'We heard a loud boom and the boat shook' during 101st Bayview Mackinac Race
Sailor hoisted to top of mast in wind storm to do repairs -- then wins
When Gillian Porretta of New Baltimore, Mich., stood on the deck of her father’s 41-foot sailboat and looked around Lake Huron to see what was happening with competitors, she noticed sails starting to struggle — with one twisting into an hourglass, getting all tangled up.
“They couldn’t get it down,” Porretta told Shifting Gears. “As we were watching that, we heard a loud ‘boom’ and our whole boat shook.”
The spinnaker halyard on their boat Stalwart, a C&C 41 WK, broke at the top of the mast and the sail fell into the water. Skipper Brian Cann of Port Huron, Mich., veered to avoid running over the sail. Then the crew raced to the rail and started pulling the sail out of the water.
Porretta worked to pack the soaking wet sail down below deck into a bag to make way for the jib — a triangle-shaped sail at the front of the boat that stabilizes a vessel.
Meanwhile, Brent Cantwell, 61, of Port Huron put on a harness to go up the mast about 1 p.m. on Day 1 of the Port Huron to Mackinac Race that began July 12, 2025.
He fixed the broken equipment while the rig was shaking.
“Brent was holding on for dear life,” said Porretta, 36, a financial adviser who is now a stay-at-home mom.
Cantwell, a territory business manager with Mead Johnson Nutrition, sells baby formula.
Pulling everything in, going up the mast and re-deploying sails happened in just 10 minutes or so, Porretta said. A time stamp on her photo is 1:16 p.m., about an hour after they started the 204 nautical mile Shore course.
“I could’t believe our recovery,” Porretta said. “It was really fast.”
Stalwart won first in class, finishing in 32 hours, 49 minutes and 14 seconds.
“We had action throughout the race with so much wind,” Porretta said. “Storms came through throughout the race. Big gusts and so many sail changes. Wind shifts. Adjustments needed to be made.”
Crew constantly interrupted shift changes to respond to calls for help.
At 5 a.m. Saturday, Porretta realized a critical need for more bodies on deck.
“We had to do a sail change and there was so much wind,” she told Shifting Gears on Monday. “We had probably 20 knots at the time, of true wind speed, and trying to get that kite down? That’s a lot of pressure. So I yelled down below, ‘We need more hands!’”
Lou Ropposch, 47, a carpet and floor covering business owner from Port Huron, raced up to the deck in his underwear — adding just a life preserver and boat shoes.
“They were boxer briefs,” Porretta said, laughing.
These are just a few stories from the field that illustrate sailing is a high-octane sport that requires mad skill and a sense of humor.
“The flies were eating us alive,” Porretta said. “But this was a really fun, fast race. We got to the island before nightfall on Sunday. We’re just happy to be here and everyone is safe.”
This race was the first Mackinac win for Stalwart. Its crew also included Leann Allen of China, Mich., Ryan Mynsberge of Marysville, Mich., Sean Wirtz of Algonac, Mich., Michael Vigrass of Harrison Township and his father Terry Vigrass of Port Huron.
A snapshot of class wins, losses on race course
Underdog, a C&C35 MKI owned by Cameron Paine of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, placed first in class and first overall on the Shore course in 34 hours, 10 minutes, 38 seconds. His team won best in class in 2024, too. Paine, 56, a real estate broker, raced a different boat named Underdog in 2019 and 2022 but it caught fire after an electrical failure while docked at the Windsor Yacht Club after motoring back from Mackinac in 2023. The winning boat this year has been restored after being owned for 50 years by the family of longtime crew member Anissa Noakes, 48, a small business owner at the Urban Art Market from Windsor.
“We were ready, that was the key” to winning, she said. "It was making sure you knew what was going to happen when it happened if it happened.”
nosurprise, a J/111 owned by Scott Sellers of Larkspur, Calif., and Benton Harbor, Mich., and co-skippered with his daughter, was expected to win with his high-powered crew and did. He raced the Cove Island course in 38 hours, 51 minutes, 32 seconds.
“We weren’t too impacted by the storm,” Sellers told Shifting Gears. “We got our spinnaker down in time before the storm hit, and then reset a smaller spinnaker just a few minutes later as the winds slightly abated. For about 15 minutes, we were the only boat that had a spinnaker, which propelled us into the lead.”
Good Lookin’, a J/105 owned by Mark DenUyl of Marysville, Mich., won his class on the Cove Island course in 42 hours, 34 minutes and 30 seconds.
“We took the spinnaker down one minute before the wind piped up to 44 knots (of wind) north of Lexington,” said DenUyl, a construction company owner. “We saw boats behind us wiping out.”
Elevation, a J/112e owned by Tim and Cathy McGuire of Macomb, Mich., tied for second in class to the second and now takes third in a tie-breaker rule giving the faster elapsed time the second place, according to a Facebook post early on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. They finished Cove Island in 41 hours, 43 minutes and 27 seconds. On corrected time that factors a handicap rating system such as boat and sail sizes, Elevation had corrected time of 31 hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds. The second place was awarded to C4, a C&C SR33 owned by Matt Lane of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He finished in 41 hours, 23 minutes, 43 seconds. In corrected time, C4 also ended up with 31 hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds.
Fast Tango, a North American 40 owned by Tim Prophit of St. Clair Shores, Mich., was a heavy favorite to make the podium but placed 9th. He raced the Cove Island course in 44 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds.
“Our race sucked,” Prophit told Shifting Gears. “We did fine through the storm. We just couldn't find the top gear. We thought we sailed well but just, you know, other boats sailed better.”
Hooligan, a TP 52 owned by Trey Sheehan of Cleveland, Ohio, and John Evans of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sailed with an award-winning crew that included navigator Nick Ward and bowman Curtis Florence. Hooligan placed 12th on the Cove Island course, finishing in 31 hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds.
Eagle One, an Italia 19.38 owned by Timothy LaRiviere of Grosse Pointe, Mich., placed first in class on the Cove Island course with a finishing time of 35 hours, 18 minutes and 46 seconds.
This year, for some sailors, just felt different.
“Just the wind and the constant mayday calls,” said Annie Austin, 63, of Port Huron, who raced on Saving Grace II, a Catalina 30. “ And the flies, omigod. They bit through clothes and socks.”
The boat, which is owned by her husband Scott, placed 14th on the Shore course. “We left the spinnaker up about 30 seconds too long under heavy wind and it completely shredded around Harbor Beach, Mich., around 6:30 p.m. (Saturday).
But to outsiders, everything looks and seems glamorous in sailing. And the annual Bayview Mackinac Race is iconic.
Cheryl Duncan, 51, a credit union employee from Chesterfield Township, Mich., stood on the shore of Mackinac watching boats cross the finish line around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 14. “Coming to this is like the Thanksgiving Day Parade.”
Phoebe Wall Howard covered sailing for The Detroit Free Press for seven years, until 2024. Find her recent sailing stories here.
Editor’s note: She is a member of the Port Huron Yacht Club. Her husband sailed Good Lookin’ in the 101st Mackinac Bayview Race and placed first in class.
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Great story! Congratulations Brian and crew for your 1st place winn!
Sailing Huron is not for the faint of heart! So glad everyone is safe.