I realized that the border is closed, but vessels can sail directly thru Canadian Waters to AK, if they do not put ashore. The qualifier could be all in US waters, and then start from Port Townsend instead of Victoria--and I suspect that the organizers had already thought of that.
If they had to put ashore due to equipment failure etc: then this is a vessel (?) in distress and the urgency has to be recognized by international law.
If they had to put ashore due to equipment failure etc: then this is a vessel (?) in distress and the urgency has to be recognized by international law.