750 mile non-supported race from WA (Washington, USA) to AK (Alaska, USA) starts Thursday (6/4) at 5 am (8 am Eastern). Any vessel that does not have a motor is eligible. Lots of multihulls are entered. Winner gets $10k.
Burds are sponsored by Sperry and sailing an ARC-22 (I think). Waterlust, also a Sperry sponsored group, is following the race and posts some great pictures and videos. The Burd's have already been a part of their focus. Instagram, web and Facebook have a lot of their stuff.
The event web page is www.r2ak.com and has a tracker on the front page.
Anyway, seems like a tough race. It wil be interestig to follow it. A SUP is doing it
I'd think a Reynolds R33 or a ARC30 would be a pretty good weapon of choice. At least with those you could have a crew of four or five and push hard the whole time. Downside to the ARC, there's zero space out of the elements.
A lot of time has been spent on tides/currents in the pre-race chatter. Evidently, some "narrows" are impassable when the tide/current is going the wrong way. Could allow boats to catch up or boats to extend leads. Timing is everything.
I looked at the website and there are a lot of kayaks, dories and rowers. Here are the multihull types:
A F-27, a F-24, two F-25c, 38' Crowther Shockwave, Hobie 20, F85SR (28' Farrier Super Racer), Tiki 21, Nacra 570, custom rower + kite, L-7 trimaran, 19' beach cat (looks like it might be a Supercat) and a 24' custom cat (small cabin and pedal drive) and a ARC-22,
A lot of time has been spent on tides/currents in the pre-race chatter. Evidently, some "narrows" are impassable when the tide/current is going the wrong way. Could allow boats to catch up or boats to extend leads. Timing is everything.
Seymor narrows. Google it, interesting place and it used to be way worse before they blew up a bunch of granite. I hope there is good footage of the passages through this section.
Well that's one way to 'fix it'! Wow! I loved the part about, "They didn't know if it would cause an earthquake...but they did it anyway." Too funny! I've never heard of this place but now I want to go fishing and float plane flying there!
Rule 2: Start in Port Townsend The starting gun goes off at 5 am sharp on June 4, 2015
The first stage of the race is the sprint across the border to Victoria, British Columbia- 40 miles away across the exposed and notoriously rough Strait of Juan de Fuca. We’ll have more of a safety structure in place for the first stage in case things get hairy. The second stage has no race specific safety net.
If you make it to Victoria without assistance then you’ve qualified for the second stage, which starts one day later.
Rule 2: Start in Port Townsend The starting gun goes off at 5 am sharp on June 4, 2015
The first stage of the race is the sprint across the border to Victoria, British Columbia- 40 miles away across the exposed and notoriously rough Strait of Juan de Fuca. We’ll have more of a safety structure in place for the first stage in case things get hairy. The second stage has no race specific safety net.
If you make it to Victoria without assistance then you’ve qualified for the second stage, which starts one day later.
That's a really good idea kudo's for the organizers.
Posted 51 minutes ago: "Update from Team Freeburd: "quickly pulling to shore to repair some minor damage from last night. Should be back underway soon." -Tripp"
and 12 hours ago: "Race update! The Burds started slow in the light breeze but quickly caught back up to the lead pack. We're live tweeting the race over at Twitter.com/waterlust"
buoy's are showing 14knots of wind but the Burds are only making 3.8knots (similar to every one else). The tide must be coming in....and wow...what a head game to be, presumably, double trapped in 14 knots of breeze while making less than 4 knots of SOG....as the sun has probably disappeared over the peak between you and the ocean and night starts to fall.
At least it's relatively warm at ~68 degrees for the time being.
Part of me is extremely jealous...another part of me happy to be sitting behind my computer.
The F25c Team Elsie Piddock has really run away with it, so far. Obviously a breakdown or something could change that, but they have a big led for now. I watched the tracker replay and they took the same route as many other boats, but they just did it better. I wonder what their secret is (they are a local boat with a crew that is extremely experienced)?
Crew list: Former USCG Officer 2 X Annapolis Newport- Bermuda Race 3 X Singlehanded Transpac 3X Pacific Cup 5X Hawaii to Seattle delivery 6X Van Isle 360
The F25c Team Elsie Piddock has really run away with it, so far. Obviously a breakdown or something could change that, but they have a big led for now. I watched the tracker replay and they took the same route as many other boats, but they just did it better. I wonder what their secret is (they are a local boat with a crew that is extremely experienced)?
Crew list: Former USCG Officer 2 X Annapolis Newport- Bermuda Race 3 X Singlehanded Transpac 3X Pacific Cup 5X Hawaii to Seattle delivery 6X Van Isle 360
That is quite a crew list! It doesn't take much more speed in that kind of current to make a huge difference and hit a different current window (which Alan and I can attest to in the 2014 Everglades Challenge).
We were about 1 to 1.5 hours behind randy entering the entrance to Chockoloskee - he barely made the current cuttoff and we didn't. We left Chockoloskee about 5.5 hours behind him and he caught a more favorable wind headed south and continued to stretch away. Same thing with the guys behind us...while we sat their stalled trying to get through the current, it allowed them to catch up to us.
And that F25c is probably just the right size... fast, light and small enough to row if need be. I think it's modded quite a bit, too, with lots of extra cloth.
But yes, those dudes could probably make a concrete paver fast...
Any news from freeburd? I don't have the facebook feed and am at work. They look like they're docked.
edit: it looks like everyone else around them is on a beach too...so either still sleeping or waiting for the tide to turn.
Here you go Jake:
Team Freeburd arrived in Campbell River! Resting up and fixing gear before they shoot the narrows! #r2ak #sperry
Dude, you need to check out the smart phones, they are nifty.
Yeah, Yeah...I'm really starting to get grampy about smart phones. I hate mine. It's buggy, crashtastic, and it makes me feel stupid. I don't have time (or patience) to wipe and start over like it needs. Toss in some ~wonderful~ device management software added by my employer and it makes it even less usable.
so, you're kicking yourself for not participating? good on ya!
cold, choppy, challenging... great to watch from my warm desk chair.
Looked at it - had some possible boat options...the logistics and time needed away from work made it hard to keep considering. It would be hard to do that without more than two weeks of time. That's a long way from South Cackalackie.
The landscape and conditions just look incredible.
and we have a race! It looks like Team Freeburd overtook the Warrior 29 and the F32 trimaran last night and are running in fourth place with roughly 110 miles to go.
and we have a race! It looks like Team Freeburd overtook the Warrior 29 and the F32 trimaran last night and are running in fourth place with roughly 110 miles to go.
and we have a race! It looks like Team Freeburd overtook the Warrior 29 and the F32 trimaran last night and are running in fourth place with roughly 110 miles to go.
And it looks like they are pulling all nighters.
Racing boats in sight will do that to you. It's a game of sleep chicken. Sun is probably up now and they look like they're stretching away. They will probably finish today.
A quick post from the crew of Elsie Piddock on some of the "critical elements of success"
Peter, the most critical was the boat, credit to Ian {designer of the F-25C} for the design and Colorado Composites and Jude Stoeller for the build. Elsie Piddock is extremely solid and light. We spent a lot of time on preparing the boat, new standing rigging, running rigging, deck hardware, sealing hatches, building spare cassette and rudder. We should have spent more time sailing the boat but sometimes that is how it goes. The crew have a lot of monohull experience in those waters so that was not an issue. Critical decisions in the race were made on the fly, but most crucial I believe was stopping just before entering Johnstone Straits. It allowed us to be well rested, alert and basically mistake free for the next taxing 24 hrs. Rowing was done with two oarlocks mounted on the amas and large sweep.oars from a racing shell. We could maintain 2.5 knots for about 4 hrs. There were no sliding seats, we just sat on the netting. We thought weight and simplicity were key. Al
7 knots and 8 knots of wind reported at the two buoy stations nearest them. Looks like Team UnCruise has been going in circles for a couple of hours so they either have a problem or no wind (which, technically, would qualify as a problem I suppose). Freeburd has been making over 7 knots all morning since I've been checking...up to around 10 knots now...so I'm guessing they have a secondary sail up and driving.
