Once again there will be a parade of paddlers leaving from Tacoma in about an hour for an adventure race featuring human-powered boats only. No, it’s not sailing but let’s call it a close cousin.
Brought to you by the same Northwest Maritime Center folk who bring you the R2AK (more on that race in a separate post) this event is simple and challenging. The course is 72 miles long with only two required waypoints, one a boat off Point Defiance and one the bridge over the Port Townsend Canal. Yes, they’ll be paddling at night if they want.
Fittingly, our friends at NMC ask the question “Why?” And they answer it: “Based on the lawless self-reliance of R2AK, we wanted to compress crazy stupid into 48 hours and make it a different kind of hard. Think of it as powerlifting for 48 hours.”
At last count 43 teams were entered, ranging from 6-person outrigger canoes to one person paddleboards. Like the R2AK, it’s worth looking at the teams if for no other reason than perusing the creative if sometimes corny names. Looking for a Porpoise and Forgetting Forward are a couple of my favorites.
Get to tracker at the start here.
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.