On Sunday, July 11 at 6 a.m. EDT winds were westerly and 3 - 5 knots. Seas were down to 3 - 5 feet and temperature was 57 - 60 degrees with 90 percent humidity. There is a possibility of scattered light showers today.

On Sunday, July 11 at 11 a.m. EDT, the competitors were sailing on flat seas with winds out of the south/southwest at 6 - 8 knots.

As of 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 11 the lead boat sighted is Stars & Stripes, which is north of Big Sable. Following Stars & Stripes one hour behind is RX-Sight, last year's overall winner in the IMS division. Winds have increased to 10 knots from the southwest and many boats are flying their spinnakers. Seas are 1 - 3 feet.

As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 11, the lead boat, Stars & Stripes is nearing Point Betsie. RX-Sight remains approximately one hour behind. Winds are 10 - 12 knots from the southwest and seas are 1 - 3 feet.

As of 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 11, winds are 8 - 10 knots out of the south/southeast in what is becoming a slow and steady race. The lead boats are north of Point Betsie heading into the Manitou Islands. The bulk of the fleet is between Little and Big Sable. The lead boats are expected to finish in the early morning hours.

SUNDAY, JULY 11 AT 11:23:08 CST
Stars & Stripes, skippered by Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett, is the first to cross the finish in the Race to Mackinac. For this feat, he is awarded the Mac Race's First-to-Finish honors in the Open Division. Stars & Stripes departed Chicago at 15:15:00 CST on Saturday, July 10 and arrived on the island at 11:23:08 CST on Sunday, July 11 with an elapsed time of 32:08:08.

Stars & Stripes is a multi-hull catamaran competing in the race's Open Division. The race has three divisions, Open, IMS (International Measurement System) and PHRF (Performance Handicapped Racing Federation). There are two First-to-Finish Honors awarded, one to the Open Division for multi-hulls and one for the two competing mono-hull divisions, IMS and PHRF.

IMS & PHRF DIVISIONS FIRST-TO-FINISH HONOR AWARDED
MONDAY, JULY 12 AT 6:12:44 am CST
Last year's overall IMS winner co-skippered by Ola Astradsson and Ludde Ingvall of Sweden, RX-Sight is the first mono-hull boat to cross the finish line. RX-Sight is therefore awarded the First-To-Finish honors for all mono-hull boats.

RX-Sight departed Chicago at 15:00:00 CST on Saturday, July 10 and arrived on Monday, July 12 at 6:12:44 CST with an elapsed time of 39:12:44. RX-Sight races around the world to bring awareness of and provide education on prevention of eye disease.

The Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac is handicapped and there are three overall winners, one for each division. The winners are determined after the bulk of the fleet has finished and the handicaps are calculated.

MONDAY, JULY 12 AT 9:31 EDT
Both First-to-Finish honors have been announced and several other boats have crossed the finish line. The boats that have finished are Pied Piper, Deep Powder, Holua, Cynosure and Trader. Currently winds are westerly and 3 - 5 knots. Seas are 3 - 5 feet. The bulk of the fleet is in the area of the Manitou Islands.

Manitou Islands - two islands directly west of Leland, Michigan and about 25 miles northwest of Traverse City. Known as North and South Manitou, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore federal preserve in Lake Michigan.