Tragedy struck the 103rd Annual Chicago to Mackinac Yacht Race early Monday AM as a swift moving storm swept across the upper half of Lake Michigan just south of the Fox Islands, as the ultralight Kiwi 35, WingNuts from Saginaw, Michigan was flipped over by high winds throwing the crew of eight into the stormy dark waters.
An intense lightning driven thunderstorm hit hard, and luckily with water temperatures in the high 60's it enabled the survivors to wait for help after launching their communication devices for rescue. They were all wearing life jackets and were rescued shortly by the valient crew of "Sociable" who immediately abandoned the race to join in search efforts.
Most of the crew were able to get unshackled and climb aboard the over turned hull. Unfortunately, the skipper and owner Mark Morley, 51, and Suzanne Bickel, 41, both from Saginaw, MI were thrown overboard and were declared "missing" until the Coast Guard recovered the bodies several hours later
Morley had 44 years of sailing experience, including six Chicago Mackinacs and 85 qualifying races. Bickel had sailed in two previous Chicago-Mackinac Races, with 16 qualifying races.
In a brief statement Commodore Joseph S. Haas said, "On the behalf of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, the Board of Directors and Flag Officers, we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the crew of "WingNuts." The crew of this boat exemplified the spirit of the Chicago Mac that is steeped in tradition of family, friends and passion for the water."
Five sailors were pulled from the water on arrival to the scene and one other sailor was later rescued. The six sailors were rescued by the crew of "Sociable."
The accident occurred approximately 13 nautical miles northwest of Charlevoix, Michigan, and 10 miles east of South Fox Island.
A description of the boat posted on sailingnetworks.com describes it as; "one of the original sport boats built of Divinycell and Kevlar the boat is very light weight, but it's most unusual feature are it's wings. The hull is 8 foot wide but on deck the wings extend the width to 14'.
The boat has been upgraded with the addition of a 12' carbon retractable bow sprit and a carbon mast and extended boom with a big roach main.
It is very similiar in appearence to Michael Fay's 1988 135' America's Cup Challenger New Zealand KZ1.
Given the high winds with gusts of more the 50 miles per hour and 4 to 6 ft. waves the boats unigue wing desogn could have contributed to it flipping over.
In the races 103 year history these are the first 2 recorded racing deaths. That fact in its self is remarkable given the frequent verosity of storms that whip across the Great Lakes, sometimes with little or no notice.
In respect to this tragic accident, the crew was very experienced and qualified to be out racing. The storm swept quickly across the upper half of the course north of the Manitou Islands and held most of the fleet within its grasp.
Windquest, RJ and Doug DeVos's 85 ft. yacht had crossed the line several hours earlier to be first to finish. The boats most vulnerable to the severe weather range from 30 to 45 feet in length and are primarily crewed by "weekend" warriors, heading on their yearly pilgrimage to Mackinac Island. One of the most frightening aspects of events for friends and families of the competitors was the fact that the race tracking system managed by IONEarth was down. In today's world, such a lapse is inexcusable.
The storm retired at least twenty boats from competition.
Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the WingNuts crew. It is a reminder though, that racing can be a dangerous business, especially on the Great Lakes. Hopefully, next year the CYC will have a capable partner in tracking boats during the race so that family and friends will not have to needlessly worry about where their loved ones are on the lake. IONEARTH's (Traverse City) service for the Chicago-Mac Race this year has been mediocre at best, everyone deserves better
