I’m a huge fan of the Race to Alaska, a 750 mile race from Port Townsend to Ketchikan without motors, but it was cancelled again this year. My shtick is to rent an RV spot at the marina where the boats congregate before the race, but to guarantee the spot requires making a reservation a year in advance. I reluctantly gave up my place this year.
R2AK is a creation of Dan Evans, who wondered if a race could be put together of wildly disparate craft (super-fast catamarans against stand-up paddle boards) and have it mean something to people. It worked. Sometimes the super-fast win, other times it’s a surprise. In a Dan Evans race, it’s the heart and dreams of the low-placers that matter, where the inspiration means more than the fancy boat. Finish first in R2AK? Cool. Finish 40th? Even cooler.
Dan needs to keep his story going with or without R2AK so he invented another race which starts on Monday. Like R2AK it’s without motors, but unlike R2AK your boat can have a motor, you just can’t use it. Racers must adhere to the covid rules in any place they stop. The race is confined to Washington state waters as Canada does not permit folk to cross the border.
I’m skeptical, but I’ll tune in and see what happens. More later.