What sailors in the Race to Mackinac, America’s oldest freshwater race, wear on their wrists
The race from Chicago to Mackinac Island is a days-long battle against the Great Lakes. In that kind of contest, you need a watch as tough as the job.
The Race to Mackinac has been run since 1898, when five boats set out from Chicago. Today it covers 333 statute miles up Lake Michigan, crosses into Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac, and finishes off Mackinac Island — and it is not an easy voyage. It is also not a gentle one. Sustained gales flattened big chunks of the fleet in 1911, 1937, and 1970, and after a deadly storm in 2011, the Mac's reputation for danger stopped being theoretical. The fastest boats finish absurdly quickly now, with an all-time record of 18 hours and 50 minutes set back in 1998, but most crews are out there for two or three nights. The sailors alternate, sleeping in shifts of four hours each, until they (hopefully) make land.
It might seem tough to imagine doing that once — now, try doing it two dozen more. For those who make the journey at least 25 times, the prize is entry into the Island Goats Sailing Society, founded in 1959 and now several hundred strong. Rack up 25 Chicago Macs and 25 from Port Huron, and you become a Double Goat. The nickname, as the story goes, comes from the aroma a crew carries after days at sea with no shower. All things considered, this is a tough, electric, occasionally dangerous race. The Chicago Yacht Club hosts the race annually in mid-July, and that's exactly where I went to look at watches.
