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In a July 2010 photo, the sailboat WingNuts participates in the 2010 Little Traverse Regatta, on Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs, Mich. Boats and a helicopter searched northern Lake Michigan on Monday for two people who went missing when their sail News-Review,G. Randall Goss, Associated Press
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The sailboat WingNuts floats upside down in Lake Michigan, off the coast of Charlevoix, Mich., Monday, July 18, 2011 after it capsized during the annual Chicago-to-Mackinac sailing race. Officials with the annual race say two crew members of the boat a John L. Russell,, Associated Press
By Associated Press

The sponsor of a boat race from Chicago to Mackinac Island says it will investigate the capsizing of a sailing vessel that caused the deaths of two crew members during a storm in northern Lake Michigan.

Race chairman Greg Freeman said Tuesday that the Chicago Yacht Club commodore will establish a review board. Speaking online with reporters, he said the club wants to understand what happened and look for ways to improve safety guidelines.

The 35-foot boat WingNuts from Saginaw overturned during fierce gusts around midnight Sunday about 13 miles off Charlevoix. Fifty-one-year-old skipper Mark Morley and 40-year-old crew member Suzanne Bickel died. A rival boat rescued the other six crew members.

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Freeman says the storm arose after the race was well under way, so postponing it wasn't an option.

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