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How long will it take the R2AK winner(s) to travel the full 750 miles?

Take a look at the Wooden Boat Forum, Race to Alaska 2015 thread. If Dragonfly or Bad Kitty or a similar all-out racing catamaran with experienced crew enters, the winner might make it within 4 days!

I've spent some time bouncing numbers around, and have come up with 7-10 days for the winner. You can see how I've derived this figure at our latest blog posting: http://angusrowboats.com/blog/2015/01/2298/

I'd be interested to hear if anyone thinks my estimates for multihull speeds need tweaking.

Excellent analysis Colin! Do you think you'll go up Hecate Straight or stay in the narrow channels of the inside passage (similar distance, but greater impact from currents, I think)?

Keep in mind that multi-hulls can go as fast into the wind as running before it, so heading north may be as fast as heading south.

I suspect it will come down to weather conditions!

I think my new tri (under construction) should be quite fast sailing, and still make reasonable speed by human power (3 to 4 knots - hope? expect? - it will be very interesting to see once she's on the water!).

Hey Scott,

I suspect my prediction is somewhat conservative, as I was guestimating sailing speed alone of the performance boats. Obviously, they have an advantage over the VanIsle 360 contestants with the human-powered propulsion. I look forward to seeing your finished boat - I've seen some of your design elements on another forum, and it looks like it should be a pretty capable vessel. It will be interesting to see what sort of propulsion systems are incorporated into some of other multi-hulls. Most aren't suited well for a Mirage Drive type system, and they don't have the shape for a good sliding rowing system. One thing I've learned over the years is a large boat and a couple of paddles is not an effective way to go. Custom retractable prop drives would be my choice, but it takes a lot of time to create an efficient bulletproof system!

We may go on the inside or the outside once past the tip of Van Isle -it all depends on the conditions and how the boat is performing. Looking forward to seeing you out there soon.