Matt Prost talks about the history of the Bayview Mackinac race

Well, from calm waters to changing winds, it's been quite the journey for hundreds of sailors competing in the Bayview Mackinac race. Our Lauren Edwards joins us live from the island as crews celebrate reaching the finish line. Lauren, are those boats coming in yet? Jamie, I promise you they'll be in soon, but it has been so much fun. The baby Mackinac race kicked off yesterday. We saw them all at Port Huron. We also had Matt pros. He is the general manager. First off, how busy have you been morning? It's been very busy. We had a busy day getting ready for the race, and then we had a busy day on the water starting the race. And then, as you saw, we had a lot of interesting things happen on the water yesterday that that cost some issues for many of the skippers. But everyone's safe. But I love how you say interesting things. There was a bump in the road. There was a bump in the road, but we're still moving forward. There's a lot of boats still heading to Mackinac Island. There's a lot of boats racing head to head, and it's gonna be an exciting finish. Yeah, absolutely. And it's gonna be an exciting finish. And one of the things that I love so much that I recognize so early is the energy is so great. Like, everyone's like family. It is. You know, most of these racers have been sailing against each other or with each other for decades, and so they all know each other. They're competing. The two boats head to head on the cove course are Heartbreaker and Natalie J. Heartbreaker won last year, and they let Natalie J. Drink out of the Hudson Trophy at the bar. So now they're competing again, and we'll see if they return the favor. Talk about how rigorous it is, because from an outside perspective, it looks like a lot of fun, but I can also tell it's a lot of work. It is a lot of work. You know, skippers and crews spend months and years preparing for the race, and so it's a lot of work out there. They know what they're facing, and, you know, they're working hard to get to the finish. But talk about, though, just take me out like you're out on that boat, and, you know, there's wind you have to take into account, and sometimes rain you have to take into account. There's so many things that go into this. There are, and that's why sailing is one of the most challenging sports, because you're at the mercy of Mother Nature. Whether you're facing 50 mile an hour winds at your head or they're coming behind you, either way is a different challenge, and it's a lot more work when you're going against the wind than going with. Now talk about doing this on the Great Lakes, because I feel like so many people are like, Oh, it's not an ocean. You're like, Listen, well, I think there's different ways of racing. You know, there's there's casual racing in front of the clubhouse, where it's more open to everybody. Come down and check it out. And then there's racing on the Great Lakes. You know, we've had people come from ocean racing and be surprised by how challenging the conditions are in the Great Lakes. It happens fast, and the waves can shift very quickly. Why is this so important to you? You speak with so much passion. I do. So this is something that Bayview has done for 102 consecutive years, and so we're very proud of the fact that we haven't missed a race. Other major yacht races have taken pauses for Covid or World Wars. We sailed straight through, and so we're very passionate about what we do. Um, and we love Mackinac Island and the party. So we're hosted at Mission Point, the Great Lawn. And so once we finish, we celebrate. There's a great band, and it's a huge party. And I was gonna say briefly talk about the big reward ceremony that comes. So when this is all done on Tuesday afternoon at noon, all of our sailors gather at the Great Lawn. We've had the same band and the summer for 25 years, and we hand out flags. We look at trophies, and we celebrate the completion of the race. That sounds like so much fun. Thank you so much for even having Fox to cover this because we have been loving it. We've loved it so much. And Jamie, I'm gonna send things back to you. But before I just the award show, that's what I'm looking forward to so much. It's gonna be so much fun. I wish you were here. What can I bring to bring me some chocolate from the island? For sure. You know, I will find some for you. 102 consecutive years. They've been doing this. Do we know the experience level of these sailors out on the water? Oh, they are experienced. They are very much experience. You got some who are pro sailors. But at the same time, I saw just like family members together. They had their kids out on the boat, right? It really is like a family friendly thing. It is. It's a family friendly thing. We have anybody from from young kids at the age of 12 and 13 racing up to people in their eighties who have sailed 50 Mackinac races. There you go. The level of professionalism goes from like Lauren to nothing to experts. Are you? Did you say Lauren to nothing? Are you the bottom and then the expert? I'm at the bottom bottom. I can barely tell what a boat is. I'm like, Oh, look, it's on water. And that's why you're on land doing the interview. Noah's Ark. Exactly. That's why I'm on land. All right. Thanks, Lauren. We'll check back in with you later, girl.