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R2ak 2019

Well, THAT was exciting. Here are the boats tucked away in the harbor, all crew up at the top of the gangplank waiting for the start bell to ring.

Calm before the storm.jpg

There is sunshine, spectator boats in the water waiting, and someone playing a bagpipe for additional Canadian glamour.

I saw Jake the Genius just before the start and complimented him for another job well done. He was typically modest and said we all have to wait til September to see what the decision will be regarding The Race.

Here is Nathalie an hour before the start, ebullient as always, at the bow and ready to ride

Nathalie.jpg

Shawn and his shore crew, Leah and his father, on his catamaran, no longer listing to one side nor sinking. As the promoters noted, there was some carnage

Shawn and his shore crew Leah and dad.jpg

Shad in the hatch of Dark Horse, aka Team High Seas Drifter.

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Two of his crew, Steve Hocking and daughter Amber

Steve HOcking and daughter, Amber.jpg
 
Then Carl Berger and I compared notes. Carl and a friend motored up to Victoria from Port Townsend on Sockeye, his big, solid, beautiful stinkpot. I call it beautiful because it is Carl's and we are now friends because we were both photographing everybody over the past three days. That's all it takes up here. He gave me the code for the front gate, which is always a friend-making gesture.

Carl told me to look for a guy named Dean ("thinner than me, not as good looking", according to Carl). Dean had finagled entrance to the deck of the big Vancouver ferry that had the potential to block the view of the start from the western shore side of the harbor.

vantage point.jpg

"Look for a guy with an expensive camera", Carl said. So I did and there he was.

"Hi! Are you dean?"

"Why, yes I am."

"Carl said you have access to the bow of the ferry. May I join you?" I asked.

"Sure", said Dean. So now Dean and I were friends.

He fished a business card out of his pocket. Tianda Harris, Sales and Business Development at V2V, the ferry between Vancouver and Victoria that 'Cruises the Coast in Style'.

"I've gotten a ride on a boat, but here's the card of the woman in charge."

He handed me the card and left.

I walked over to the V2V and introduced myself to Tianda, who opened the gate and let me choose the perch from which I would video tape the start with my IPhone, video camera of choice for unprofessionals.

While I was up there on the ferry I met Travis, the Chief Officer of the V2V, who was intrigued by the presence of so many little boats. "They're going WHERE?" Travis was incredulous, and immediately got on his phone to look at the weather forecast and other conditions. "Well, if they leave the harbor and turn left ... or if they turn right.... ". His crew left the cabin to see what was exciting Travis and they stayed to watch.

And here, at last, is Katy on Razzle Dazzle. Wait'll you hear about Katy and her crew. Yes, I have video.

Katy.jpg
 
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There they go! Nathalie and crew on ENVOLEE first away, pedaling at 4 knots. Now, 90 minutes after the start, they are in the top 3. Light winds from astern (S at 3-5 knots) but favorable current will get the body of the R2AK into Haro Straits by mid-afternoon. Then it's decision time: Option 1: up Swanson Channel;, Option 2: up Plumper Sound; Option 3: Thru the shortcut at Johns Pass at Stuart Island and into Boundary Pass to the Straits of Georgia. All three choices have adherents, depending on boat speed and luck. So far the rowing team from Maine of BACKWARDS AF is leading, making a solid 5 knots. But here comes PEAR SHAPE trimaran, sailing at 8 knots.

R2AK9.jpg
 
BACKWARDS AF led the charge as the vanguard passed 10 Mile Point and began to head north into Haro St. BACKWARDS is averaging 6 knots ..but will be stopping tonight. In 4th position is TEAM SHUT UP & DRIVE, the 4 pedalers on a 4.5 knot pace. How long can they keep that up? All night? Doesn't look like much wind ahead.

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4:25 PM Friday The R2AK starts over ta dum.

Too bad for R2AK race leader PEAR SHAPED RACING at checkpoint Seymour Narrows ...they missed slack, and now must wait while the south bound flood tide builds to 12.5 knots. Likely ANGRY BEAVER and GIVIN' THE HORNS will catch up, and all 3 pass through Seymour Narrows this evening about 9 pm.
 
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Hard to say what is exactly going on at the front of the R2AK fleet with the tracker acting up, and the two leaders unreported for many hours. What we do know: 3rd place tri GIVIN' THE HORNS is in Shearwater with a broken rudder.
And in the biggest advance, TEAM SAIL LIKE A GIRL is now 3rd place as the leaders head out into Hecate Strait.

Here's the forecast for the area north and west of Bella Bella for the 9 boats that have passed that check point:

"Gale warning in effect. Wind southeast 30 to 40 knots diminishing to southwest 15 to 25 this evening and to southwest 5 to 15 late overnight."


Not sure I'd want to be in a Melges 24, attempting to sleep in the trapezes! Hecate can be ugly, especially wind against tide. Current winds are 25+ from dead aft. Nathalie and crew should be good in this, but have a lot of ground to make up.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the leaders take the narrow but more protected Laredo Channel east of Aristazabal Island, and the Principe Channel east of Banks Island. The winds will be just as strong, but seas much reduced. And there are hidey holes if necessary to bail out.

So which would you rather be on tonight racing for glory: a 34 foot foiling trimaran going 25 knots in the darkness, or a Shock 40 with a forward rudder and questionable canting keel. Yiii doggies, stay tuned.
 
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What is the length of darkness at that latitude this time of year; four hours?

The 11.48' waves at 8 seconds in the South Hecate Strait @ 17:00 this afternoon is not my idea of a good time.
 
Hard to say what is exactly going on at the front of the R2AK fleet with the tracker acting up, and the two leaders unreported for many hours. What we do know: 3rd place tri GIVIN' THE HORNS is in Shearwater with a broken rudder. And in the biggest advance, TEAM SAIL LIKE A GIRL is now 3rd place as the leaders head out into Hecate Strait. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the leaders take the narrow but more protected Laredo Channel east of Aristazabal Island, and the Principe Channel east of Banks Island. The winds will be just as strong, but seas much reduced. And there are hidey holes if necessary to bail out.

As the sun drops low in the southwest on the R2AK racetrack, we've got drama right here in River City. GIVEN THE HORNS has demonstrated for lack of a spare 12 pound plywood rudder, you can't win the R2AK if you can't finish. And there's enough flotsam floating around to derudder everybody in the top 5 tonight in the dark, as monos and multis blast north at double digit speeds.

R2AK12.jpg

Are the one time leaders PEAR SHAPED and ANGRY BEAVERS still in the race? We do know Spot trackers don't work under water and if the R@AK provided lithium battery fails, the racing crew is responsible to have spares.

Leaving the question of what's happened to PSRT and ANGRY BEAVERS for later, that leaves SAIL LIKE A GIRL and Nathalie and crew on TEAM SHUT UP AND DRIVE in contention to win. Both boats are about the same speed, have skilled crews, and advanced pedal drives.

We do not know if NATHALIE has put any or all of her non-sailing pedalers ashore to save weight.

So here's the kicker. TSLAG has just committed to going inside Aristazabal and likely Banks Islands. Them's narrow channels, in some places a mile wide and less. And it looks like TSUAD is going outside, into the S. Hecate Straits, where the winds are forecast to be stronger, the seas higher, and the depths less.

We won't know for several hours which choice pays ..but it's woman skipper against woman skipper with hugely supportive and seaworthy crews, fast and strong boats. Ketchikan is only 210 miles up the road, a days run for either of these boats if the breeze holds......

In answer to the query, how much darkness is there at their latitudes? My estimate is 3-4 hours. The rest is semi-illuminated with dawn or dusk, well before the sun rises about 4:30 a.m and sets about 11 p.m.
 
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Excitement mounts as ANGRY BEAVER's tracker has come back online, and they are only 90 miles from the finish in Ketchikan. Presumably, PEAR SHAPED is in their neighborhood. But we have not heard from them in over 24 hours. What's with the Spot Trackers? Now TEAM SAIL LIKE A GIRL's tracker is malfunctioning, with no report since early this morning.

It ain't over 'till it's over. Who will ring the bell today and pull the nail from the $10,000 dollars spiked to the piling?
 
Currently a dead heat between ANGRY BEAVER and PEAR SHAPED less than 60 miles to finish. Both survived "heinous conditions" last night. PEAR SHAPE is texting the RC, but has no operational tracker, saying they are making 18+ knots. Advantage PEAR SHAPE. BUT there are several channels of approach to Ketchikan Harbor, including the big decision: east or west of Duke and Annette Islands.. Winds are currently, and forecast to be, SE 8-14 knots approaching Ketchikan..

Annette Island has many mountains 2,000 to 3,600 feet, just right to make a lee. But which side will the lee be on? Tongass Narrows is in a perpetual lee. It may come down, as it did in past years, as to who can maintain pedal/paddle assist the best.

The race record of 3d-20 hrs by TEAM MAD DOG in 2016 will not be broken.

100 miles astern, SAIL LIKE A GIRL and SHUT UP AND DRIVE are also in a dead heat for 3rd, SLAG on port gybe and SUAD on starboard pole.

Good luck to all! You can watch the finish live here: https://webcamketchikan.com/mega-view-cam-6/, probably about 4 pm PDST. Bring your umbrella.
 
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At 1215 pm, the BEAV was gybing DDW at 30-35 degrees off course making 11-12 knots in southerly winds 10-13 knots. They are 45 straight line miles from the finish and running up Nichols Passage, west of Duke and Annette Islands.

Our CBC bald eagle web cam drone currently has restricted viz due to rain, cloud, and ongoing discharge of yummy salmon offal from the Ketchikan cannery and into the harbor. But appears to show the high twitch rocketship TEAM PEAR SHAPE RACING several miles astern of the angry rodent. TPSR is sailing even wider gybe angles, 40-45 degrees off DDW, and going almost twice the speed of ANGRY BEAVERS.
 
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Dark and rainy at the Thomas Basin R2AK finish line. Who's gonna get there first? ANGRY BEAVER is only a few miles down the channel, but not yet in sight on the finish line web cam. Where's PEAR SHAPED??

Here's the best view of the finish and the $oggy 10K. If it's a photo finish, the breakwater end is favored by 1/2 length.

https://webcamketchikan.com/alaska-sized-view-cam-6/
 
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At 3:30 pm PDST, ANGRY BEAVER is rounding Gravina Point, 4 nm from the finish, making about 7 knots. Best estimate of ETA is 4 pm. Though unlikely, PEAR SHAPED could be approaching up Revillagigedo Channel, out of sight to spectators for present.
 
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I’ve had this webcam on all morning and not seen movement. Is it a CBC trivia question? Something like: “Why didn’t anyone consider using a decent drone?” This is maddening! Mad Max maddening!!!
 
CBC has got the bald eagle drone, and we can see BEAVER has rounded the final point, 2.5 nm due west up Tongass chanel to paydirt.

Winds have softened, speed is dropping, and they are pedal assist sailing on port tack close reach at 5 knots.
 
Zero productivity here (I did get your message).

I'm mostly interested in the race between SUAD (Nathalie and crew) and SLAG. Envolee has been going two knots faster and is to leeward where they can sail hotter angles. They've got this if nothing changes.
 
I'm mostly interested in the race between SUAD (Nathalie and crew) and SLAG. Envolee has been going two knots faster and is to leeward where they can sail hotter angles. They've got this if nothing changes.

whine whine whine!!! But I wanna SEE it happen! The irony of all those boats filled with techies and nothing to capture the live finish. Skip, what do the eagles say?
 
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