Sailor Still Missing After Falling Overboard During Mackinac Race

CHICAGO, IL — A sailor taking part in the Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac remains missing, a day after falling overboard about four miles from Navy Pier. The man, identified as Jon Santarelli, 53, of Lincoln Park, went into the water shortly after the race started Saturday.

Santarelli is said to be an experienced sailor and was taking part in the 333-mile race, WLS reported.

The Chicago Yacht Club said Santarelli went overboard within an hour of the start of the race, the 110th annual trek up Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinac Island. He was a crew member on the Imedi, "a TP52 race boat competing in the Turbo Section that boasts the largest and fastest boats in the race," it said.

Nick Berberian of the yacht club told reporters Santarelli has 10 years of sailing experience and had served seven years on the Imedi, according to WLS. Race officials reportedly do not believe bad weather played a role in the accident.

The Chicago Yacht Club retweeted a report of "rough waters" during the race around the time Santarelli went missing.

Chicago Fire Department tweeted a rescue was under way for a person in the water just after 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

The Coast Guard said Santarelli's inflatable life vest did not inflate and he was last seen swimming towards a flotation device that had been thrown to him, WLS reported.

The Coast Guard said Saturday's search for Santarelli was suspended after about seven hours. The Chicago Yacht Club said the search is now a recovery mission.

"The US Coast Guard, Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police marine units and Chicago Yacht Club (CYC) dispatched nearly 20 boats and three helicopters," the yacht club said in a news release. "The seven-hour search that was mounted, covering approximately 47 square miles, was ultimately suspended at dark by the US Coast Guard with the yacht returning to harbor."

The accident isn't the first tragedy to strike the Race to Mackinac. In 2011, two people — Mark Morley, 51, and Suzanne Bickel, 41, both from Saginaw, Michigan — died after their boat capsized after a severe thunderstorm struck about 30 hours into the race.

The Race to Mackinac continued Sunday, and the yacht club said the vast majority of the fleet has continued racing to Mackinac with no incident, but nearly 40 teams had dropped out of the race. Several teams also suspended racing to help search for Santarelli.

"As of Sunday morning at 9:00am CST, 39 teams had announced their retirement from racing to the CYC Race Committee," the yacht club said. "The competitors have provided several reasons, though wave heights were related to nearly all of them. None of these retirements were due to emergency."

Image: In this July 22, 2006 file photo, one of the boats competing in the Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac heads to the start line on Lake Michigan with the downtown Chicago skyline as a backdrop. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jeff Roberson