Photo courtesy of Marvin Ihnen The Ihnsanity is a J120 one-design class boat and will embark on its 12th Bayview Mackinac Race June 12. Owner Marvin Ihnen, a Troy resident, finished fourth in the 2007 race.

By Sue Teggart
C & G Sports Writer

According to Troy resident Marvin Ihnen, you have to be, “a little insane to race sailboats.”

With the frigid water and the unpredictable weather, racing can make even the ablest sailor go a little nutty.

That’s partly why Ihnen named his jewel of the sea Ihnsanity.

“It’s a take off on our last name, but it also fits in with what you have to be in order to do this sport,” Ihnen said with a laugh.

Ihnen and the rest of his fellow racers are gearing up for the annual Bayview Mackinac Race June 12. This will be Inhnen’s 12th attempt to conquer the course, which runs from Port Huron to Mackinac Island.

Last year, Ihnsanity finished fourth, which Ihnen said was an incredible result after his crew decided to take a different route from the rest of the boats in his class.

“The first three boats that finished went all the way to the Canadian side (of the course) and picked up wind that we didn’t get,” Ihnen said. “Apparently, we weren’t that inspired. The only consolation we had was that we were first of the boats that went the shortest way.”

Ihnsanity — a 40-footer with a red, white and blue spinnaker — will race with a 10-person crew of friends that have been together for six years.

Crewmembers include Ihnen, Anita Bersie-Chabalowski of Dearborn, David Brace of Monroe, Jeff Parlow of Clinton Township, Jason Geisz of Birmingham, Jeff Ottenhoff of Lake Orion, Ken Tanner of St. Clair Shores, Dave Kastura of Rochester Hills and Jamie Gwidt of Key West, Fla.

This year, the crew has taken on a second-generation sailor with the addition of Jack Brace, 14, son of David Brace, who will take part in his first Mackinac race.

Ihnsanity races in the one-design J120 class; Ihnen said the advantage to that class is that as the boats cross the finish line, there are no corrected times that alter how each finishes.

“We know all these guys pretty well, and we race against a lot of them all the time,” Ihnen said. “The boats are so close. Unless some people really take on a flyer, the boats are really competitive. You can do well within the class.”

Ihnen said he especially likes the rule changes that went into effect last year, which mandates that all the boats follow the same course.

“We all take the same course, which is kind of interesting,” Ihnen said. “I like it because it’s shorter; it’s not as an arduous task that it used to be.”

Ihnen said that over the years, there have been a number of highlights and lowlights from the Mackinac race.

Between the serenity of watching shooting stars over calm waters and the not-so-memorable nights with the crew gripped with seasickness, Lake Huron has proven to be beautiful and frightening.

“Being out on Lake Huron at night is a wonderful experience, except when the weather is bad,” he said.

For more information about the Bayview Mackinac race, visit www.byc.com/mack

You can reach Sports Writer Sue Teggart at steggart@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1107.