Racers spent the last 36 hours or so learning a very R2AK lesson: sunshine is not your friend. Sunshine is just wind wearing a nice outfit.
Having parked itself for a few days like a retired uncle with nowhere better to go, the high-pressure system west of Vancouver Island did its job: a day and a half of relentless northerlies, bluebird skies, and an unprecedented outbreak of teams making intelligent decisions.
Which is why Team Norn spent eight hours anchored in Hornby Island’s Tribune Bay. Whether they were catching up on desperately needed sleep or getting curious about the adjacent clothing-optional beach remains unclear.
Further north, perennial internet darling Team Boogie Barge checked into the Port Augusta Inn in Comox, famous for many things, but primarily for the Apple Jack dispenser at the continental breakfast. Faced with the radical luxury of actual beds, Captain Blake instead slept aboard one of the Barge’s built-in “sleeping coffins.” Some seek comfort; others seek a plywood box. We don’t ask.
Newcastle Island continues its role as the recovery ward for frazzled nerves emerging from the tribulations of Dodd Narrows. Sixteen teams have stopped there so far. After fighting tidal currents and short-tacking against a lively headwind, even the most hardened racers appreciate a chance to sit down and stare blankly into the middle distance.
The northerlies handed out plenty of punishment yesterday. Boats were pinned down and progress was measured in fractions of a knot. Asses were kicked thoroughly and without favoritism. But unlike many of their predecessors who responded to similar conditions with optimism, determination, and poor judgment, this year’s fleet mostly chose discretion. It turns out caution is remarkably effective at avoiding disaster.
Now, however, the weather gods appear to be blinking.
Conditions are moderating, and the breeze may even start swinging around enough to hand teams a Father’s Day gift: the chance to run with the wind instead of arguing with it.
The action up north remains distinctly more northern.
Northbound Nutters departed Port McNeill at 2 a.m. after a solid 14-hour layover, waiting for the particularly awful stuff to move along before making the first Cape Caution run of R2AK 2026. They lingered just long enough to give Team Wet Leg, aboard their Soverel 33, a tantalizing glimpse of possibility. Maybe the gap could close. Maybe the giant yellow boat could be reeled in. There’s a pretty big difference between a nice set of steak knives and a pile of cash in this economy, after all.
But as the fleet continued staring at the back of the giant yellow boat, Nutters showed little interest in being reeled in. Then again, north of Vancouver Island, confidence sometimes has a short shelf life.
Team Fly Girls has officially withdrawn and is heading back to the barn. That makes two retirements so far – a bonkers low number given the weather of the last 48 hours and the moment in every R2AK when teams discover that the race brochure omitted the chapter titled Oh Shit, This Race Is Real.
The sun is shining.
The wind is blowing.
And somewhere between the two, R2AK continues north.
Header photo by Lynnette Oostmeyer | Video by Taylor Bayly