PORT ANGELES — After sitting out most of Tuesday in the first stage of the Race to Alaska when the U.S. Coast Guard issued a weather advisory, competitors who had been thwarted by high winds and rough seas set out Wednesday across the Strait of Juan de Fuca for Victoria.
It was the second weather-related delay for teams, many of them human-powered kayaks and rowboats, that chose to hang tight or seek shelter after gale and small craft warnings were in effect at the race’s start Monday.
The 20 teams that had successfully navigated the 40 miles from Port Townsend to Victoria on Monday, like first-place finishers Team Pure and Wild of Seattle, were already relaxing and preparing for the second stage of the 750-mile maritime adventure race that starts at noon today.
Race organizers anticipate 38 teams will compete in the second stage that ends in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Weather issues
Teams stymied by the weather often sought shelter on land.
A group of competitors spent the night at the New Dungeness Lighthouse, while others stayed on Protection Island.
Mustang Survival’s Rite of Passage was one of about six teams that did not even leave the Northwest Maritime Center dock in Port Townsend Bay.
They set sail Tuesday, but were forced to anchor off Dungeness Spit when they learned of the weather advisory.
They finally arrived in Victoria on Wednesday just after noon.
For four teams, Monday was the start and finish of the race when three boats capsized and one lost its mast.
As of late Wednesday, they were among nine teams that had dropped out of the race.
The Race to Alaska has one major rule: no vessels with motors are allowed to compete.
Teams must also be self-supporting, so food and supply drop-offs along the route are prohibited.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com
