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Skipper
Boat:
About the boat:
Built by Bill Lee Yachts in 1986, Pied Piper is 69.9' long with a
15' beam. The yacht draws 10' 4" and weighs 27,000 pounds.
Pied Piper set the Chicago to Mackinac record in 1987 - 25:40:44. Average speed for the 289 nautical mile race was 11.2 knots.
Pied Piper is the only boat to race from Michigan City to Chicago in less than three hours. Pied Piper has also held the time record for the Queen's Cup. That record was recently broken by another Santa Cruz 70.
According to the yacht's owner, Dick Jennings, the fastest speed ever recorded on Pied Piper was 23.5.
Pied Piper made news during the 1995 Chicago to Mackinac Race when it lost its mast during a 60 knot squall. See the Torresen Sailing Page Report from last year for more information.
Jennings replaced his mast this past winter while in storage at Torresen Marine, in Muskegon, Michigan. The new carbon fiber mast weighs in at 671 pounds, 400 pounds lighter than the old mast.
The yacht is kept during the summer months at Burnham Harbor in Chicago.