Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club Will Byrne crewed on Jon Desmond's Mills 41Chicago-Mackinac race winner, Final Final, at the weekend.

Desmond's debutantes took the overall ORC and class win out of 250 boats racing the 350-mile course on Lake Michigan.

Chicago Yacht Club organisers claimed, "Another successful race to Mackinac is in the books, with today’s award ceremony taking place on the great lawn of Mission Point Resort".

Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club Will Byrne (third from left) with his  crew mates from Jon Desmond's Mills 41 Final Final, the 2023 Chicago-Mackinac race winner Photo: CYC

The race, known as ‘America’s Offshore Challenge,’ delivered a spectacular race yet again with its mix of squalls, calms and, most of all, new memories for the 240 teams competing.

For the Mackinac Cup, awarded this year to the large racing boat overall winner, first-timer Final Final won Section 2 and the Cup.

Owner Jon Desmond of Cohasset, Mass., admitted they had more than a few moments of angst when they made a tactical decision to split from the fleet early on in the race. “We had this moment where it was like, ‘you realise we have just separated from the teams that have how many Macs under their belt’?” he said.

The decision paid off, and the East-coast-based Mills 41 is already planning its return to defend the victory.