Pure Michigan® Bayview Mackinac Race Starts Sets New Record With 4.4 Million Web Page Hits

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 4.4 million visits were made by people tracking the 2010 Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race sailboats via the worldwide web setting an all-time high for the race, it was announced Wednesday.

"We set a record last year with nearly 1 million page views," said George Zimmermann, Vice President of the "Pure Michigan" campaign that is the race's title sponsor. "This year's level of activity just blows that away, it is truly astounding and shows how compelling and important this great race in Michigan waters is to the state and sailing fans around the world."

Pure Michigan is the national advertising and promotion campaign run by The Michigan Economic Development Corporation Travel Division and their advertising agency, McCann Worldwide. Pure Michigan also hosted the Global Positioning System tracking of each of the 206 boats in the 86th Bayview Mackinac Race that ended Tuesday morning.

The overall winner of the race was Natalie J with a corrected time of 33:26:59. "Natalie J" is owned by Dr. Philip O'Niel of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The last boat to finish – also known as the "Pickle Boat" --  was "Trim."  Complete race results can be found at www.byc.com

Skipper Jim Leamon took the ignoble honor in stride. "People are coming up and shaking my hand," said Leamon, of Grosse Pointe Park. Leamon, and his boat TRIM, crossed the finish line at Mission Point at 7:11 a.m. Tuesday morning. It took TRIM a total of 67 hours, 31 minutes and 35 seconds to finish the 254-nautical mile Cove Island Course.  The boat's corrected time 65:34:05.

"This was a fantastic race with several hundred thousand people coming out to watch the race start in Port Huron and take part in the Blue Water Fest," said Commodore Bruce J. Burton of the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, which founded and hosts the race. "To have four and a half million people watch our race on-line is a testament to the race and the passion people have for sailing and the Great Lakes."

The dramatic increase in web exposure was attributed to pre-race publicity and increased social media activity. The Pure Michigan Facebook page alone has nearly 100,000 fans. The Four Detroit Sports teams, Lions, Tigers, Pistons and Redwings each "adopted" a boat and their fan base may have also pushed the web traffic, said Bruce Babiarz, head of marketing and sponsorships for the Bayview Mackinac Race.

The race started Saturday in Port Huron with 206 sailboats evenly split among two courses, the Shore Course and the longer "Cove Island" course which is about 50 miles longer and extends into Canadian waters.

Shortly after the start a brief but powerful storm ripped across Lake Huron dismasting a classic 1964 wood racing boat from 1964 called "Yare" and owned by John Tipp.  The gusting winds broke the spare around the second spreader, forcing the boat to withdraw. A second boat "Phoenix" was also forced to withdraw. No injuries were reported.

Some 4,000 people including sailors, family friends and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock, celebrated the successful race at the Bayview Mackinac Race Awards Party on Mackinac Island where class flags sponsored by Bell's Brewery were given to the top three winners in each of the 20 racing classes.

The 80-foot Hong Kong-registered "Beau Geste" took the start and was first to arrive on Mackinac Island followed by the 86-foot Windquest of Ada, Michigan. Natalie J arrived about four hours after Windquest but was declared the overall winner based on the sailing handicap rating system. The Mackinac racing boats, ranging in size from 28 to 86-feet in length, were sailed by approximately 2,500 sailors and crew.

"It was a great race on many levels," said Chairman Tom Burleson of Bayview Yacht Club. "It was a safe race and the winds this year favored many of the boats that sailed the shore course. We look forward to doing it again next year."

Among the largest boats in this year race is Windquest, an 86-foot Maxiracer owned by Doug and Dick Devos.  The 80-foot sailboat "Beau Geste" registered out of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club came all the way to Port Huron from Hong Kong to do the race. Owner Karl C. Kwok, conducted numerous media interviews by phone, satellite phone and e-mail given the intensive media interest in a boat that sailed thousands of miles to compete in the 252-nautical mile "Cove Island" course that will take about half the fleet into Canadian waters for the course mark before they sail west to Mackinac Island.

Also for the first time in race history the professional sports teams in Detroit, Lions football, Red Wings hockey, Pistons basketball and Detroit Tigers baseball teams each "adopted a boat" for their fans to root for to victory. The Detroit Tiger's adopted boat "Epic" won overall. The Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA) launched the "Pro Team Challenge" at Bayview Yacht Club to draw support to the sport of sailing. The fan base of the sports teams may have contributed to the increase in web hits.

"This race is truly 'Pure Michigan,' and it attracts thousands of people to the magic of Michigan summers each and every year," said George Zimmermann, vice president, Travel Michigan, who is racing aboard the 70-foot yacht Runaway. "The race is based out of Detroit, starts in Port Huron and takes everyone 'Up North' to Mackinac Island, so it is a perfect fit with our highly successful Pure Michigan national advertising campaign to draw tourism to our great state."

"This race will feature sailing in the Great Lakes and showcases the natural beauty and fresh water resources that are unique to Michigan," said Zimmermann. "We welcome boats and racing teams from Chicago and around the world for the ultimate Pure Michigan sailing experience."

Bayview, founded in 1915, is widely regarded as the premier sailing club in Michigan and the Midwest. The private club is located on the Detroit River near the mouth of Lake St. Clair and has more than 1,000 members. For more information: www.byc.com. The official Michigan travel information site, michigan.org, features more than 12,000 attractions, events, hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses. The site highlights special travel deals for golf and other warm weather activities for all ages and interests. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, michigan.org was recognized as the most popular state tourism Web site in America.

SOURCE Bayview Yacht Club