For years, I’ve thought the Race to Mackinac would be a good photo opportunity. Finally, this past weekend, I was in Chicago and I had my opportunity to go.

I got a few photos that I liked, but I can’t help being less than thrilled about the opportunities the event presented. The boats didn’t even raise their sails until they were too far out to be captured decently from shore with a lens weighing less than 40lbs. Since I don’t happen to own any such lenses, I ended up taking photos of the people preparing for the race, and a few shots of the yacht club with the city in the background.

In the end, if you end a day with one good photo you’ve done well, and by that measure I feel that the day wasn’t wasted. But I probably won’t be rushing back to shoot the Race to Mackinac again — even with next year being the 100th running.