RACE TO ALASKA 2016 (R2AK.com)

I can answer some of the questions.

Yes, there have been some issues with the tracker. At one point, all of the racers were requested to turn off and then turn back on the SPOT devices to do a reset for the tracking.

There were some issues with Handheld VHF's not having enough battery and ran out so communication were sketchy with some boats.

Once the race moved west of Dungeness, there were communication difficulties and required one of the bigger vessels to stay on station at the east end of Juan de Fuca, to relay from the race and safety boats to Race Central. This was a predicted situation due to the geography and VHF limitations.

I talked to the Race Boss this morning and they are working with SPOT HQ on the tracker issues. I have not seen Facebook coverage, but what I have heard agrees with what Bob is saying.

There is no "placing, points or award" for finishing in any particular order at Victoria. Either finish there by 1800 tonight or there is no going on to Ketchikan.

Stay tuned, the Race is on and pride is running" (or something like that) and it is bragging rights only for the Port Townsend to Victoria leg. It is the "flusher segment". Make this on or get flushed.

There will be digital data exchanges made along the way, for racers to exchange data cards. There will be aerial pix and a following vessel.

The helicopter made the news, YUP, a complaint was filed and he may face some charges. We did see him low, and the report was that he was lower than mast height, but I didn't see that. From the photo it looked to be over between the start and Point Wilson.

Have a great day.

Harvey
SleeyC :moon

:embarrased :oops:
 
Here Is a link to Komo news and the helicopter story--there is an embedded video which shows that the chopper was below mast height. I believe we have a number of folks with some serious helicopter experience here. Just the downdraft from the rotor blades can raise havoc in an already chaotic situation...
 
One of the Facebook pages I following is Team Tritium, who did "high Tea" at the Empress in their survival suits! The link has a video of Victoria harbor--we never saw a single mega yacht in about 10 visits there--and there are at least 6 there in their video tour of the harbor!

Noon today, the 2nd leg starts!
 
The start was streamed live from the R2AK Facebook and Tritium racing. These are available on the web sites, and I find very interesting. Tritium's 34 foot cat was well propelled by the Hobie Mirage drives. (Not sure if they were oversized fins or not) Tritium's Spot tracker does not seem to be working. Good weather information and some good discussion, photos are on page 3 of Sailing Anarchy. Boat way ahead currently is Skiff Foundation Jungle Kitty. Their man propulsion is two tandem bicycle drives to two props...8 man crew. 44 foot ULBD, 11' draft, 65' rig, claimed speeds of 30 knots? There are some really hot shot crews and boats in this race--not to take away from last year, but the competition is stepped up a notch. But the best stories probably will come from the slower and smaller boats. Lots of grit, no matter what size or speed boat!

Edit: just after I posted this, Mad Dog racing, suddenly popped up well ahead, and just off 10 mile point--only going 2.5 knots, with SFJK going 6.7 knots. Speed and heading may not mean much, since updates are about every 10 minutes, and are a "picture" of just that instant--boat could be tacking etc. Plus Tritium's track is not shown--and on the video she was coming up on SFJK over 30 minutes ago.
 
Early this morning: Beach boat cat well in the lead (6 hrs ahead?), followed by a 48-foot monohull alone in second, followed by a pack of boats including several similar to last year's winner.

Different boats, different winds, different race! So far . . .
 
My question is will "Mad Dog Racing" which is an open cat, with no cabin or protection crew be able to keep up the pace? Sleep? Velcro the sleeping bag to the trampoline? Meals--MRE or sandwiches?--didn't even see a cooler on board...There are only 3 crew. A cat that size requires at least 2 to keep sailing efficiently. They seem to have kept the 11 knot speed during the night!. The second place boat is Skiff Foundation Jungle Kitty and she has a 7 or 8 man crew, enough interior space in her 44 foot length, to have accomidations and allow the crew to get some rest. This is no normal monohull either--she has a 65 foot mast and 11 foot draft in the fin keel. In either case--amazing boats and crew!

One of the big questions in my mind, is can MDR make it to Seymour Narrows during the slack--or even during any part of the ebb, and make it safely thru. If not she will have to anchor, or beach and wait out the current. If she has enough wind for good steerage, she probably can go thru at any stage of the ebb, but it will be tricky--hope that someone has a camera there.

The committee boat which I believe is a Nordhavn 62 cannot keep up with MDR.
 
thataway":lrw91e3g said:
My question is will "Mad Dog Racing" which is an open cat, with no cabin or protection crew be able to keep up the pace? . . .
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My thought, exactly. I once spent nearly an entire WEEK waiting out a storm on the inside passage - 40 degrees, 40 mph winds (gusts to 60), and very heavy rain. That was the first week in July. I can't imagine spending 24 hours a day on a trampoline exposed to that. These guys look to be a pretty tough lot, but if the weather gets anything like as bad as it can, I'd bet on the big enclosed boat with the crew of 8!

OTH, if the wind dies completely:
DSC06518.jpg
Chatham Sound in July, 2014.
 
Well some of my questions were answered by the skipper of Mad Dog Racing. He took the time in the middle of the night! (about 3:15 am!). He was texting on his cell phone, while trimming and one other crew was steering. The 3rd crew was sleeping in his Bivy Sac on the windward side of the tramp! They were taking long tacks across the Straits of Georgia to allow as much sleep as possible. They used a "jet Boil" stove to heat water, and had a warm freeze dried dinner.

They made it thru Seymour Narrows at about noon today. Made a lot of tracks thru the night. Facing now Gale warnings in Johnstone Strait.
Johnstone Strait. Gale Warning in effect. Wind northwest 15 to 25 knots increasing to northwest 25 to 35 late this afternoon then diminishing to northwest 15 to 25 late overnight. Wind increasing to northwest 25 to 35 Tuesday afternoon. Chance of drizzle overnight and Tuesday morning.
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This will shortly bring a whole new set of challenges! Hope that the rig is up to it! This may favor Jungle Kitty, who is about 30 miles behind, but with more rested crew and a monohull, she may do better in these heavy winds--but it will be interesting to see. Also more wind for the rest of the fleet.

The SUP took a few hours rest--did 60 Km of paddling the first day (from noon). That alone is pretty impressive! Doing much better than some of the multi crew rowing boats!
 
thataway":svu2qdqv said:
Well they are not only underway, but by this time (about Noon there) they are spread out all over the straits, including some who are finishing currently;

Here is the link to tracking.

Twitter updates Mad dog racing first, and Bad kitty second.

Facebook looks like some screaming times going across!
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Bob's link to tracking was working fine up till this morning & then quit working on my iPad or home Mac. Is it still working for others.

Jay
 
The tracker URL is overwhelmed, and you get a brief glimpse, (about 11:40) and then it goes grey. The organizers put out a plea for anyone who might help to go to the Royal Victoria YC and see if they could help out, with the problem...The site is run by a member of Sailing Anarchy, and I suspect he has a limited band width.

There are sailors from all over the world who are following this. Overwhelmed the site.

About 20 minutes ago Mad Dog Racing went by Browns Bay Resort-which is on the North side of the Narrows. Photo on S A. One boat chased them, but had trouble keeping up, even in a CC power boat. Amazing boat, but also amazing sailors!

I think the popularity is several fold--one is that it is absolutely non conventional. There is a $$$$ price for first to finish, and then a set of steak knives for the second--that is it. No handicaps, any boat can enter. You don't have to have money--(but it seems to help!). I am not sure if a super race boat, with a semi professional team, may spoil this (MDR)--but there was Tream Tritium--with one of the fastest boats on the planet--and semi professional sailors--who broke the boat the first day out of Calif. Then borrowed another boat, and withdrew within hours of the start. Compare with 9 gals on a 27 foot open rowing skiff--4 rowing at a time, the Boston Whaler Harpoon--not the world's fastest boat, and only one of two type sail boats that BW made, with a family sailing...to the Stand up Paddle board, who is beating half the fleet! Crazy stuff. Appeals to the inner adventure of many. Power of the internet! Where else does a skipper of a leading racing boat, reply to questions at 3:AM in the middle of a race? Live photos and videos along the way...publicists dream!
 
Here is the deal on the trader: Google maps allows 25,000 "hits". Then it requires $0.50 for each 1,000 hits until the next day. So the tracker will be resent at midnight.

What I have been able to do, is grab a screen shot just as you clear the "OK" click--and you can get the positions--hard to be fast enough to get the data from any boat also.

My last screen shot, MDR was doing 12.4 knots, and moving up into Johnstone str.
Jungle Kitty only moving at 3knots, near Comax, and thus probably will not make the ebb or low slack at Seymour Narrows. This leaves them later in the evening before they can stem the flood, and make it safely thru the Narrows.
 
Tracker appears to be working normally again. Lead boat now 2/3 through Johnstone strait & doing 10+ knots against 25 knots on the nose. 15 knots at Cape Caution now.
 
There is a great video from Mad Dog Racing in Johnstone Strait: Here Gives some idea what it is like on the rack of a beach cat in 25 knots of breeze!

They are going 14 or so knots thru the water, but often the GPS speed is going to be less, because of current. They were fighting current for a few hours. Still way ahead of Jungle Kitty--which is running into a strong flood as they near Seymour Narrows.
 
thataway":286n0fip said:
There is a great video from Mad Dog Racing in Johnstone Strait: Here Gives some idea what it is like on the rack of a beach cat in 25 knots of breeze! .
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Incredible footage. Those guys are really hanging it all out. No hidey hole for them.
 
Mad Dog Racing continues to be way in the lead, and up outside of Calvert Island. Should hit Bella Bella Check point sometime tonight.

Two interesting developments. One is the Stand Up Paddle boarder has dropped out--even though he was keeping up with many of the sailboats. He has a knee problem, and feared if he pushed on that permeant damage could be done. He gets my prize for the most "Grit".

The second is the reason that Tritium racing dropped out. It was not gear failure. I guess the best way is to quote what race central blog said:

"The day’s shocker was Team Tritium Racing’s exit from the R2AK. They looked at the coming weather, looked at their odds, and retired from the race within sight of the starting line. No scandal, no damage, just took their toys and went home.
It was surprising. They put in a metric ton of work to get one, then a second boat ready to race after their first was damaged beyond repair, assembled then reassembled a crew with some of the hottest shots on both coasts, they even got into the spirit and clambered orange through the polished doors of Victoria’s stately Empress Hotel and had high tea in their drysuits. Hilarious. While it’s hard to understand why a team would round trip 3,000 road miles to race for 40 on the water, their departure was the final act of a boogie man that started to vanish nearly as soon it appeared.
At one point their original bid was the race’s front page headline, in multiple papers, a jaw-dropper. They were the 73′ trimaran with an all-pro crew that was going to make records and indelibly change the R2AK’s everyman ethos. At least that’s what people told us. But with every pre-race repair, stilted delivery, boat change and eventual departure, the headline moved below the fold, became a footnote, a shoulder shrug, a remember when. By the numbers their F32 and crew that hit the starting line were a threat, but as much as it is a forum for skill and speed, the R2AK was designed to test resolve and reward resilience, and today they made the choice to turn right and go home. Heart wasn’t in it. Maybe another year.
As Team Tritium sails home, and the rest of the fleet races on into the false metaphor of a breathtaking sunset, the stories of resolve loom perhaps even larger than the mad dash of Team MAD Dog Racing who at time of writing have horizoned the fleet and are on pace to hit Seymour Narrows in record time. Our favorites: Bruno, Zach and Spike on Team Alula asking for no quarter despite not having functional legs. When asked if the start could be changed to accommodate them, they were adamant and took the two flights of stairs like everyone else, but like no one else, and amazed everyone with their spirit and resolve as these smiling wheelchaired warriors bombed down the stairs and rolled themselves to their boat unassisted. Wheeled down the stairs. Incredible."
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That's correct, all three of the crew aboard the F 27 "Alula" left their wheel chairs at the dock, and off they go. These guys aren't any slouches, all high quality athletes and skilled sailors.
 
I watched the Alula crew loading and readying their boat the evening before the start. Left me speechless. The juxtaposition of the two crews' story-lines in yesterday's report, as quoted by Bob, speaks volumes.

Interesting course choices going on between the second and third place boats in the race. The two big monohulls have gone inside and outside of Malcolm Island respectively.
 
No stop at Bella Bella--Skipper says that getting "enough" sleep--6 hours on and 3 hours off-(sleeping in the Bivy sac). This means that out of 36 hours, you are on watch 24 and off 12. Self dogging watch system. Still taking longer tacks than they might out of consideration of the person getting sleep. I know that you can get sleep under those conditions if you get tired enough--but it has to be brutal! They have 33 liters of water left: 11 per person, and feel that is enough. Looks as if they are going to go straight on with no "rest stops" as some postulate that would have to do.
 
Mad Dog racing did the race (710 miles, plus at least 50% for tacks) in 3days 20 hours 13minutes This is a about 24 hours faster than last year! The second place boat (Jungle Kitty) is about 55 miles from the finish. I didn't get to "Watch" the finish, since I am driving across the USA in 4 days...but still a fantastic race, and well done. I suspect the guys will sleep a full 24 hours now!
!
 
From my perspective in the Broughtons, which has pretty much left me with no i-net or phone access the last few days, those guys, all of the and gals too, are to be commended. It has been nonstop wind, pretty much on the nose, 15 to 20 and more at times, with 1 to 3 foot waves, depending on the time and tides. I'm at Port Harvey with some wifi, Albeit slow, it beats the hideyhole I was in for the last 2 days, with barely a decent VHF signal. Vessel traffic was kind enough to give me an update once in a while. Still want to get out and see some of the racers.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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