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Port Huron To Mackinac Sailboat Race Sets Off On Lake Huron [LIVE VIDEO]

PORT HURON (WWJ) - The 91st consecutive running of the Port Huron to Mackinac Race starts Saturday with the first sailboats crossing the starting line at 11:30 a.m. on Southern Lake Huron, just north of the Blue Water Bridge.

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Peter Wenzlerm, chairman for the 2015 event, said this year's race is expected to be the largest since the year 2000.

"The race itself is a little different this year," he said, speaking live on WWJ Newsradio 950. "We have two courses, which we've had for some time, but we imposed a speed limit which made it mandatory for the fastest boats to sail the longer of our two courses."

Wenzlerm said the biggest and fastest boats are expected to reach Mackinac Island sometime Sunday afternoon or evening.

The race has been held since 1925 and now is called the Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race.

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, an avid sailor whose district includes Port Huron, on Friday represented the state at the unveiling of the marker at the Port Huron Yacht Club to recognize the race.

The marker says President Franklin Roosevelt urged the race to continue during World War II as a way for young sailors to learn navigation and other skills.

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