Katie Goldman talks about the tradition and prestige of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.

She grew up in Chesterton and is skippering her first boat in the race, which starts today for the Cruising Division and Saturday for the rest of the boats, in Chicago. Goldman is one of several local sailors who will take part in the trek to Michigan.

"I grew up sailing, and having been on the crew of other boats, this is just something I wanted to do," Goldman said. "This is a great race and I am looking forward to the challenge."

The race is also a male-dominated event, so Goldman is either helping to break an old tradition or helping start a new one. She admits she has encountered some choppiness and waves -- and she is not talking only about the water.

"I still get (stuff) from males and e-mails saying I brought a ringer in when I won the Waukegan to Chicago Race," Goldman said. "I got (another) one asking, 'Do you have it in you as a leader?'

"I don't even answer those e-mails. My way to show people is to go out and to have a good race this weekend."

Guiding a record-setting boat

Goldman's Rhumb Runner, which has mostly female crew members, set a Beneteau 40.7 record as it won the Waukegan to Chicago Race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 2 seconds. Beneteau 40.7 is the boat type and length -- 40 feet, 7 inches.

How Goldman named her boat Rhumb Runner is an interesting story.

"I was looking through a book like people do to name their baby," Goldman said. "'Rum Runner' was taken, but Rhumb, which in sailing means the shortest distance between two points, seemed to fit, so we named it 'Rhumb Runner.'"

Goldman will compete in the Beneteau 40.7 section of the Chicago-Mackinac Trophy Division. The 26-year-old said she is probably the youngest female skipper in the bigger boats divisions.

"I have never had an accident, never had a crew member go overboard," Goldman said. "We really put a lot into this, my crew and I.

"We just don't want to go out and compete, we want to do well. It is (all about) the competitiveness. You all have to be together for those three days."

Goldman's crew members include Brian Goldman, Catherine Duncan, Pamela Lefebvre, Mary Duncan, Neal Creighton, Doug Novack, Loren Kokenes, Bill Read and Kristy Erickson.

The Andrean grad is the Web collaboration manager for Chicago-based InterCall, which according to its Web site, offers conferencing solutions to help business people stay connected to people when they are across town, in another state or even another country.

Goldman knows a bit about competition. At Andrean, she was a member of the 59ers' girls soccer team that lost to North Central in a shootout for the 1999 state championship.

Other locals competing

Suzanne Philbrick, also of Chesterton, skippered her first boat in the Chicago to Mackinac race last year. She has some advice for first-time skippers: relax and trust your crew.

"You just hope for the best," said Philbrick, who will skipper Tenacity again this year. "You have to have confidence in your crew and be confident because it is a team working together."

Chicago resident and Mt. Carmel grad Pat Reynolds, a semi-retired attorney formerly of the East Side, is another local entrant in the race. He and his wife Linda Sadlowski own Karizmaddie and sail out of the Hammond Yacht Club.

Linda will not race this year, but Reynolds will be a skipper for the fourth straight year. He has been sailing for 22 years and also spent one year as a crew member.

"Our goal is to finish by Tuesday at noon," Reynolds said. "We want to keep our pace for the 333 miles at 5 or 6 knots (6.25 or 8 mph). You want to keep the boat moving. You still want to get to the island as fast as you can."

Reynolds' crew members include Griffith residents John Galiher and Mike Busovsky, Eric Mowitz, Sean Lucy, Gretchen Schulfer and Mike Schulfer. Mowitz previously lived in Munster and now resides in Punta Gorda, Fla.

Reynolds said the exhausting part is the preparation and the crew working together to make sure everything is top order before leaving Chicago.

"I'm ready to relax when we take off," Reynolds said. "The sailing, that is the part I enjoy. No distractions for three days. No cell phone."

SAILING | 101ST CHICAGO YACHT CLUB RACE TO MACKINAC

Local competitors in the 101st Chicago to Mackinac Race

Boat Owner/Competitor (Residence or yacht club) Section Division

Celestial Thomas J. Mullen (Michigan City) 10 Mackinac Cup

Escape Thomas Mikos (Hammond Yacht Club) 10 Mackinac Cup

Geronimo Herb Philbrick (Chesterton) 5 Chicago-Mackinac Trophy

Karizmaddie Pat Reynolds (Hammond Yacht Club) 10 Mackinac Cup

Liberty Paul Chael (Valparaiso) Cruising 2 Cruising

Michela Dr. Miguel Gambetta (Schererville) 6 Mackinac Cup

Rhumb Runner Katie Goldman (Chesterton) Beneteau 40.7 Chicago-Mackinac Trophy

Tenacity Suzanne Philbrick (Chesterton) T10 Mackinac Cup

Touch of Grey Larry Schell (Ogden Dunes) 7 Mackinac Cup

Waco Kid Randy Grow (Rensselaer) Doublehanded Doublehanded

Yanqui Timothy Moore, Robert Whalen (Michigan City) T10 Mackinac Cup

Compiled from: www.cycracetomackinac.com

Fast facts

-- It is the world's oldest and longest freshwater regatta to Mackinac Island, Mich.

-- It is the 111th anniversary of the 333-mile (289.4 nautical miles) race. It started in 1898.

-- Several years passed between the first and second runnings. It also was suspended for a period following the United States' entry into World War I. Two years are excluded because the regatta did not end at Mackinac Island, but at Harbor Springs, Mich.

--- The fastest race was in 2002. Pyewacket, owned and skipped by Roy Disney set the monohull record in 2002 with an elapsed time of 23 hours 30 minutes and 34 seconds. This broke the 14 year record of 25 hours 50 minutes and 44 seconds established by the yacht Pied Piper, a Santa Cruz 70 owned and skippered by Dick Jennings of Evanston, IL. For multihulls, the record of 18 hours 50 minutes and 32 seconds was set in 1998 by Steve Fossett on Stars and Stripes, the catamaran previously sailed by Dennis Conner in the America's

--- The Island Goat Sailing Society is for racers who complete 25 Mackinac races are invited to join the exclusive "Island Goat Sailing Society." Originally named for their appearance, aroma, and behavior upon reaching Mackinac Island, these salty veterans represent an elite chapter in the heritage of the Race to Mackinac. The Island Goat Sailing Society was established by Hobart "Red" Olson in 1950. Island goats have raced at least 8,325 miles from Chicago to Mackinac

Island. For a list of all goats, go to www.islandgoats.org.

-- How to track the race: Spectators can log on to www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac during the race and click on the "Race Tracking" to watch real time GPS positioning of the all 460 boats during the race. Additionally, results will be posted and updated on this Web site as the racers finish.

Source: The Chicago Yacht Club.