The Iditarod with a chance of drowning

15 May 2015     Editor    1 Comments.

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The Wave Writer - Kurt Hoehne, on the R2AK and its founder, Jake Beattie, and the Brown/Bieker proa of Team Pure & Wild. -Editor

In today’s world, there are few adventures with Big Questions. It seems every adventure has been done at least once before. Somebody’s going to find a new route to the summit, win the game on a superlative performance or lucky bounce, or find that extra bit of speed around the race. Those are relatively Little Questions.

Maybe that’s the appeal of the inaugural Race to Alaska (R2AK). It asks Big Questions. There aren’t a whole lot of rules other than make your way to Ketchikan via boat. The boat can’t have an engine and has to pass through only three checkpoints along the way. Use whatever boat you want and go the route you want.

There’s no big safety equipment checklist (there is a little one, however). There are no scantlings to adhere to, no nanny boats to accompany the fleet. The race organizers are leaving it to the competitors to manage the dangers themselves.

“It’s like the Iditarod. With a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter or eaten by a grizzly bear.”

Continue reading article at: Northwest Yachting

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