THE JIB BUNNIES WILL GET THEIR EXERCISE. The early weather forecast for the Chicago to Mackinac Island race is for generally northerly winds, which will make the race a bit more of a test of skill than it sometimes is. (Those downwind starts where the yachts have their spinnakers drawing make for prettier photos but they're not as good a test of boat-handling as an upwind start with a line that is approximately square to the mean wind.) The weather conditions have the potential to affect the outcome of the race, in which the first boat across the finish line is not necessarily the winner. There is a form of affirmative action for keelboats in which each yacht's time is adjusted for its waterline length, sail area, and other arcana of naval architecture. (The Inland scows evolved under a rule in which the rating depended on the waterline length, which was measured when the boat was level. So you build a lot of overhang above the waterline and sail it on the slant, increasing the waterline length and reducing the wetted surface a la a catamaran. So you rewrite the rules to specify the same hull shape for all scows of a given class.) The formulas for adjustment are based on the yacht's optimized performance on all points of sail (beating, tight reaching, power reaching, and running.) But some yachts do better under the handicap on the run, and others do better on the beat, although good crew work on the beat can offset indifferent crew work on a yacht favored by the formula. Or that's how a one-design skipper sees things.

The race, should you wish to follow its progress, has live tracking this year courtesy the Chicago Yacht Club.