Self Reliance Archives - Small Boats Magazine

R2AK Race To Alaska

RACE TO ALASKA EXPLAINED

Stage 1 Race start: Sunday, June 9, 2024, 5:00 AM, Port Townsend, Washington
Stage 2 Race start: Wednesday, June 12, 2024, High Noon, Victoria, BC
Application Open: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at noon
Application deadline: Tax Day baby! April 15

 

The inside passage to Alaska has been paddled by native canoes since time immemorial, sailing craft for centuries, and after someone found gold in the Klondike the route was jammed with steamboats full of prospectors elbowing each other out of the way for the promise of fortune.

It’s in the spirit of tradition, exploration, and self-reliance that Race to Alaska was born. R2AK is the first of its kind and North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently the largest cash prize for a race of its kind.

This isn’t for everyone

It’s like the Iditarod, on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear. There are squalls, killer whales, tidal currents that run upwards of 20 miles an hour, and some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.

The hardest kind of simplicity

You, a boat, a starting gun. $10,000 if you finish first, a set of steak knives if you’re second. Cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course. R2AK is a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net. Any boat without an engine can enter.

Contact: [email protected]