The Racine Race is an annual September tradition at WYC and signals the coming end of Summer and our Racing schedule. At 22.1 miles, the only WYC race that is longer is the Chicago-Waukegan. The Milwaukegan is 42 miles but is hosted jointly by WYC and the Milwaukee Yacht Club.
This year the sun rose in a partly cloudy sky and the southerly winds started to pick up and swing around to the southwest. Racers started to assemble out by the bell buoy and the race kicked off on time with most boats launching their spinnakers right off the starting line. The predicted winds of 15 knots never materialized but the winds of 8-10 knots kept the fleet moving spritely to the north.
In less than 2 hours, the racers passed Kenosha and winds alternated from southwest to southeast. The boats with asymmetrical chutes turned out to the east to maintain their speed while the symmetrical spinnakers jibed several times to optimize their course.
The first boat crossed the line at 2:09 pm averaging over 5.3 knots. At times, the boats were hitting 7-8 knots and surfing off the 1-2 foot waves. Overall, it was nearly a record run to Racine. The boats doused their sails and gathered at the Racine Yacht Club to celebrate the amazing race.
Following the WYC tradition, most of the racers and cruisers reserved slips at Reefpoint Marina and gathered for dinner at the Brew House Pub and Grill. We all sat at one table and exchanges stories from the day. After dinner the party continued on the pier with lawn chairs, whiskey and rum.
In the morning, crews prepared breakfast and got their boats ready for the trip back to Waukegan. It was another great day of sun and wind, even though it was from the south again making progress a bit slower than the day before.
Hope you’re ready to do this again. The Last Race, Race to Kenosha is coming up next Saturday! As with the Racine Race everyone is welcome to participate. You do not have to be a member of WYC to race or cruise with us. The Last Race, Race is a Reverse PHRF race that starts at the club. We look forward to seeing you at the club or in Kenosha!
