If you want to feel the excitement (and pressure) first hand, check out Matt Johnson's solo bid to win the full Race in the sail-pedal boat he's building in Seattle. His Team Take Me to the Volcano is poised to push the limits -- of pedal-power (as a cyclist with National records), and home-built sailboats (his 20' custom trimaran has canting dagger boards!).
I'm not racing this year (though Thomas is going as Team Searunners), so I'll be involved by reporting here on Matt's on-going build, sea trials (planned for late May), and progress in the qualifier and full Race.
If you want to search or read through archived posts describing Matt's efforts, surf over to his Team web site -- http://www.mattjohnsonboats.com/
-- where you can also sign up for email updates.
Or you can follow on Facebook or Google+:
https://www.facebook.com/TeamTakeMeToTheVolcano
https://plus.google.com/u/0/104501349982121830626