Watch stunning aerials of this beautiful 104 ft. ketch to the music of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Whitehawk crossed the finish line in light conditions taking cruising division line-honors in the 2019 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island. Corrected Time: 47 hours, 1 minute, 14 seconds.
The 104 foot ketch, owned by businessman Peter Thornton, was the highlight of the cruising division. Styled after the famous Herreshoff racing vessel Ticonderoga, Whitehawk was designed by renowned Maine yacht designer Bruce King and commissioned in 1978.
The 111th edition began at Chicago’s Navy Pier, with sailboats in the graceful cruising division getting underway. This year, 270 boats and 2,300 sailors from around the world competed. The boats sail 333 miles up Lake Michigan before hanging a big right turn into the Straits of Mackinac, gliding under the Mackinac Bridge before crossing the finish line near the island. It’s the world’s oldest freshwater distance race.
In 2018, Thornton’s sleek Volvo 70 racer, Il Mostro, won first-to-finish honors. But he’s since retired that speed monster, donating it to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation.
This year, Thornton, 79, took a slower - and more luxurious sail up the spine of the big lake. The massive Whitehawk features staterooms, a propane fireplace and a teak bathtub, according to the Associated Press. Thornton sailed with his sons and grandsons as part of the crew.
“I’m closing in on becoming an octogenarian in a few months and, after last year’s Mac race, I decided that I’ve had enough of the competitive racing and I wanted to try something different,” Thornton said in a phone interview with the AP. “I found Whitehawk was available. It really excited me when I saw the boat and what it represented and thought, ‘This is something I’ve got to try.’”
More about Whitehawk, visit Classicsailboats.org ... http://classicsailboats.org/?portfolio=suspendisse-arcu
More about the 2019 CYC race to Mackinac Island ...
https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/07/chicago-yacht-club-race-to-mackinac-kicks-off-how-to-track-the-big-money-boats.html
MUSIC: Ludwig van Beethoven - 7th Symphony 2nd Movement