Seven crew took on the 114th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, marking a 25th race and an 'Island Goat' induction for skipper Herb Philbrick and crew member Michael Lunn. Consistent wind and following seas made for a fast first day, while vast expanses of light-to-nonexistent air ravaged the fleet for the rest of the race.

Written update after day one:

It’s easy to overlook the Mac as just a simple race. 300 miles, on a lake, and devoid of any extreme weather all sound pretty tame. While mostly true, fickle winds and often inaccurate weather forecasts means routing turns into more of a suggestion with high risk for little reward and little time to make up for any mistakes. Last year, storms raged and forced 29 teams to retire, with some of the casualties including broken rudders and missing thumbs. This year, it seems things will be quite a bit more tame than that. The weather briefing claimed 60% at 8 knots of wind or less, which as disappointing as it sounds I am happy to report we have spent the near entirety of today in the supposed 40%. Wind was rarely under 10 and many instances sustained over16. Running on a broad reach under spinnaker was champagne sailing. With a good dinner down the hatch and a watch successfully completed, it’s time to close out today.