Tuesday, July 21, 2009 (Mackinac Island, Mich.) – ‘By 8 minutes!’ Bill Zeiler shouted to fellow doublehander Richard Sterns upon learning they’d won the Doublehanded Division. Despite finishing 5 ½ hours ahead of 2nd place boat Chaz, Skye narrowly pulled off the first place spot on corrected time.

‘It was probably the flukiest Mac I’ve ever been in,’ said Zeiler who now has 26 Macs under his belt. ‘50 degree shifts and sail changes were common, although with only one other crew onboard it was not difficult to get a consensus on strategy.’ Having a roller furling headsail was also helpful for Skye, simplifying the sail change process for only two crew.

Sterns and Zeiler were one of 16 crews entered in the new Doublehanded Division this year. ‘It was a different experience, but fun,’ Sterns explained. Sterns, who now has 37 Macs added, ‘it was different not to be competing one design where you really race near other boats in your section on the course. Our division was so spread out that it was hard to tell how we were doing during the race.’ Sterns and Zeiler both agreed that they’d race doublehanded again and enjoyed the new element of competition it brought to the Race to Mackinac.

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