Pickle Boat - The Race

The Race

The two Port Huron race courses allow for maximum participation from yachts ranging in size from 26 feet (7.9 m) to more than 80 feet (24 m).

The Port Huron to Mackinac Race is often confused with the Chicago to Mackinac Race. They were held on the same weekend until 1939, when both clubs agreed to alternate the date of their Mackinac races, scheduling them a week apart. The Chicago-to-Mackinac race is older, starting in 1898, and slightly longer.

The Friday night before the start of the race is called Boat Night. Thousands of people, sailors and those who wish they were, line the banks of the Black River, Port Huron to view the yachts. The parties will last until well after dawn on Saturday.

The race begins Saturday afternoon with the smallest boats starting first and the largest the last to cross the starting line. Boats typically begin finishing at Mackinac Island Sunday evening through Tuesday morning. The finish line can be viewed from a number of places including Fort Mackinac and Mission Point Resort.

Boats are measured to determine handicaps. The fastest boat in the fleet is the scratch boat and has no time allowance. All other boats have time allowance handicaps which are subtracted from the elapsed sailing time. As of 2007, handicapping systems used in various classes included PHRF and IRC. In 2009 the ORR rating system was added.

The last boat to finish the race is called the "pickle boat." The origin of the name comes from English yachting, where the last boat was called the "fisher." The boats used to stop to fish for herring and then pickle them. The pickling required the boat to take even longer to come into port.

The race and an awards celebration, while held on the lawn of Mission Point Resort in a number of previous years, will be held in 2012 at the Grand Hotel. Flags and trophies are presented to all the winning skippers of each division and class.