R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press During the first leg of the Escanaba Yacht Club’s Frostbite Race on Saturday, the crew of Manitu takes a brief rest between tacking maneuvers en route to the number 11 buoy near the Terrace.

ESCANABA — A spell of autumn weather swept across Little Bay de Noc this weekend, appropriately lending a chill and some turbulence to Saturday’s Frostbite Race. An annual tradition carried by the Escanaba Yacht Club (EYC) for decades, the Frostbite is a regatta held at the close of the season. This year, Hoopla — Commodore Mark Meyer’s Olson 30 — won first place in the performance and spinnaker class, while Manitu — Dave and Josh Anthony’s C&C 38 Landfall — took the cruising class by default.

During the 10 a.m. skippers’ meeting on Sept. 7, a course and revised start time — 11:25 a.m. for cruising and five minutes later for spinnaker — were established, informed by the weather and input from captains and crew. It was a chilly 55 degrees, with a strong north-northwest wind and considerable gusts.

“We want to have a safe day and a pleasant day, but we also are out here to challenge the elements and have the elements challenge us,” said EYC Vice Commodore of Sail John Anthony before proposing a course.

Ultimately, an 8.2-nautical-mile-long route that allowed for all of the above was chosen. From the starting gate just off Sand Point at the mouth of Escanaba’s harbor, boats would beat up the bay towards the Terrace near Gladstone, rounding the number 11 buoy there with a starboard arc; navigate southeast for the number 10 buoy — which is in the middle of the bay marking Little Bay de Noc Shoal — to starboard; then head back towards Escanaba’s shore and gybe around the wreck of the Nahant with its buoy to port before finishing back at the start line.

Preparing to be battered by spray, waves, and wind, sailors were already beginning to don foul-weather gear at the clubhouse. Though a potential notion had been for John Lindbergh to host some of the kids from the Gladstone Sail School aboard the catamaran Cathexis, as had been done last year – 2023’s Frostbite Race was a misnomer, full of sunshine – those plans were scrapped for safety.

Six boats participated in the race. Two multi-hulled crafts – Cathexis plus Jim and Eva Knapp’s trimaran, Lickety-Split – were categorized as performance boats in the spinnaker class, which also included Hoopla and Dolce, the J/80 owned by Bob Yin. Hoopla, Cathexis and Dolce finished first, second and third, respectively.

Cruising were Manitu and Silly Ol Bear, a Sabre 30 familiar to Escanaba but with a new owner this year. However, Silly Ol Bear did not finish the race.

Crew of Dolce reported that they had reached a top speed of 12.5 knots. They were even carrying a couple people who’d never sailed before, as others had done throughout the season.

Though manageable, these were the roughest conditions the boats had raced in this year. The event served to invigorate, and there were no major mishaps. One sailor later referred to battling whitecaps and strong breezes as “type two fun” – miserable during, but enjoyable to look back on.