Team members: John Ped, Kaila Pfrang, Chris Pfrang
Hometown: Hampton, VA, USA
Race vessel: ADH Inotec Diam24
LOA: 23′
Human propulsion: Pedal (Prop)
Connect: instagram
It started in an Irish bar in Germany, somewhere between karaoke and a boat purchase. Kaila Pfrang was singing ABBA with her sister. John Ped was showing Chris Pfrang photos of a Diam24 and explaining why it was the right kind of fast. Chris, sensibly, did not sing.
That seems about right for this team. John and Kaila finished the last Race to Alaska on a Hobie 16 in about nine days and stepped off the boat wanting more: not the most common reaction. The part they especially wanted more of, apparently, was sailing through the night—the dark, magical stretch after Bella Bella when the race gets quiet, weird, ethereal.
This time, they’ve expanded the operation by one very specific adult: Kaila’s dad, Chris. He’d been orbiting the project as shore crew, pedal-drive mechanic, filmer, and middle-of-the-night problem solver in Victoria. Now he’s fully enlisted.
The new boat is a Diam24, chosen with the kind of precision that suggests these people treat spreadsheets as a form of weather. Their planning has a strong multihull brain to it: ounces counted, calories tracked, reefs early, warmer socks, and a center-hull hammock sleep system sewn in a garage so someone can stay horizontal while the boat keeps moving. John calls it the best dollar per knot. Nobody seems eager to argue.
They’re serious in the useful ways. They talk about tide gates, shift schedules, and sailing the boat at 80 or 90 percent forever rather than at 100 percent briefly and regrettably. They are also probably workshopping a carbon-fiber poop bucket.
They sound like people who genuinely enjoy the hard part.
Useful in this race. Concerning almost everywhere else.
The Race to Alaska Podcast
Episode 9: Teams Bangarang & Perseverance, Team Tips Up, Team Laughing Roomba
→ Listen on Spotify
→ Listen on YouTube
→ Listen on Apple Podcasts
First things first, why Race to Alaska?
We’re racing to Alaska because we love gear, spreadsheets, route planning, designing pedal drives, navigating island groups, and pushing to our max! We’re also racing for the quality family time.
What’s the biggest unknown for you right now?
We have an ongoing team debate about optimal pooping strategy, Chris wants to build a carbon fiber shitter, but it’s not in the weight budget
Confidence Level
100%
Friendship Survival Rate
100%