Inaugural Dave Rowe Memorial Race Takes the Spotlight at Mackinac Island Yacht Club’s Opening Event

This story first appeared in the June 30, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

The first sailboat race of the season around Mackinac Island will be held Saturday, July 1, by the Mackinac Island Yacht Club. The race, sponsored by the Pink Pony, features a new name this year, the Dave Rowe Memorial Fourth of July Race. It honors the legacy and memory of longtime Yacht Club Race Chairman David Rowe, who also served as the club’s commodore.

Open to all sailboat classes in the Mackinac area, the race will begin Saturday at 1:10 p.m. and is expected to draw between six and 12 boats. The race is capped at four hours. There is no fee to participate, and registration can be done online at the yacht club website, www.miyachtclub.com/races. Boats will circumnavigate the Island beginning near the east breakwater and finishing directly south of the harbor.

A skippers meeting begins at noon Saturday, July 1, at the Mackinac Island Yacht Club. The meeting is a chance for racers to get to know one another and to see who else is racing, said Tim McCleery, the general manager and executive chef of the club. Jeff Dupre is expected to captain the committee boat. An awards ceremony will follow the race.

When Mr. Rowe passed away last year the week before Labor Day weekend, the club wanted to honor him in some way. In addition to being a commodore and a charter boat captain, he had been the race chair in charge of the club’s annual races for years. At first, the board didn’t know what direction to go after Mr. Rowe’s passing. “The board just felt like it was the right thing to do to name a race after Dave,” Mr. McCleery said.

Mr. McCleery described Mr. Rowe as a beloved Island community member who was a big part of the sailing community. He had a larger-than-life personality, Mr. McCleery recalled, and always had time to talk to everybody.

The Dave Rowe Memorial Fourth of July Race Sponsored by the Pink Pony will be the first of the club’s four races this season. The next race is the Chicago Week Mackinac Round the Island Race Wednesday, July 26, followed by the Mission Point Mac to Mac Regatta Saturday, August 12, and the Horn’s Labor Day Race Saturday, September 2.

Mackinac Island Yacht Club Commodore Andrew J. Kiener II now chairs the race committee, which includes Jeff Dupre, Frank Shumway, and James Sugrue.