Team Angry Beaver rockets to R2AK victory and $10K Prize
by Anika Colvin 11 Jun 2019 04:28 PDT
3 June 2019
We've got winners! In Race to Alaska's 5th year, Team Angry BeaverSkiff Sailing Foundation won the $10,000 prize and bragging rights for being fist to Alaska.
The R2AK is about the physical endurance, saltwater know-how, and bulldog tenacity it takes to navigate the 750 cold-water miles from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska with no motors and no support. The winning team of Matt Pistay, Gavin Bracket, Brent Campbell, Alan Johnson, Mats Elf, and Simon Miles completed the race in 4 days 3 hours and 56 minutes aboard their Schock 40, a 40-foot performance monohull with a canting keel.
Second place finishers, Team Pear Shaped Racing, put up a courageous fight, even after hitting four logs along the way and damaging their Chris Cochrane 10.6m custom trimaran, Dragon. "We worked so hard for the last 24 hours," they said. "We went faster than 18 knots. We were sending it!"' Their second place prize for ringing the bell after 4 days 6 hours and 23 minutes? As per race tradition: A mediocre set of steak knives.
Team Sail Like a Girl last year's winning crew of seven women is currently battling for 3rd place against another female-led team, Team Shut Up and Drive from San Francisco. Team Sail Like a Girl Captain Jeanne Goussev had said they returned, "Not to defend a title," but rather "to represent ourselves well, compete hard, and to feel the strength that comes from challenge, fear, excitement, and love." Check the R2AK Tracker to see racers present positions.
The race is a project of the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend, WA. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life, in a spirit of adventure and discovery.
- Follow the race at http://tracker.r2ak.com/
- Bios and details at https://r2ak.com/2019-teams-full-race-participants/
- Facebook: @RacetoAlaska
- Instagram: @racetoalaska