This year, 2019, the first leg of the Race to Alaska started on June 3rd in the face of a near gale. It was an exciting run to Victoria for those of us who had boats capable of handling the conditions. Team PT Watercraft in the G-32 did really well in spite of the bobbing and diving and water over deck. We were going fast, averaging 9 knots in waves stirred to peaks by strong wind against current. The GPS indicated from 8 knots up to 15 when the water flattened out a bit near Victoria.
We had a fun team with Alex Spear and myself joining Russell; me doing my darndest to hold the camera steady and all of us well braced to keep from flying to leeward at times. We kept within sight of the far more powerful, lead boat, Pear Shaped Racing, finishing some 20 minutes behind them. We just shake our heads in awe at the capability of this weird little boat designed by Jan Gougeon.
Ours was a 4 hour run having traveled more than the official 35 mile distance. .. all racers had to tack around the "no-go" zone. In Victoria, we hung out with some of the racers and support folks. Two boats sustained damage that made use of Russell's epoxy skills and it felt good to be useful instead of stressing about his own continuation of the race. We opted instead, to take a little cruise and that is another post. 😉
For now, here is a silly video of our first leg from this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFO0sXEYek4
In the description is a link to more photos of the start by Sean Trew. Definitely worth a visit.
Happy Summer boating!
