Mac Challenge Chairman’s Award

There are few adventures left in our world today that require us, as skippers, to demonstrate our ability to step forward and singlehandedly embrace the elements. Throughout time there have been many who have gone to sea, learned a lesson in humility and sailed again in an effort to cross a body of water and return to port unscathed. It takes a particular type of adventurer to embark on that particular journey year after year. It takes a skipper of rare determination to regularly pit his wits against the elements and return home more enlightened, more humble. It is our belief that these skippers should be recognized for their determination, dedication and endurance over the span of many years.

When Blair Arden was Race Chairman of the Solo Mac Challenges he created the Mac Chairman’s award to honor skippers who had completed a large numbers of mac Solo challenges. He chose 15 challenges as a significant but achievable goal. With this in mind, Blair decided to contribute an award that recognizes 15 and 25 Mac challenges completed. It is the Societies pleasure to honor those who with dedicated determination, repeatedly pit themselves against the elements and endure.

From the 2006 Presentation

These are the skippers, a special breed of indomitable spirits who year after year, have returned to the adventure of the challenge.

Receiving their 15 Mac’s award, left to right: Robert Van Eck (16), Phil Rubright (17), Blair Arden (21), Dave Evans (18), Jim Douglas (21), Dick Lappin (24)
Dick Lappin received his 25 Mac’s completed award in 2007.
Detailed views of the Mac Challenge Chairman’s Award