The Clipper, the R2AK and taxes—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 15 Apr 2016
The Race to Alaska offers wild, adventure-style racing and equally dramatic backdrops Race to Alaska
While April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, April is also a “special” month as it harbors tax day (Monday, April 18, perchance you’re behind that particular eight ball), an event that’s quietly abhorred-but-honored by some while simply honored by others. Here in Seattle, at least, April has also brought the arrival of the Clipper Round the World Race fleet, which began arriving to town on Thursday morning.
According to the latest Clipper reports, inside this issue, the Derry~Londonderry~Doire team crossed the finishing line on Wednesday after 23 and a half days that brought the team almost 6,000 nautical miles from Qingdao, China to the Pacific Northwest.
While the battle for the podium positions has now been decided, the rest of the fleet is still sailing hard for Seattle and likely looking forward to reaching dry land and enjoying a good meal. Also, we can be sure that American crewmembers will be relieved to have arrived back on the mainland in time to personally execute their tax payments-after all, is there a better way to celebrate an almost 6,000 nautical mile passage than to part with a large lump of cash?
Speaking of the Pacific Northwest, last year’s Race to Alaska (R2AK), an adventure race that took participants from Port Townsend, Washington, up to Ketchikan, Alaska, via human-powered propulsion (read: sailing, rowing or paddling, but no motoring), is getting ready to fire-off their second edition. I was lucky enough to join Team Pure and Wild aboard their Paul Bieker-designed proa for the first leg of last year’s race, and those 40 nautical miles proved to be some of the “most nautical” yards that I’ve ever personally sailed.
This year’s race starts on June 23 in Port Townsend, and I caught up with Jake Beattie, the executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center and the R2AK, to learn more about the second edition of this regional classic. Find out more about the 2016 R2AK, inside this issue.
Meanwhile, word hit the docks this week that the America’s Cup Endeavor program, which serves as the event’s youth education and sailing program, has announced that it will be branching out to New York and Chicago this year. To date, this program has proven to be a success on the island nation of Bermuda and is already impacting the lives of tomorrow’s leaders.
Get the full America’s Cup Endeavor scoop, inside this issue.
Finally, the Royal Yachting Association has announced the publication of the 2017-2020 Racing Rules of Sailing, which is expected to be available for a pre-order in September. This book should obviously be high on all racing sailors' want lists, as the penalties for blowing a rule can sting in a much more personal manor than learning that one owes the Internal Revenue Service a few more dollars.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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