A sit down with Evolution Sail’s Rodney Keenan
This year’s Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac proved to be one of the fastest on the books for just about every team that participated. As always, Lake Michigan threw everything she had to offer at the fleet, from brief yet extreme squall lines to areas becalmed for hours on end. We would like to congratulate everyone who participated in this record-setting race, and we thank Chicago Yacht Club for allowing us to sponsor such a prestigious and historical event.
One team in particular made the 115th Race to Mackinac one that will not be soon forgotten. Maverick, an Andrews 80 owned by Bill Kinney and Sandy Burris smashed Pyewacket’s race record by over an hour, setting the new record at a blistering 22 hours, 22 minutes, and 23 seconds, But they didn’t stop there. The team continued on to Port Huron and took a full 10 hours out of the previous “Super Mac” record. This amazing achievement was credited to a 19-member crew largely comprised of Corinthian sailors hailing from Ohio.
At Evolution Sails, we are proud to not only be the sailmaker for Maverick, but to have our team participate alongside their crew to achieve this spectacular result. Evolution Sails founder Rodney Keenan was onboard and played a large role in designing and delivering a re-invented sail package that propelled them to their record result. Andy Camarda, the local Evolution representative from Chicago, caught up with Rodney between regattas to get the inside scoop on Maverick’s race.
Andy Camarda: First off, congratulations on setting the record. Did you expect to shatter the record going into the race?
Rodney Keenan: We thought we had a great chance even though we were the biggest yacht in the racing fleet. The TP52’s are very close to the same speed in planing conditions, but it is the Mac race after all so unpredictable things can happen at the corners.
AC: There was a major storm the first night, how did you manage to come through it unscathed?
RK: The storms for us were a larger problem than the 52’s as we have bigger, heavier sails. We set up for the squalls, which in the end for ourselves never eventuated. This meant dropping the spinnaker which let the 52’s right on by so we were forced to play catch-up. Fortunately, we picked a nice line and passed them again.
AC: Tell us a bit about the boat’s history?
RK: The boat was originally Magnitude 80 from California designed for West Coast races that are mainly downwind.
AC: The boat has been a work in progress since starting off, what has the team been working on?
RK: Alan Andrews did a great job. She is almost 24 years old and still has plenty of life in her. The addition of the long bowsprit has enabled the boat to be set up and sailed in a more modern way. Now as Maverick, the boat is carrying a little more sail area. A couple of staysails and a JO (upwind Code Zero) sheeting to the jib tracks helps the boat power up and sail easier.
When Sandy and Bill purchased the boat, she was in a sorry state. Luckily, the guys have a great team of sailors that are willing to get their hands dirty and help with weekend projects throughout the winter.
AC: Tell me more about the new sail inventory, which sails made the difference in this race?
RK: As far as sails, we were quite different to last year with the addition of a square-head mainsail and a J2 on hanks that can quickly be reefed into a J3. The focus was keeping weight off the yacht while making her easy to sail. We have a J0 that replaces the J1 and is used up to around 8 knots true wind speed going upwind. As soon as we see around 36 degrees apparent wind angle, the new furling Genoa Staysail is deployed and we can generally sail around wind speed up to 20 knots TWS.
As we know, these races are often won by the boat that can wriggle though the light spots. This year, we also had the addition of a fully-battened Wind Seeker, an awesome sail in light air. This Wind Seeker also becomes the spinnaker staysail at over 10 knots TWS and at around 12 knots TWS we can also use the furling Genoa Staysail inside this, enabling us to run 4 sails at once.
AC: Let’s talk for a second about the team, it didn’t look like the fully pro teams that usually go after the records.
RK: Nope, Maverick was all friends and family, except Chad Huff who joined us for the Chicago race. We also we lucky enough to have Stu Johnstone as navigator, he was great to sail with.
AC: Maverick looked well ahead in the Bayview Mac before you had to drop out, what happened?
RK: The Bayview Mac was going beautifully until we had a compression failure in the mast section. Luckily, we kept the mast in the air and the boat will be back to race the events next season.
AC: You’ve raced all over the world, what keeps bringing you back to the great lakes and the Mac Races?
RK: I love these two events and I think have only missed one in 20 years. The fact that the races are so tactical keeps me coming back. It is always a challenge. Over the years, I have made so many wonderful friends in the races. And from doing these races the seed was sewn to bring Evolution Sails to the USA.
This has gone from strength to strength, but it is the owners and sailors doing these races and seeing for themselves a real alternative for great, fast sails at a fair price that have helped put Evolution Sails on the map in the USA. Thank you all, we are proud to be a supporter of the Chicago Mac race and look forward to many more!
Evolution Sails is proud to power not only Maverick but dozens of teams participating in the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. We are currently running our end-of-season sale, contact us today to get the record-setting, ORC optimized sails your boat deserves. Photos courtesy of Boat Pix.
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