Murphy, Vice Chairman and Chief Lending Officer of Wintrust. “As presenting sponsor, we’re honored to help introduce new generations to the sport and the community that surrounds it.”

The 2026 race will again feature the Skyline Sprint, a spectator-friendly opening leg introduced last year to bring the race closer to Chicago residents and visitors. Weather permitting, both the Cruising and Racing divisions will sail north along the lakefront toward a turning mark near Montrose Harbor before continuing up Lake Michigan.

The Skyline Sprint gives fans a rare opportunity to watch the fleet race in front of the city, with viewing opportunities along the lakefront from Navy Pier north toward Diversey, Belmont, and Montrose harbors.

This year’s race also marks the debut of the new Mixed-Plus Award, recognizing top-performing teams that prioritize inclusive crew composition. The award will be presented to eligible teams with no more than 50% of sailors aged 18 or older being male, encouraging broader participation by women and youth sailors across the fleet.

The Mixed-Plus Award is the first award of its kind in the Race’s 117-year history and reflects the Chicago Yacht Club’s continued focus on growing offshore sailing while preserving the competitive spirit and tradition of the Mac Race.

“Creating more pathways for women and youth to participate at a high level is essential to the future of our sport,” said Chicago Yacht Club Commodore Laura Sigmond. “The Mixed-Plus Award is about opening doors, fostering team development, and recognizing those who are actively building more inclusive crews on the starting line.”

The 2026 fleet includes boats of all sizes and styles, from family cruisers to highly competitive racing machines crewed by professional teams. By far the dominant, leading brand in the race is J/Boats, with 74 teams sailing among the 211 entries in the three principal divisions- a 35.0% participation rate is a NEW record for J/crews in the race!

Mackinac Cup Division- 100 entries, 40 J/Teams (40.0%)
Twenty J/105s are participating in this division. Yet again, most of the class veterans will be vying for class honors. Those teams include Clarke Pellet’s SEALARK, Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM, Mark Fruin’s NYCTOSAUR, Steve Kindra’s PURA VIDA, Keith Krause & Mike Collins VYTIS, and Tom Dickson’s WARLOCK.

Nine J/109s will be vying for class honors, including Mike Hendrie’s BULL, Peter Priede’s FULL TILT, Jim Caesar’s LIQUID LOUNGE, David Gustman’s NORTHSTAR, the “three musketeers” on SMEE AGAIN (George Miz, Peter Dreher, & Mark Hatfield), and Jack Toliver’s VANDA III.

Joining these huge one-design fleets will be twin J/112Es (Tod & Heidi Patti’s BLONDIE & Tracy Hixon’s AXOLOTL), Chris & Autumn Lamb’s J/111 PADAWAN 4, George Petritz’s J/29 TFWB RELENTLESS, some J/35s (Hugh Haggerty’s NOBLE BUFFALO, Richard Stage’s ALPHA PUPPY), some J/88s (Andy Graff’s EXILE, Scott Sorbie’s LEGACY, & Dan Floberg’s MISTY), and Jim Nachtman’s J/99 RAMBLER.

Mackinac Trophy Division- 106 entries, 29 J/Teams (27.4%)
As the second largest J/Boats division, the fourteen J/111s have one of their strongest turnouts in years. Several notable teams should be a factor at the top of the leaderboard, such as Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi’s MOMENTUS, Colin Calaban’s NO QUARTER, Scott Sellers’s NO SURPRISE, Mark Symonds’s PTERODACTYL, Mark Davis’s SHAMROCK, Blane Shea’s STRIKING BACK, and Brad & Ian Faber’s UTAH. The irony of the J/111 division is that they apply relentless pressure to one another throughout the race, and many inevitably end up in the top ten overall!!

A quintet of veteran J/120 teams will be taking on all comers. Notable amongst them are top Detroit boats- Charlie Hess’s FUNTECH RACING and Mike & Bob Kirkman’s HOT TICKET. J/120s have won the Mac Race overall, so don’t count them out!

A trio of J/122s, past four-times overall winners of the Chicago-Mac Race, will be hoping again this will be their year to dominate the fleet. All three boats are capable of doing that- Matt Songer’s EVVAI, Len Siegel’s LUCKY DUBIE, and Doug Evans’s ELBOW ROOM. J/122S are famous for being solid, all-around racing boats, whether it’s beating, reaching, or running in light air, or drifting to flat-out storm conditions.

Joining that list of certified offshore sailing mercenaries will be Jim Murray’s J/125 CALLISTO, Tom Papoutsis’s J/133 RENEGADE, Bill Schanen’s J/145 MAIN STREET, Bob Clairmont’s J/160 SIROCCO, and Randy Kuhn & Jim Richter’s J/44 CHEEP’N’DEEP II. Every single one of those veteran offshore teams has more silverware falling off their trophy shelves than “Heinz has pickles” to offer you in the grocery store! Hahaha.

Doublehanded Division- 7 entries, 5 J/Teams (71.4%)
In what may be a first for the Chicago-Mackinac Race, or any other major offshore race, the major brand dominating the Doublehanded fleet will be J/Boats. It would be laughable to place any bets on this fleet in Las Vegas, DraftKings, FanDuel, or on a prediction markets platform like KALSHI… every single team has won or podiumed offshore in doublehanded events! WOW! Personally? I’d place bets on Richie Stearns on his J/105 FIVE or on Andy Graff’s J/88 EXILE. Both teams have won the Chicago-Mac Race doublehanded multiple times. The other contenders will be Gerber & Lamb’s J/111 PADAWAN 4, the Petritz’s J/29 TFWB RELENTLESS, and Floberg/Hayes’s J/88 MISTY. To put it simply, any one of those teams can win given the many variables they face going up the lake, around the Manitous, and down the Mac Straits to the finish line. Even the finish line from the Mackinac Bridge, 6.0nm away, is a huge variable. Wishing them all good luck! This is definitely a “pull up the chairs, popcorn, pop the beers” kind of armchair racing to watch on the YB Tracker!

For more Chicago to Mackinac Race sailing information
https://www.cycracetomackinac.com/