Men overboard, capsized sailboat disrupt Lake Michigan race

A sudden change in the weather marked by howling wind, 10foot waves and “washing-machine”-like conditions on board disrupted the annual Chicago to Mackinac Island sailboat race over the weekend.

Five people were rescued in two incidents on Lake Michigan near Milwaukee early Sunday in the annual contest sponsored by the Chicago Yacht Club. No serious injuries were reported.

One boat, the 31-foot, multihull High Priority 2, capsized and remained 17 miles off Milwaukee on Monday, awaiting assistance from a salvage ship.

The dangerous conditions kicked in late Saturday night.

Reports from crew members described “washing-machine” conditions and expensive boats suffering catastrophic damage that forced them to hunker down and withdraw from the race.

The 333-mile race, the world’s oldest freshwater sailing contest, attracted 301 entrants this year for its 109th edition. The drama Saturday night knocked about 80 boats out of the race. An additional 60 boats were still en route Monday, mired by calm breezes several hours south of the finish line.

A crew member on one of the race boats, the Meridian X, fell overboard during heavy winds shortly after midnight Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. Another boat reported wind measurements of nearly 52 mph about that time, according to a report on Scuttlebutt Sailing News.

The man overboard happened about 30 miles east of Port Washington and the person was rescued by the Meridian X, the Chicago Yacht Club said on its Facebook page.

“The person was wearing a life jacket and a personal locater beacon and was in good condition despite being in the water for over an hour,” a Coast Guard statement said.

About an hour later, the High Priority 2, based in East Lansing, Mich., capsized about 30 miles east of Fox Point with four people on board. Other boats spotted three distress flares and tried to help but were unable to do so because of the rough conditions.

“The vessel had capsized due to a series of 35 mile-per-hour winds that shifted from the south to the northwest very quickly,” the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay, which was following along with the race, with help from a Coast Guard helicopter crew, rescued the sailors. They were in good condition and remained on the cutter until it arrived at Mackinac Island on Monday, coast guard spokesman Brian McCrum said.

Two of the four people rescued were not wearing life jackets.

“From what I understand, those squalls came out of nowhere,” McCrum said, adding that the Coast Guard urges boaters to wear life jackets in all conditions.

The winning boat, Infinite Diversion, arrived at 7:28 a.m. Sunday, with a time of 40 hours 8 minutes, the yacht club said. Only 40 boats had finished the race by Monday morning.

“That’s a very low number of finishers for Monday morning!” the club’s Facebook page said.

But most sailors were talking about the Saturday night on Lake Michigan that few will forget.

“We coasted for a few minutes, catching our breath and attempting a repair. In 8- to 10-foot seas and 30 knots of breeze and a 33 foot boat, it’s no easy task,” Christopher Beckwith, a crew member on the Nirvana, told Scuttlebutt.

“The crew was beat. The boat was broken. We were all cold, wet and dehydrated. It was nothing short of a day at the water park in ice cold water, fully clothed,” he said.

“We made the decision to pull into Pentwater and get a good meal.”