The 2003 Chicago Mac race started Saturday with beautiful bright blue skies, large fluffy sheep like clouds, and an amazing lack of wind.

At one point Saturday evening the southern midlake NOAA bouy showed a windspeed of 0.0 knots, with gusts of the same.

The sunrise over Mackinac Island reflected off of a reflective, glassy Lake Huron.  Not ideal conditions for traveling the lake.
View toward the finish line (west)

View to the east.

This picture gives an idea of a typical day at the Mackinac Island Municipal Marina.  All this will soon change as preparation for the arrival of the racers progresses.

The wind is slowly, but surely filling in from the most ideal direction - South, Southwest

Check of the DMI race tracking at http://www.rminet.com/cyc/index.html shows that the fleet has started making progress North, but not quite at the usual pace.

At 10:45 Michigan time, the scratch boat of the fleet, Alchemy, was reported 20 miles south of the Manitou Islands.

As of 4:00 pm Michigan time, Section 6 boats where seen at Big Point Sable.