stretches of flat water and no wind? The answer of course is a hybrid solution, one that may also take in leg-driven paddles when sailing is not fast enough. Many homemade contraptions that harness this human power are seen in this fleet – reminiscent of the leg-driven power solutions seen on AC designs. There are three other novelties about this race: (1) Prizes Not trophies that line your bookshelf but a $10,000 wad of cash to the winner nailed to a tree; to second place is awarded a beautiful set of steak knives. Other prizes… Admiralty Distillers puts up an award for ‘Most in Need of a Stiff Drink’. Race officials are excluded. Duckworks Boat Builders offers the ‘20 And Under Award’. Youth be damned, this is for the first boat under 20ft to reach Ketchikan – $1,000 and a custom set of R2AK Tactical Sporks. The Oaracle Blister Prize. $1,000 in Canadian Loonie coins sponsored by Team Oaracle (not affiliated with Larry Ellison) and awarded to the first entirely human-powered team to reach Ketchikan. The Dirtbag Award goes to the team putting the least money into the race. There is no cash prize – ‘you don’t need it anyway’ – but the prestige is tremendous. The winner of the 2015 and 2016 Dirtbag pulled his boat out from under some blackberry bushes. (2) Format The event is split into two sections for a very sensible reason: the first is called the Proving Ground and is a 40-mile leg across the Straits of San Juan de Luca from Port Townsend to Victoria, British Columbia. Everyone intending to do the entire race to Ketchikan must complete this leg. The stretch of water can be either mild or terrifying, depending on wind strength, notorious ripping tidal currents and heavy commercial traffic. Only a day later the fleet starts for the remaining 710-mile journey north to Alaska. The only required route passages are through Seymour Strait between the northern end of Vancouver Island and the BC coast, a narrow body of water so tide-strewn with currents reaching 8m/s that in 1844 British Captain George Vancouver described it as ‘without doubt one of the vilest stretches of water in the world’. The next passing mark is the small British Columbia coastal town of Bella Bella, a curious settlement with a chequered past of peace and conflict between natives, white settlers and commercial fishing fleets. (3) Attitude The organisers and participants are decidedly non- yachtie, maybe even anti-yachtie. The opening event – not exactly a pre-race party – is called The Ruckus and features free race tattoos for the first 15 attendees. The sales pitch is ‘All the spirit of the Race to Alaska with only 10 per cent the danger’. This is an endurance race where the rewards come with the effort put in and the satisfaction is earned, not given or bought. ‘Do it for glory. Do it to escape creditors. Do it because you feel compelled to punish yourself. We don’t care. We’ll love you anyway’ goes the race pitch. And here’s an excerpt from the rules: ‘Legal counsel has advised us to remind you that this could be pretty dangerous. You should probably just forget about the whole thing.’ Very in keep- ing with the pioneering spirit that pervades the northwest in general and Alaska in particular.
Boats that enter are usually indigenous designs of the region that tend to be light, narrow, fast and usually low-tech. Hobies, Dash 34s, Olson 30s and the like among the monohulls, Farriers and Corsairs among the multihulls. Mostly boats that fit on a trailer for that long drive home.
Yet prominent racers more usually associated with Seahorse world have rocked up in custom Paul Bieker designs and extol the race’s quirks and virtues – notably the McKee brothers – so surely worth a look, right? For those thinking, ‘well, maybe…’ note that the event is switching from an annual to a biennial format – organ- isers recommending those wanting to do something similar in 2025 to try the WA360 – ‘from Port Townsend to Port Townsend, travelling counterclockwise through the waterways of Washington within spitting distance of dozens of PNW communities’. My vote would be for another adventure sailing classic on the Canadian side: the biennial circumnavigation of Vancouver Island called the Van Isle 360. This is the Tour de France of the PNW, with stages, stopovers, some scary legs and some amazing scenery. A great part of the planet only sparsely filled with great people. Dobbs Davis
SEAHORSE 37
The HCP pump panel is characterised by its convenience, power and compact design. It allows up to four functions to be controlled centrally and precisely. Just a single movement is all that is required to change between the functions and adjust and control the uniquely powerful hydraulic output of up to 440 bar. The HCP pump panel is also visually appealing with high quality materials, CNC-machined components and fronts, which are available in a choice of stainless steel, aluminium or carbon. The panel is also easy to connect using plug-in tank connectors.
WWW.RECKMANN.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
