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. The pickling required the boat to take even longer to come into port. By Tuesday all boats should have finished the race and an awards celebration is held on the lawn of Mission Point Resort. Flags and trophies are presented to all the winning skippers of each division and class.
Sailors share tales of the race as music, drinks and partying fill the day.
Most races go smoothly, but severe storms created havoc in the 1945 and 1955 races. Only 6 of 40 boats finished the 1945 race as gale force winds ravaged the fleet. Chuck Bayer, left, pulled out of the race and rescued Tom Lowry, right, and his crew after Lowry's Tomahawk capsized when a storm came up in Lake Huron during the 1985 race. Sails were ripped away from masts and some boats had their main masts snapped like twigs. The high winds scattered boats all over Lake Huron and many sought refuge in ports along the Michigan shore line or turned back to Port Huron.