The Race (including live maps)

Live maps

The Race

The Race to Alaska is a novel nautical challenge: voyage under sail and human power from Port Townsend, WA, to Ketchikan, AK.  You can’t have any type of motor aboard and there are required stops in Victoria, Seymour Narrows, and Bella Bella, BC.

The race travels the full length of the BC Coast with many route choices, including the traditional "Inside Passage."
The race travels the full length of the BC Coast with many route choices, including the traditional “Inside Passage.”

While the total distance will depend on the (many) navigational choices one could make, the route is approximately 1200 kilometers long (~750 miles).  If you can maintain an average speed of 5 km/hr (2.7 knots), it will take you 10 days.

The R2AK was first run in 2015 when Matt helped Team Sea Runners and Team Puffin engineer and test their pedal drives.  This year (2016) the only change in the Race is that it starts about 2 weeks later in June.

The qualifier (Port Townsend to Victoria) will begin at 5 a.m. on Thursday, June 23, 2016.  The full race begins at noon on Sunday, June 26, 2016.  The first team to Ketchikan gets $10,000.  The 2nd gets a set of steak knives.

During the race you should be able to follow the action using either the official R2AK tracking page (aggregating locations from the SPOT transceivers carried by each boat).

More info about the R2AK:

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