PORT TOWNSEND — The second Race to Alaska will be larger, more exciting and more diverse than last year’s inaugural event.
“We are getting more boats, bigger boats, faster boats and even smaller boats,” said Jake Beattie, the executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center, which is the sponsor of the event.
“While the teams have gotten more professional, there are still a lot of people who are in it for the adventure.”
The race, open to any boat without an engine, will begin at 6 a.m. Thursday, June 23 from the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., in Port Townsend with Ketchikan, Alaska, as the eventual destination.
The first stretch, to Victoria, B.C., is a qualifying leg, with the heart of the race beginning at noon Sunday, June 26.
This year 66 boats had signed up by the April 15 deadline, 44 who plan to make the whole trip.
Last year, Team Elsie Piddock won the race, completing the 750-mile race in five days.
The only rules for contestants is to use a boat of any size or crew configuration that does not have an engine and to make it to Ketchikan.
Anyone who needs help on the first leg of the trip is disqualified.
The first prize is $10,000 cash, while second prize is a set of steak knives.
All other participants will earn “cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course,” according to the event website.
Participants were assessed a nonrefundable $50 application fee which earned them a place in the vetting process.
Those accepted paid $65 to race the full distance and $75 to participate in the first leg, with an additional $75 collected for each crew member.
After the first race, Beattie issued a challenge to Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Team USA, an America’s Cup winner. Ellison did not respond.
Beattie said if Ellison called and asked to participate he would be denied because the deadline is now passed.
Beattie said the first race in June 2015 got international press and crashed several servers. This year, there will be participants from around the world.
He expects more national press this year, including teams from CBS Sunday Morning and CNN.
Beattie provided advice about last year’s surprises to this year’s participants.
“People were surprised about how cold the water is, the strength of the tide and the winds and the amount of driftwood they run into,” he said.
As a kickoff to the race, sponsors are holding a “pre race ruckus” from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 22 on and around the Northwest Maritime Center campus.
This is open to the public and will feature “food, good swill and music,” according to a news release.
For more information, go to r2ak.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
