It’s Game On: after a forced layover in Victoria between the Proving Ground and now, 65 teams remaining after crossing a relatively placid Juan de Fuca are officially in the fight.
The start itself was a delightfully congested exit from Victoria Harbour. Bells ringing, spectators yelling, adorable miniature water taxis idling nearby. However, waiting outside the breakwater was a continued “not much.”
Wind existed, don’t get us wrong, but of a kind that requires squinting at barely-there ripples and convincing yourself it’s a puff. Most of the movement came from a fair flood current that dragged teams along the southern shore of Greater Victoria. Our human-powered fleet took this as an opportunity to remind everyone that canvas is mostly decorative when there are three knots of wind, staying ahead of almost everybody for the first several hours while the sailing teams tried to remember their ASA 101 lessons. Wednesday afternoon belonged largely to the paddlers.
That said, it took the Northbound Nutters, on their big yellow Farrier F-32SR (apparently the envy of the fleet according to yesterday’s lighting round) three full hours to finally overtake the leading kayaks of Team Rainy and Team Let’s Wing It. The Nutters, who currently occupy the position of Team Everybody Thinks Is Going To Win, did it by choosing the wider, more open route up Haro Strait, and also by being in a way way bigger, much faster boat, with a lot more sails than your typical kayak.
Before anyone starts engraving trophies, polishing cash-nails, or finding an ATM in Ketchikan that will deliver $10k, we’ve done this enough times to know that the Nutters are clever enough to keep a few unexpected ways to lose spectacularly tucked up their sleeves. Don’t let them fool you.
Elsewhere, only a handful of teams took a similar dig to the east. South of Pender Island, Teams Casuals and Agile Racing were the only two we spotted threading through John’s Pass before turning north. Will it pay off? Better hit refresh a few more times this afternoon to find out.
For R2AK so far, the breeze had displayed all the aggression of a sleepy golden retriever. The Proving Ground was disappointingly polite; Wednesday only somewhat more engaged.
Sometime Wednesday night, the Wind Switch Flipped. Thursday morning arrived with 12–20+ knots blowing directly into the fleet’s teeth. Not a gentle suggestion or a polite nudge, but a reminder that every mile north will cost ya.When we first opened the tracker Thursday morning, it looked like somebody had dropped a plate of spaghetti across the Strait of Georgia.
While the Nutters had stretched their lead all the way to Lasqueti Island, at the other end of the fleet, Team Moana MoProblems found herself temporarily beached near Sidney Island dealing with the eponymous mo’problems that remain a mystery to us—though we’re guessing it feels considerably less mysterious to her.
The race had also begun collecting its first receipts. Triple Threat spent some quality time anchored on the west side of Waldron Island for reasons known only to them and the local bottom growth. Team Fly Girls spent much of the night wrestling with the strengthening wind before finally calling it around 5:00 AM and getting some rest.
If Thursday morning’s tracker looked like spaghetti, by Thursday some teams appeared really committed to the artistic possibilities of nonsensical route-taking.Team Agile Racing drew some lovely squiggles east of Saturna Island. She’s Just a ‘Lil Scurvy swung their way practically to Point Roberts before tucking into Active Pass in a kind of weird way. Team Tips Up, meanwhile, produced what may be our favorite tracker artwork so far: After a trip through Active Pass that may have included some anchoring, and maybe storytime and a nap, they crossed nearly to Vancouver, tacked back through Porlier Pass into Trincomali Channel, then promptly headed back out through Gabriola Passage. The end result was a giant sideways “M” before another run toward the mainland and, hopefully, around the active Whiskey Golf torpedo testing zone. We remain optimistic that when teams begin dropping from the race over the next day or two, torpedo strikes will not be among the listed reasons.
At least one whale encounter was logged within four feet of a race boat, which generated more than zero social media complaints that racers were too close to the whale. Based on the available evidence, the whale may have had different ideas about who was chasing whom.
As of this writing, all 65 teams remain in the game. If someone starts a Polymarket on the outcome of R2AK, we’d advise caution. While there is currently a clear leading team, this race has a long history of paying out heavily on “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Header photo by Lynnette Oostmeyer | Video by Jim Meyers