Team Celerity has claimed second place and the sharp stuff, crossing the finish line in Ketchikan at 8:48 AM on June 23 with an elapsed time of 6 days, 21 hours, and 48 minutes.
The Canadian crew of five, led by Robert Quade, rewrote the Hobie 33 chapter of the R2AK record book—their time beat the next-fastest Hobie 33 finish by more than a full day, the sort of margin that requires either extraordinary sailing or a clerical error.
With the major prizes now spoken for, R2AK enters its favorite phase: the long, glorious grind. Forty-seven teams remain on course, three have finished, and fifteen have left the race due to exhaustion, fear, fires, and one exquisitely half-ified mainmast.
We have a new exit to report: Team Dogsmile Adventures started experiencing bulkhead disintegration yesterday while making their way north past Price Island shortly after Bella Bella. After returning to town to check out their options, the team made the lousy/prudent decision to retire.
This is the second time their Corsair has suffered a race-ending structural failure in this neighborhood, with this year’s incident occurring about 70 miles south of where their 2023 campaign ended. After that attempt, they released a documentary called Success. We will be patiently awaiting Success 2: Successier.
The fleet now stretches across about 400 miles of the Inside Passage, from teams in and about Dixon Entrance all the way back to Team Surf Scoters, who are south of Campbell River after a nearly full day stop in French Creek and the departure of a crew member. As the only team still south of Campbell River this morning, they currently lead the race in determination.
Forecasts call for solid southerlies north of Vancouver Island filling in over the next 24 hours, with teams outside the shelter of Aristazabal, Banks, and neighboring islands potentially seeing gusts above 25 knots and seas over four feet. Sailors refer to this as “sporty.”
A story we neglected to mention earlier comes from Team Jackalope. An electrical issue in Campbell River eventually resulted in two of the four crew members heading home for reasons both ethereal and real. The remaining pair were re-vetted and are continuing north: the team should now properly be known as Team Halfalope.
For those already worried about the Grim Sweeper, relax. The Grim doesn’t leave Port Townsend until June 29 and isn’t scheduled to arrive in Ketchikan until July 9. There is a lot of race left. Just ask Team Apple Bottom Boy, whose solo SUP remains in Johnstone Strait and still ahead of Grim pace.
The Side Bets are beginning to take shape as well. The 20′ and Under Prize remains wide open, while the race for the Hecate Solo Star Award has narrowed to Team Lillian Signed Up to Suffer and Team Belly Full of Tea, who have spent much of the race within about ten miles of one another.
The Blister Prize for the first human powered finisher remains Team Boogie Barge’s to lose. They currently hold roughly a 100-mile advantage over Team Rainy and Team Let’s Wing It, though history suggests that machines with a hundred thousand moving parts occasionally lose to those with none.
The steak knives are gone, but that’s mostly an accounting detail. Forty-seven teams are still scattered across the BC coastline, making progress at wildly different speeds and collecting stories along the way.
The interesting part is far from over.
Header photo by Taylor Bayly | Video by Taylor Amble