Annual Race to Mackinac to take off from Chicago's Monroe Harbor

The Race to Mackinac highlights a key theme: the annual freshwater sailing race departing from Chicago’s Monroe Harbor is set to begin Saturday morning. The event’s racing division will take off from Monroe Harbor, with the first sailors scheduled to start at 9 a.m. It spans more than 300 miles into Michigan and is described as the longest annual freshwater sailing race in the world. Now in its 117th year, the race is the Chicago Yacht Club’s signature sailing event. Organizers say 2,000 sailors will compete across 252 boats this year. Lake Michigan’s unpredictable weather and shifting winds are expected to challenge competitors. The race will proceed rain or shine.