(Racine, WI)- The “HOOK”, run the same weekend as the Chicago-Mackinac race, is the Racine Yacht Club’s premier yacht race and 2020 marks its 37th year. It was born from an idea kicked around by Club members who thought a distance contest concurrent with the Chicago-Mackinac race might be able to gain some traction. A race from Racine through “Death’s Door” at the top of the Door County peninsula to a port in Green Bay could be a simpler, lower cost alternative to the ‘Mac and would require less gear. A shorter race, it would allow skippers and crews who couldn’t make the ‘Mac to take less time off and still do a distance race. It would also serve as a way for folks to get their boats north for some cruising while having a little racing on the way. It combines strong competition with the navigational challenge of Death’s Door.
The first HOOK, named by a member who saw a picture of the course and thought it looked like a “hook”, was sailed in 1984 with twelve boats racing from Racine, Wisconsin, to Menominee, Michigan, finishing off Menominee’s marina and the M&M Yacht Club. The finish line at M&M is between a trailer on the marina seawall and a buoy just offshore. Total distance is some 189.0nm.
The "Hook" also has a reputation for serving up somewhat challenging, nasty weather at times. This was one of those years, with two fronts passing over the race track before the fleet could finish. The storms left a trail of broken parts, broken boats, bruised egos, and broken spirits.
With a limit of 100 boats to participate, storms led to significant attrition: 4 withdrew, 5 did not start, and 29 did not finish. Before we get into how some of the J/Crews performed in the race, it's well-worth reading the first-hand account of surviving getting washed overboard.
Sarah Pederson, who was swept off the J/111 SHMOKIN’ JOE five miles northeast of the shipping channel in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, describes her hair-raising experience offshore:
"This wasn’t the first time I had participated in “The HOOK” race. The race itself began in 1983, I have participated in 23+ races, and it wasn’t any different than the others I participated in. As in other years, we can’t control the weather and this year wasn’t any different.
The forecast for the weekend was 15-20 knots of winds from the South/Southwest and thunderstorms. To a sailor, that is ideal conditions to “fly” up the lake to our finish.
My sailing experience began early on. Sailing was our “family sport”. Our father introduced all six of us at an early age. I personally have been active in the sport of sailing for 55 years as a racer, instructor, presenter, and supporter of the sport. With my husband, over the past 32 years we have owned and raced boats carrying on the tradition by teaching his two sons how to sail and race.
So, what happened? There were two thunderstorms that we were tracking throughout the day on Saturday, July 18th. The fleet had already sailed through one off Milwaukee. We experienced some of it north of Milwaukee, off Fox Point as we sailed along the northern edge of the storm. From reports, other boats were not as lucky and experienced the full storm causing boats to report dismasting’s.
As we continued our trek north toward Death’s Door Passage off Gills Rock in Door County, Wisconsin we continued to track storm #2. This storm appeared to be stronger and didn’t seem as though it was dissipating throughout the day. We tracked it as it traveled across Lake Winnebago and made its way toward Lake Michigan.
As the track came closer, and we could now see the lightning associated with this storm, as a crew, we began to prepare for the storm. Our preparation included reducing our sail area by taking down the mainsail and raising the smallest jib available. We insured that all crew members above (4 crew members) and below deck (4 crew members) were wearing US Coast Guard approved life jackets, a safety harness, 6-foot tether, along with a strobe light, whistle, and sailing knife.
When the storm started to affect the boat, the wind began to increase dramatically. Even though we had reduced sail area we could feel the effects of the increase. Eventually, the wind hit us with a gust of 50+ knots. There were some on the race that reported 60-70 knot gusts. At the time of the gust, there was a wind shift causing the boat to auto-tack and round up leaving the crew now on the low side of the boat.
When this happened a wall of water came rushing down the deck picking me, and another crew member, off the deck. Because we were all wearing a safety harness and six-foot tether, the “theory” is we would have stayed with the boat and would have been “retrieved” by pulling on our tether.
This happened to the other crew member, but not to me. My tether snap shackle at the chest snapped open, for whatever reason, sending me into Lake Michigan in the middle of a thunderstorm, 50+ knot winds, 5-foot waves, 56º water, and 60º air temperature.
As I popped up, I could see the boat that I was just swept off in the distance, still pinned down. Almost immediately, I lost sight of the boat due to the conditions which caused limited visibility.
My first thought was I was grateful the water wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be. I had heard all week the Lake Michigan temperature was unseasonably high (70º) for that time of the year. Unfortunately, as it was explained to me after the incident, the water had a “turnover” from the waves, change in wind direction, and storms which dropped its temperature.
Because I did not have any time frame for the events of the night, I do not know what order I had done any of these actions. I turned on my strobe and pulled out my whistle that was on a lanyard around my neck. I blew my whistle several times, but then realized using the air to blow was challenging. I would use the whistle sparingly. I kicked off my sea boots and crossed my arms across my life jacket and held on.
At one point during the time in the water, I did see two boats in the distance – the J/111 with their spotlight panning the water for me, and the US Coast Guard with their red illuminated side panels. At that point, I felt as though they were moving away from me.
I was wearing a full lifejacket, not an inflatable, and my choice for a full lifejacket was a conscious one. I have said that I feel as though, in my situation, the full lifejacket saved my life.
The waves were measuring 5 feet at the time of the storm and I needed to float like a cork, to bob up and down. As the waves would crash over me, I would rotate my body so that I would take the wave from my back. I learned this early, when I had taken a few mouthfuls of water in my mouth and nose. I didn’t think that would be a good thing for an extended period. When I would rise onto the top of a wave, I would attempt to extend my strobe higher in the air for better visibility.
I chose to wear a regular lifejacket at night for the warmth and comfort factor. I have often said that I don’t think I would want to go overboard at night in an inflatable to reduce the chance for mechanical failure. I do wear an inflatable; I was wearing one during the day.
I realized to survive this; I would need to regulate my breathing. There was a lot of self-talk happening while in the water, the first thing I said to myself was “You know what to do, this doesn’t have to be the end.”
I will say that the self-talk throughout the hour being in the water wasn’t always so positive, but for the most part I had the skills to hang in there. I felt as though my ability to swim – what I have been calling water awareness- was a big part of being able to tread water for about an hour. I knew I had the skills to do this…
I had no idea how long I was in the water until the J/111 that I was sailing on heard my whistle and then saw my strobe. Luckily, the storm had started to move out making visibility greater. This assisted greatly in their ability to find me. The US Coast Guard was right behind them. As I understand, the Coast Guard search pattern is in a square, narrowing in on the last known location. They did their job to perfection.
Once aboard the J/111, I was transferred to the US Coast Guard vessel in a basket with the potential of hypothermia. With Emergency Medical Services waiting for me at the station, I was transferred and then taken to Door County Medical with a diagnosis of mild hypothermia. I didn’t have any other reported injuries, so my treatment consisted of a warming blanket and a bag of warm saline.
This story is about a lot of very skilled, experienced, and prepared sailors who handled an emergency with precision. It is about being prepared. Prepared for a storm, all equipment was accounted for before we even left the dock the morning before with the skipper/owner checking to make sure all crew had all the required safety equipment.
It is about knowing what to do in the water as well as on the boat. This story is about wearing a lifejacket. It doesn’t make any different what you choose to wear. I wouldn’t be alive without it.
This story is about how lucky I was to have the US Coast Guard so close to provide the needed support.
WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET, ATTACH A WHISTLE TO IT, IF OUT AT NIGHT, HAVE A STROBE OR SOME OTHER DEVICE THAT WILL BE USED AS A VISUAL. ALL WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!"
As for the racing the event, virtually all over boats participating lived through a similar experience as Sarah while she was aboard. It was rough going and typical of Midwestern fronts that can unexpectedly intensify as they begin to pass over the lake. In the J/111 Class, NO SURPRISE won followed by Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi's MOMENTUS.
In PHRF 2 Class, J/Crews fared well in the tempestuous conditions. Taking the silver was Bob Klairmont's J/160 SIROCCO, followed by Bob Christoph's J/121 LOKI taking the bronze, and Mike Stewart's J/122 LADY K grabbing fourth position.
The seven-boat J/109 class had tight racing despite the tough weather. Winning was the Douglas/ Maybach duo on COURAGEOUS, followed by Doug Evans' TIME OUT in second and the quartet of Miz/ Dreher/ Hatfield/ Neenan in third.
Winning the eleven-boat PHRF 4 class was Andy Graff's EXILE, followed by Mitch Weisman's J/35 FLYING SPHAGETTI MONSTER in fourth place, Mike Hettel's J/105 GLOBAL NOMADS in 6th, and Dale Brown's J/105 BLACK DIAMOND in 7th.
Winning the eleven-boat PHRF 5 class was Mark Wessel's J/92 RUNAWAY.
Finally, proving again that various J/Designs are tough offshore boats, winning the PHRF Doublehanded division was Ron Otto's J/110 TAKEDOWN 2! Congratulations to all for surviving and, indeed, excelling offshore when Mother Nature throws you a massive curveball! Thanks for this contribution from Scuttlebutt Sailing Newsletter For more Racine YC The Hook Race sailing information