PORT TOWNSEND — Crews packed last-minute supplies outside the Northwest Maritime Center on Wednesday on the eve of a 750-mile boat race from Port Townsend to Ketchikan, Alaska.
The inaugural Race to Alaska had 54 crews registered Wednesday: 21 signed up for only the first leg to Victoria and 33 set to travel the distance to Alaska before July 4.
“I expect to come away with a lot of good memories, serious sores, get to see some amazing scenery and meet some amazing people and expose ourselves to experiences we would not have otherwise,” said Shawn Campbell, an outdoor education teacher from British Columbia who is traveling the first leg of the race on a two-man boat.
Despite a community party Wednesday night, all the racers were looking forward to an early call this morning, with horns signaling the start of the race from the maritime center promptly at 5 a.m.
Vessels range from a kayak to a 38-foot craft, with crews varying from one to six people.
The primary rule: no motors used to propel the boat at any time during the entire race.
During the race, live updates and tracker information will be available at www.r2ak.com.
The race is not all about competition, the sponsors say.
“There is a theme of camaraderie as all the teams arrive,” Jake Beattie, maritime center executive director, who organized the race, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
“So far, they are not competitors; they are kindred spirits with the same idea.”
The Victoria leg, which is positioned as a warm-up heat, requires racers to complete the first 40-mile segment in 36 hours or less to qualify for the remainder of the race, which will be an additional 710 miles in estimated 50-degree water.
The starting bell for the second leg of the race to Alaska is noon Sunday from Victoria’s Inner Harbor.
As they cross the line at Victoria and prepare for the next leg of the race, there will be several individual and collective celebrations, according to the website.
The crew of the boat that arrives in Ketchikan first will win $10,000. The second-place finisher will get a set of steak knives.
Safety is one of the race’s primary concerns and is supervised by race boss Daniel Evans, a former captain of the historic schooner Adventuress.
Evans said 11 civilian boats will monitor the racers along with 11 search-and-rescue boats.
The system is setting precedents through interagency cooperation among the U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Vessel Traffic Services, he said, as well as supplying detailed crew and vessel information about each boat to aid in a rescue.
“We want people to meet this challenge the way they decided to but also want to ensure the best safety we can without being a mother hen to them,” Evans said.
While many boats have stock beginnings, several have been customized for the race, which Beattie finds particularly inspiring.
“The innovation around human power has taken pretty standard racing boats and made them extraordinary pieces of imagination,” he said.
“The boats that made it to the starting line will be the tip of the iceberg of the projects in progress in garages and backyards everywhere,” he said.
Although the main rule — that boats must proceed only under sail or human power — is easy to enforce, others, such as the rule against use of performance drugs, are not.
“We are not going to be able to monitor, nor do we want to try to monitor, people who are calling their weather guru in San Francisco and getting really good data — but we are asking people not to do that,” Evans said.
“This race isn’t about winning $10,000; it’s a personal endeavor.”
Piper Dunlap, a Port Townsend acupuncturist, is on a two-person crew that is competing in the entire race.
“The race brings even more attention to the maritime aspect of this town,” Dunlap said of the race.
“It brings a different part of the maritime community, maybe younger and a little more edgy and innovative.”
The race shines a spotlight on the historic port, agreed Teresa Verraes, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce executive director.
“Look around here. It’s busy. People are interested in what we do around here, and people are asking a lot of questions about why we are doing this, about the community, what we do around here, how crazy people are. It’s fun.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.