CHICAGO YACHT CLUB
Race to Mackinac
What makes this annual, 333- mile, freshwater race from Chicago to Mackinac, Island so exciting?
The world's longest annual freshwater
race which will be presented by Lands'
End Business Outfitters will take place
once again on July 16, 2005.
This is the 97th running of the Chicago
Yacht Club Race to Mackinac but this
year actually marks the 107th
anniversary of the Race's founding in
1898. Several years passed between the
first and second running of the race and
in other years the event was suspended
for a period following the United
States' entry into World War I. Two
other years also did not count toward
the total number of Mackinac races, as
the race did not end at Mackinac Island,
but rather at Harbor Springs, Michigan.
To understand the allure of the Race to
Mackinac, one could contemplate these
things:
Is the outcome of the Chicago Yacht Club
Race to Mackinac always unpredictable?
Is it the biggest and sleekest boat that
always wins?
Does it depend on the wind speed or the
skill of the sailors?
Is it the choice of the food (nutrition)
that helps keep the crew strong and
alert?
What elements really dictate the Chicago
Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island
Mich.?
We could start by asking an "Island
Goat." You're probably wondering who or
what is an Island Goat? This name and
distinction is given only to those who
have sailed in the Chicago to Mackinac
Race 25 times or more. The formal name
is the "Island Goat Sailing Society."
The name was supposedly derived from the
reference of sailors having been in a
boat so long they smelled like a bunch
of goats. However, don't let the title
fool you, these brave souls have sailed
and surpassed a milestone of 8,215 miles
on Lake Michigan in roiling, calm,
choppy, menacing water; whatever nature
would throw at them, all for the passion
and love of the sport.
The vagaries of the weather that usually
settles in over Lake Michigan for this
contest are well documented. In July
1925, 21 yachts started the race. Within
the first 12 hours, six boats were blown
back to Chicago. In 1937, sailors
encountered winds with gusts up to 65
knots, which calculates to winds of
about 75 miles per hour. In that race,
only eight boats finished what 42
started. In 1970, called "the year of
the big blow" a northerly wind gusted
head on, into the noses of hardy,
Mackinac competitor sails for 16 hours
and then continued into the night with
winds over 60 miles per hour. Out of the
167 yachts, over 50 percent of the boats
took refuge in safe harbor, crippled
with broken masts, ragged sails, and
seasick crew.
One of the most challenging Mackinac
races in history occurred in 1911. On
Saturday afternoon, 11 boats holding 142
crewmembers set forth from Chicago to .
Mackinac in an uneasy southeasterly
breeze. Overnight, temperatures dropped
to freezing, the breeze turned into a
blow and soon became a gale. To add to
the discomfort, nature threw in a
rainstorm, soaking everything from stem
to stem. As night fell, the gale
escalated to hurricane force, with gusts
peaking at 80 miles per hour. The wind,
rain and waves played topsy-turvy with
the yachts and the race of 1911ended
with the loss of a legendary, mahogany
hulled, sail boat, by the name of
Vencedor. The huge waves thrashed the
boat mercilessly and plunged it between
two boulders on one of the many Great
Lakes reefs. The crew was rescued
without injury, but the battered
Vencedor was reduced to fragments.
Despite the terrible storm, good news
prevailed and the invincible spirit and
love of the competition helped all 142
men who sailed that regatta arrive
safely ashore at Mackinac Island,
surviving the worst summer storm ever
recorded. This type of perseverance is
part of the fascination of the Chicago
Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.
Island Goat, John Beckstedt of Wilmette,
Ill. said he had raced in the fastest
Macs in 1987 and 2002 and one of the
slowest in 1989. Beckstedt reported
strong winds propelled the pace in the
first two and then a virtually
non-existent wind calmed the pace in the
latter.
In fact, the Chicago to Mackinac
competition is not always full of
blustery drama. Just last year, the
333-mile regatta was clocked in as one
of the slowest in history. In a
competition that is famous for squalls,
storms and winds that sometimes toss
sailors overboard, last year's
participants found it hard to fight off
boredom when the breeze suddenly
disappeared around midnight of the first
day of the competition. The light,
almost nonexistent, winds made for
exhausting, intensive sailing as the
race dragged on for four days for many
with only 226 boats finishing and 96
withdrawing. Last year the first boat
across, finished in a whopping 32 hours
and 56 minutes, as compared to the
record set in 2002 with a time of 23
hours and 30 minutes and 34 seconds that
belongs to Roy Disney's boat, Pyewacket.
However, in the midst of all the
inevitable excitement and grueling hours
on Lake Michigan, one thing remains
stable for all who participate; everyone
must eat in order to remain strong and
alert for those unpredictable moments.
Conrad Rieckhoff, the official caterer
to the Chicago to Mackinac race
pre-prepares food and stores it in
airtight, resealable packages to insure
convenience and freshness. His company,
Seafare by Calihan Catering,
acknowledges that keeping food at the
right temperature and from sloshing
around is a huge concern. One might
think there would be a limited menu
considering the type of packaging
restrictions, however, Seafare's Mac
race menu includes pastries, fresh
fruit, lobster bisque, grilled beef
tenderloin, chili-glazed shrimp, even a
chilled gazpacho that gets occasionally
garnished with a splash of Mount Gay
Rum. Mount Gay Rum has been a sponsor to
the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac
for 11years and has been cherished as a
Chicago Yacht Club favorite. Considering
the menu, the food alone just might well
be another incentive to set sail to
Mackinac!
One of the most significant changes in
sailing has been the advancement of
communications through technology. Once
upon a time, a chart, compass,
barometer, a hardy boat and sails were
all you needed to steer a good yacht to
its destination. Sailors in past
Mackinac races used telegraphs as their
main source of communication. Today,
technology has helped improve the
communication access for sailors and
people tracking boats in the race. The
Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac has
endorsed FlagShip Integration Services
Inc., Web technology experts, who are
sponsors, as well as participants.
FlagShip will be responsible for all
transponders and race tracking during
the 2005 competition. Their company has
upgraded the communication systems for
the Mackinac race and devised
groundbreaking technology that sailors
everywhere can utilize. For the Chicago
Yacht Club race to Mackinac, FlagShip
has created stand-alone internet kiosks
where sailors can check their
email,.print out the latest race
information and find out the local
weather patterns in Chicago and out
across Lake Michigan. They have improved
upon the previous Web tracking system by
creating a much smaller transponder that
operates on its own rechargeable,
self-contained battery and contains a
built in GPS. It also provides two-way
communications and transmits signals
twice as fast as last years model.
FlagShip's innovative system will make
it easier for the public to track the
progress of Chicago to Mackinac racers
on the internet.
"The Mac" as it is affectionately
called, has been a prestigious Chicago
Yacht Club tradition for over 100 years.
The race has been around since 1898 and
attracts competitors from all over the
world. Sailing in "The Mac" is daring,
competitive, fun and exciting. These are
the elements that dictate the Chicago to
Mackinac Race. It represents the spirit
of adventure and the quest for challenge
that lives in all of us!