ALL in the Family… 9th Mackinac Win with a Twist

 

Background:

There are many clichés for sibling rivalry and family sailing programs that come to mind when you learn about two brothers racing on different boats.   The funniest one that comes to mind is “the family that sails together, stays together”.   Rather than go too far that road, we’d like to focus on one unique pair of brothers that tried something a bit different this year.

 Brothers Martin Sandoval (owner of a CPA firm) and Lou Sandoval (Marine industry executive) have sailed the last 18 consecutive Races to Mackinac on one of their owned or chartered boats.   Due to heavy business demands, 2018 was the first year that they elected to sail on different boats.   2018 was Lou's 19th Mac- He raced on SV EAGLE, a Sydney 38 which raced in Section Five -ended up winning their section and placing 20th overall (1st boat under 40' to finish this year's grueling race) in the Mackinac Cup Division.   Younger brother Martin - raced aboard SV TANGO IN BLUE in section 3- a unique Carroll Marine 1200  that won their respective section in the Mackinac Cup.   TANGO IN BLUE (a larger boat) spotted EAGLE ten minutes in starts.  

As luck should have it, the boats raced almost 300 miles only to find sight of each other in the Manitou passage and the race was on!  The two teams remained in sight of each other through Grey's Reef Passage and into the straits of Mackinac towards the finish at round island light house.  TANGO kept a steady course aimed for the middle of the spans on Mac Bridge and eyes set on the finish line.   EAGLE favored the South end of the straights for better pressure and made some gains to catch up to Tango.  

At the finish line, EAGLE hoisted her spinnaker in one last ditched attempt to come down to the finish-line for a photo finish, when the wind did what it usually does best- it died.  Giving Tango (and the younger Sandoval) a slight edge for the win in head to head competition by 32 seconds!  (if you look at the official times it’s approximately 2 minutes 39 seconds.)

What are the chances of that?    Both Mac Winners- but the younger Sandoval holds bragging rights for the Sandoval Cup!

No strangers to the winner's platform- The Sandoval’s have now each won 9 Mac races with podium finishes in another 4.  They both mugged with their respective teams at the recent sold out Mackinac awards ceremony held the club’s Monroe street station on November 3.

To add to the list of parallel firsts-- Martin serves on the executive board of Chicago Yacht Club as treasurer and Lou serves as Vice-Commodore (COO) of the club.  Martin has chaired the Verve Cup regatta and older brother Lou served as chair of the Race to Mackinac the year after the Wingnuts accident.   Lou is in line to be the club’s first Hispanic commodore (the 69th in the history of the club) which has been around since 1875.  It is refreshing to see a club steeped in tradition and a leader in the global sailing community embrace a whole new genre of leadership.   Their service on the board signifies the first time two brothers have served on the executive board, much less two brothers of Mexican heritage.

We caught up with the Sandoval brothers to get the lowdown on their adventures in this year’s Mac.

Q: What went through your mind in preparing for the RACE given the weather reports that were circulating?

 

MS: Early weather reports were forecasting strong winds from the N/NE.  Kept these reports in mind, but discussed with the team that the weather would change as the week progressed.  We developed early routing plans based on the Thursday and Friday forecasts for the weekend and finalized an initial approach with weather forecast on Saturday morning.

LS: Going into my 19^th Mac on a boat where I was one of two non-Island Goats* on a crew of ten, there wasn’t too much worry.  The crew collectively had over 200 years of Mac experience- I was a rookie by the team’s standards.  Additionally, The “Sydney” is a boat designed for these conditions.  The design of this boat has been tested in the brutal Sydney to Hobart race and has held up well-, so I wasn’t too worried.   I knew, Shawn and Jerry O’Neill along few other members from team and knew of their sailing abilities.   I was more worried about my “Little” brother and took time to walk the boat to check the rig, rigging and equipment on the boat they were chartering.   I guess you never stop being the big brother.

*Note: Island Goats are racers who have competed in 25 races. 

 

Q: What was your overall game plan in the race and how did that change as the race went on? 

MS: Sail fast and safe, work together as a team to keep the boat moving at all times.  Head NE/E on port to the Michigan shore to take the waves at a more favorable angle.  Tack early evening with the forecasted wind shift to start making our way North.  While it looked favorable to work the Michigan shoreline close to shore, we hedged our bet and ended up staying a bit offshore with better breeze but perhaps a bit more waves.

LS:  At the start of the race, the weather forecast was shaping up to be like the 2017 race- so an overall strategy of favoring west of rhumbline to the first mark was critical.   Crew maintenance was key as when you start in upwind conditions – it tends to tire the team out, so you must make sure that people stay hydrated, get their rest when they can and stay fresh.  Shawn is a genius on the boat- he sails her like a big dinghy and the team’s history of finishes proves it.  

Q:  Aside from not doing the race together for the first time in 18 years, what else was memorable about this race?

MS: The ten-member Tango in Blue crew while experienced came together as a team to sail fast and safe.  We pushed ourselves and the boat to do the best we could.  Four of the team members had previously sailed together while everyone else had not.  The boat was being chartered by Griggs, Gullo and Bardeen.  It would be a true test in quickly learning the boat and working together coupled with Mother Nature’s challenge.  We had several members that were Island Goats (Daniel Griggs, Dave Rearick and Stuart Taylor), one who was close to reaching the 25th race milestone, David Gullo, several who were completely their firsts, 18-year-old – Harry Bearrows, Ines Nandin, and Tim McCormick and then several others like myself that had races under our belt, Maxwell Bardeen, Allen Brown and Martin Sandoval.  In reflecting upon the race, many of the team members, including myself, had a sense of satisfaction that we did what need to get done and left it all out on the racecourse.

LS:  I’ve learned a lot in my nineteen runs up the lake in this race.  You start to mentally catalogue races /conditions and reactions and can turn to them as a resource.  This one had similarities to a few others.  The EAGLE team was special because they were a tight family and top performing group- they know the boat well and sail her extremely well.  I was very thankful that they took me under their wing and allowed me to learn from them.  Being the ‘outside guy’ they took on a bit of risk, but we all came together.  We had a few practices that we did together prior to the race and we gelled together- I felt part of the team and that made this a special experience aside from the remarkable sailing conditions. 

 

Q: Where you concerned at all about anything during the race?  What was your preparation?   How was it different?

MS: We practiced the Saturday and Wednesday before the race to review safety procedures and work on maneuvers as a team.  Griggs, Gullo, Bardeen and Bearrows had sailed the boat along with the boat’s owner Rick Trisco and some of his regular crew in the Queens Cup and won the ORR Section.  Griggs, Gullo and Bardeen had scheduled a conference call with the boat’s designer to learn about its tendencies based on the boat design, so they shared information about the boat’s tendencies from a technical perspective and practical given their experience in the Queen’s Cup.  Sailing on a boat that is not your own, you must get quickly acquainted with the boat.  With the upwind beat, it takes a toll on body and spirit over time.  Keeping spirits up and trying to make sure that folks could get some rest while keeping the boat balanced with weight on the rail was a key component.  The preparation to the race was not fundamentally different than in prior years except that I had to learn about a boat that I had not sailed on until the week before the race.

LS:  Team EAGLE had me join them on a few Wednesday night practices.   They are fundamentally rock solid, so I guess the real pressure was on me.   “Don’t screw up new guy” was the theme that went through my head.    The day of race conditions validated the forecasts and pre-game prep indicating it was going to be a wet, upwind ride in bumpy conditions.  We set to start with the rig tuned for the conditions, a Jib and reefed main.  Many of us would rotate through the rail to main, driver and rail so it was uneventful from a sailing maneuver standpoint.  We shook our reef off within a couple of hours from the start and that helped separation from other boats in the section.  The boat is solid but forgiving on the body.   The Farr 40 we chartered last year was tough- stiffer hull that left you feeling like you went 10 rounds with a prize fighter.    Like any wet race, the trick was staying dry, warm and alert. 

 

Q: Do you plan on sailing your boat in the Mac again? What is next?

MS: Sure do, we look forward to constructing a team.  Next year’s Mac will be similar and yet different with new and old challenges.  Camaraderie of the team, sailing community and being on the Mackinac Island. Being greeted by family and friends on the dock upon arrival.  That’s part of the fun and the overall experience.

LS:  I hope to.  My new role at Brunswick Corp. has me travelling a lot so it makes it tough to race.  We’ve started reaching out to people.  I’ve built many winning teams in sailing and in business and believe that the right team, right boat, right attitude and vision make a world of difference.  We are also building our next gen of sailors. My niece and nephew and two daughters are active in the sport so there is the ‘farm team’ that we are building, so that will certainly factor moving forward.

 

Q: Changing subjects, what has it been like serving in the leadership of a major yacht club? It's a little atypical for two brothers to be on the board at the same time.  How has that been different?  What has worked? Not worked?

MS: I have been serving on non-profit boards for over 25 years.  It’s certainly an honor to serve the membership of an institution that is 140+ years old.  Those that have served previously in leadership roles make themselves available for counsel.  With an institution steeped in history, sometimes change doesn’t come as quickly as we would like but over time. Some may think that having two brothers serve at the same time is atypical.  While we’re grounded in similar values from our common upbringing, we have different personalities, we’re both leaders but have different approaches.  We don’t agree on everything but we’re both goal focused.

LS:  It truly has been an honor.  I had a friend at the club advise me shortly after I joined that getting involved in the club would maximize my club experience.  That advice was very true.   I have some good mentors at the club and bring some solid best practices from my experience on non-profit and for profit boards.   Should I become the next commodore, there is a whole support network of past-commodores. Our board has many talented people which I will look to engage.  Our current commodore Leif Sigmond has done a phenomenal job of increasing our global footprint.  I hope he’ll stay close, so we can keep that going.  So, I guess the advice to me is don’t screw up...  

I’ve made a lot of friends over the years.   Serving with my brother has been a pretty natural.  For 51 years of my life, he’s been by my side and even when we lived at opposite ends of the country- we’ve always been close.  I think anyone that knows the two of us, understands that we are two totally different people.  He is a check on me and challenges my thought process- which I encourage.   Like a skipper has a trusted tactician we are that to each other (in a way) in opposing roles at times.  He’s a sounding board.   I think the club is lucky to have his professional experience as we haven’t had too many CPAs as treasurer of the club.   His professional capabilities are top notch. 

Q: How has your club and sailing activity impacted your individual families?

MS: The club is like a second home and an extended family for us.  Diana, my spouse, is involved in different activities in the club such as the Neill Clinic and Women on the Water activities.  While I am the one officially serving, she has graciously volunteered her time as well.  While we do race, sailing (cruising) provides for family time as a family activity that the kids can get involved in.  Our children have grown-up around sailing and boats.  Through sailing, our children have learned about team building, leadership, problem-solving, preparation, independence and the importance of community, all life skills.  Our daughter, Caroline, a senior at St. Ignatius is a co-captain of her high school sailing team.   An honor roll student, Caroline has grown tremendously through her involvement and will carry that forward as she moves on to college.  Our son, Daniel, a freshman at St. Ignatius will be part of the high sailing team as he continues to learn.    

LS: Our daughters Sofia and Sarah have grown up at the club.  We’ve never pushed the sport on them.  They don’t race on the travel teams as my philosophy on the sport is that pushing racing doesn’t create lifelong boaters.   I subscribe to the Nick Hayes “SAVING SAILING” school of thought- kids need to have fun and cruise with their families- building lifelong memories that eventually have them love the sport.  Our girls family sail- do a little racing and attend sailing summer camp for only two weeks a summer.   My niece and nephew are sailing 420s on their high school team and my daughters are passionate about the sport.  We’ve not pushed the mac but will probably start easing them into distance races.   They contributed to their mom’s win in her first race this Summer- the Cruising Sail Fleet’s lady skipper’s regatta at the club with a mostly female team so they have great role models.  That experience was a proud moment for my wife Sonia.   She never sailed before meeting me and balances being a career woman and mom.  I was very proud of her accomplishment.

 

Q:  Taking a global look at the sport, what does the sport of sailing need to do to attract a more diverse pool of participants?  What is working? What isn't?

MS: The sport of sailing needs to continue to do outreach to provide a more diverse pool of participants an introduction to sailing. Children and adults if exposed, may find enjoyment in the activity.  Without the exposure, it’s difficult for anyone to know what sailing is like.

The sailing community in Chicago has been doing this through the various youth sailing programs but more can be done to expand the reach of these programs.

LS:  How much time do you have?  This is one of my passions.   For the sport to grow, we (the stakeholders) need to be more inclusive and remember that what attracts and retains our current members and participants, may not be the case for a new generation and especially for those that didn’t grow up in the sport.   The easy one is women, we’ve seen that success with our Women on the water program currently led by Laura Sigmond.  She’s done a great job of building out the program and activities.  CYC has world class resources and instructors which is our best value proposition to newcomers.  Programs like our adult learn to sail -Crew U have close to a 4:1 female to male ratio.   I think this is great.  The Club gives them a place to practice their lifestyle of boating.   We just need to continue to reach out to new communities.  I feel that has been my ‘give back’ to the sport that has given me so much- so that is a big part of my vision in club leadership. 

Our Junior sailing program is maxed.  High school sailing is strong, but I continue to challenge our staff to grow the base.   This will be a be focal point of our future growth.  Families on the water is where it is at.

What isn’t working? -  I believe we (as a sport) push racing too soon on kids.  What do you do with a child that likes being on a boat, but doesn’t want to race hot dog courses?   Where do they go?  We eventually lose them in sailing programs.   The hyper specialization is killing youth sports in general and sailing is no different.  It seems like a lot of sailing parents thinks their kid will be the next Taylor Canfield, Jim Spithill or Steph Roble.   I’ve got news for them- they are the 0.5% of the gifted in the sport.  They are truly talented.   The rest are like you and me- people who love the water, the peace and tranquility it provides.   That is the gift and differentiator.  Remember to keep it fun and they will stay. -#SB