Couple chart a course to victory
Elaine and Greg Neely hope to navigate their way to the winner’s circle at Chicago’s 107th Race to Mackinac
With the downtown core’s towers shrouded in heavy fog, the Cerulean eases out of Toronto’s Inner Harbour. To starboard, the Toronto Islands sit silent in the rain. To port, thousands of gulls and cormorants squawk and chatter amid the trees and urban rubble of Tommy Thompson Park.
“We’re lucky the wind is blowing the other way,” Elaine Neely says, with a laugh.
She cuts the boat’s small engine. Standing on the bow, her husband, Greg, begins rigging up a sprawling powder blue spinnaker. The paper-thin sail quickly fills in the light breeze.
“When there’s no or little wind, you have to focus on keeping the boat moving,” Greg says. “Light air is really, really challenging but it can make a huge difference in winning or losing.”
The Cerulean is one of only two Canadian vessels competing in this year’s Race to Mackinac. Established in Chicago in 1898, the invitation-only event is the oldest and longest annual freshwater sailing race in the world. Although 324 boats have entered this year, the Cerulean is also one of only 31 vessels to compete in the gruelling Super Mac, an extended version of the historic race, which takes between three and four days to complete.
Elaine, who works in biochemistry, is bubbly and quick to laugh. Patient yet earnest, Greg, a partner at a user-experience design firm, is her perfect foil. The couple started dating in 1989 and married eight years later.
“‘Cerulean’ means blue,” Greg says of the $150,000 yacht’s name. “It exists in a blue world.”
Greg operates the tiller from the boat’s open cockpit, constantly eyeing our location on a touchscreen chartplotter as well as wind speed and direction from digital instruments and a wind vane perched in the towering mast.
Ropes of all colours are meticulously arranged around the vessel. Each hoists or lowers a different sail, flag or yard. The couple works quickly and as a team, like puppeteers with their hands full of lines.
They have a few extra strategies for winning.
“You’re not supposed to carry bananas onboard; it offends Poseidon,” Greg says with a grin. “And sometimes when we don’t have any wind, we’ll pour a rum sacrifice to Poseidon, too.”
The Cerulean sails out of the historic Royal Canadian Yacht Club. Founded in 1852 on the Toronto Islands, the club trains Olympic sailors and will be hosting sailing events at the Pan Am Games.
The boat will be travelling by truck to Chicago, Ill. Once there, the couple will be joined by their volunteer crew for a week of training. One member hails from their own yacht club. The other five are Americans ranging in age from 26 to 74.
Found online and through friends, the Neelys have yet to meet any of them in person.
“In a lot of ways, our crew is more advanced and experienced than we are,” Greg says. “They’ll be able to teach us a lot.”
During the race, they’ll sail four at a time in four hour shifts without stopping until they reach the finish line.
“It’s definitely the most complicated and challenging team sport there is,” Greg says. “I love the focus it requires — it’s almost like meditation.”
Elaine looks out at the expanse of water.
“It’s freedom,” she says.