Please select your home edition
Edition
Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca 2025

Welcoming the Race to Alaska's class of 2019

by David Schmidt 17 Apr 2019 05:00 NZST April 16, 2019
Team Kairos – Race to Alaska 2018 © Katrina Zoe Norbom / racetoalaska.com

If you're anything like me, April 15 isn't your favorite day. Sure, income taxes happen, and they need to be paid in order to help finance a functional society, but strange is the sailor who would rather cut a fat check to the IRS than scribbling a similar payment to his or her sailmaker. Fortunately, your friends at the Race to Alaska (R2AK) worked hard yet again to instil a bit of excitement into a day that many of us rue by accepting the final entries for the 2019 edition of this human-powered adventure race at the stroke of midnight on Monday.

For racers, the class of 2019 is now established (baring last-minute drop-outs); for the rest of us, now is the time to start reading up on the teams, picking your favorites, and cheering all contestants onwards as they prepare for a race that can only be described as tough, both mentally and physically.

For anyone just now reading about the R2AK, the event was dreamed up at the 2014 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, in Port Townsend, Washington, and is run by the good folks at the Northwest Maritime Center. The conversation focused on the concept of a "fair means" race to Alaska, starting in Port Townsend and following the inside passage up between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, before punching into the open waters of Queen Charlotte sound and gunning for the finishing line in Ketchikan. (Yes, pints were involved.)

The punchline? No engines. Period.

Racers are free to select any steed they like, so long as the vessel is entirely human-powered and free of an internal combustion engine. This, of course, places a huge emphasis on the ability to sail, row or pedal, and it also makes one's choice of vessels a critical decision. Moreover, it reduces reliance on electronic navigation and weather-routing services, therefore placing even greater importance on preparation and vessel selection.

The first answer to the race's riddle as to the fastest horse for the course was a trimaran (2015), followed by a turbo-charged catamaran (2016), followed by a wicked-up trimaran (2017), followed last year by a monohull. While this nicely covers the gamut of yacht design, it also hoists more question marks than it douses.

Race wisdom holds that the first team to make it through Seymour Narrows - a spot roughly two thirds of the way up Vancouver Island's inside passage (just north of Vancouver's Campbell River) where the peak tide can hit 15-16 knots - will most likely be the first to Ketchikan. This, of course, places a massive premium on each team's ability to crank hard through this 3.1-mile stretch of brine, irrespective of the apparent airs.

Teams can make stops and can get help and supplies along the way, so long as all resources used are publicly available (read: general stores are in; dedicated supply vans are out), and teams are welcome to camp on the beach... so long as sailors have cans of bear spray ready, as sailing in the Pacific Northwest isn't exactly like day sailing on Long Island Sound.

All sailors, irrespective of the number of hulls they elect to sail north with, must respect the fact that the water is cold, hypothermia is never more than a few minutes away, and there's a ton of heavy metal (commercial shipping) contending for piloting bandwidth. Moreover, north of Vancouver Island, sailors need to be prepared for a wilderness experience, coupled with usually nasty conditions.

The 2019 edition of the R2AK will start on the waters off of Port Townsend, Washington on Monday, June 3, and will take racers first to Victoria, B.C., a 40-mile shakedown cruise that serves as Leg 1 (read: the race's "proving ground"), before pushing on a few days later to Ketchikan.

Not surprisingly, the 2019 fleet looks a lot like similar classes in the sense that sailors are still arm-wrestling over the best tool for the job. In addition to the usual suspects (e.g. Melges 24s, F-24s, F-27s, and F-31s), interesting entrants include Team Auklet's Bolger Glasshouse Chebacco, Team Pear Shaped Racing's Chris Cochrane 10.6m custom trimaran, Team Solveig's Norwegian faering rowboat, Team Ziska: Sail Like A Luddite's Lancashire Nobby, Team Extremely Insane's Airboard SUP, and Team Holopuni's Hawaiian outrigger sailing canoe.

And while a Hobie Adventure Island is a proven R2AK design, Nigel Davies officially gets our vote for the coolest name of 2019 with his Team Hobie-1-Kenobie entry. (May the Force be with you, Mr. Davies.)

If this seems like an eclectic fleet, welcome to the R2AK. And if racing to Alaska sans an engine or any fast and easy escape hatch sounds like a darn good time, remember, your next Tax Day could be filled with serious excitement over an upcoming adventure, rather than sour tears over a drained bank account.

Sail-World.com wishes all 2019 R2AK entrants good luck as they ready their steeds and make their final preparations for what can only be described as one of North America's wildest sailboat races.

May the four winds blow you safely home.

David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor

Related Articles

Getting excited for the Van Isle 360
Quoting a famous line from Pink Floyd's "Time" As I pack for the first half of the 2025 Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race, I find myself thinking about the last time I did this race, a certain Pink Floyd song, and the great adventuring, sailing and time with friends that awaits. Posted on 3 Jun
The call of the mighty
See the words Admiral's Cup and you immediately think approachable, real, hardcore action See the words Admiral's Cup and you immediately think approachable, real, hardcore action, braving the elements, and glory for the victorious. As an Australian, you have King Louie (the late Lou Abrahams), and the late Sir Jim Hardy as the poster boys. Posted on 1 Jun
Where to purchase adaptive sailing equipment
Seats, hoists, etc for sailors with a disability Several organisations have contributed their knowledge regarding where to purchase adaptive sailing equipment such as seats for dinghies and hoists for wheelchair users to get into boats. Posted on 1 Jun
America's Cup Power Plays
And Growing Sailing Through Learning There's always so much speculation and intrigue in-between each edition of the America's Cup. Everyone wants to know what is happening behind closed doors, inside the teams, and when the Challengers meet with the Defender. Posted on 28 May
Hyde Sails Flying Fifteen Video Tuning Guide
Ben McGrane explains how to get the most out of your B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs Hyde Sails release new detailed video guide for tuning the Flying 15 for use with the B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs. Posted on 22 May
Gladwell's Line: - May 22 - A big month
Kiwi's loss is Italy's gain - our thoughts on the hosting debacle. Kiwi's loss is Italy's gain - our thoughts on the hosting debacle. Paul Whiting's tribute - 45yrs on. Surprise winner of biggest ever two-handed nationals. Chalkie Bland remembered. Posted on 22 May
Puget Sound sailing, Etchells, J/70s, Cup news
Seeking Goldilocks conditions on Puget Sound, Etchells NAs, J/70 U.S. Nationals, AC38 news As the saying goes, 'you don't know unless you go'. While I've mostly heard this phrase applied to climbing, skiing, and mountaineering, four late-winter and springtime races on Puget Sound this year exemplified the fact that this line. Posted on 20 May
The appeal of offshore
Is there still appeal? Have we made it too onerous? Why would someone take it up now? I had been pondering. Yes. Marquee events have no issue attracting entrants. Middle Sea, Transpac, Cape to Rio, Fastnet, and Hobart all spring to mind instantly, but what of the ‘lesser' races? Lots of boats in pens (slips) a lot of the time Posted on 18 May
Banger Racing, Back Racing and No Racing
Racing on the cheap, a return to racing for young Aussies, and ILCA struggles We start with racing on the cheap at the Colander Cup, then focus on a return to racing for the Aussies at the Youth Worlds, moving on to a complete lack of racing at the ILCA Worlds, and then looking at how SailGP should be back out on the water. Posted on 14 May
Night sailing, Transat Paprec, Congressional Cup
Night sailing, encountering light airs in the Transat Paprec, Congressional Cup We bundled up as the last of the rays sunlight dipped below the Olympic Mountains and night quietly fell on Puget Sound. We'd been racing for about twelve hours in the Seattle Yacht Club's Protection Island Race (April 26), and we were getting tired. Posted on 6 May
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOMArmstrong 728x90 - A-Wing XPS - BOTTOMRolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTER