If there is anything more Northwest than the R2AK movement, I’d like to see it. In the years since that race’s inception, we’ve seen everything from world class sailors to casual rowers make the trip. And with Covid not yet in our wake, and those very careful Canadians shutting down the border, those inventive and sometimes questionable minds at the Northwest Maritime Center behind this movement came up with an alternate plan. Deceptively devious, it sends sailors, rowers and paddlers from Port Townsend all the way to Olympia Shoal, up to Point Roberts and back to PT. The course:
- Start just off the Northwest Maritime Center dock in Port Townsend Bay
- ROUND Olympia shoal in Budd Inlet
- PASS WITHIN 1 NM of Goat Island in Skagit Bay
- ROUND Bellingham outfall buoy Fl Y 10s priv
- ROUND Point Roberts Buoy R “4” 4s BELL
- Finish by landing on the dock at the Northwest Maritime Center
It all started this morning at 6 am. Today’s predominantly light conditions allowed some of the paddlers and rowers to jump out to leads, followed by some of the multihulls. My Swiftsure Yachts colleague Molly Howe’s Mustang Survival Team Ocean Watch, a Melges 24, has been competing with the Merit 28 Fressure for first among the monohulls and getting pressure from behind from High Seas Drifter, an Olson 30.
Another group we’ll be watching is the Dash 34 Apocalypse Later Never Get off the Boat. Former mates and competitors of mine who are having way too much fun right now.
As I go to sleep, the kayak Bend Racing is way in front just entering Budd Inlet, followed by a pedal-driven catamaran The Boogie Barge in second and the F28R trimaran Ruf Duck (sail!!) in third. Things have a way of changing, and I’ll check in when I wake up.
All the best videos are going to the WA360 Facebook page and their web site. And of course there’s the tracker. But check these links out for a taste of the conditions.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.