Sailors begin their race from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA

© Karen I. Hirsch/Alam

Ahoy! It’s time for the ‘Mac’. Batten down the hatches

The athletes on these boats are jockeying for position at the start of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac (pronounced ‘Mack-i-naw’), in the United States. The ‘Mac,’ at 333 miles long (that’s 534 kilometres), is the world’s oldest and longest annual freshwater boat race. It’s an amateur event, but make no mistake, these sailors know their stuff. Many go on to race in the America’s Cup. This year’s race is held today, and the boats set sail, smallest to largest, just off Chicago’s Navy Pier passing by the city skyline as we see in our image.