Gawd I hope so...

Hi RG,
Tragic as it was, thank you for posting the recent sad news from the environs of our first crossing, for all of us registered participants to have knowledge of.
As we make plans and prepare our boats and gear, and our heads, for this unique endeavor it is a sign of maritime wisdom to be humbled by the character of our chosen mistress.
No doubt this can be as serious as life ever gets, the inescapable contemplation of its own ending.
Real danger is part of the majesty and power of the sea, so subtle, inspiring, and delicate, and at the same time so absolutely brutal and deadly.
Water is life, to give, and to take away.
We love it for this, and we are fools if we do not also respect it to the highest levels.
It waits, the most patient force on Earth.

Doing some simple math, the "direct route" of 40 miles across the Strait by a 36 hour passage results in a minimum average speed made good toward Victoria requirement of just above 1.1 miles per hour to complete leg 1 and qualify for leg 2.
The "coasting route" crosses Admiralty Inlet soon after the start and follows Whidby Island north to a Rosario crossing then west past McKay Harbor on Lopez and up the San Juan shore to the route's third and final major crossing at Haro Strait. Now, finally in Canadian waters we can coast further westward on a good ebb current around the Oak Bay and Discovery Island and on into Victoria.
The crossings are smaller and the shoreline route has abundant protection and shelter options, along with headlands and small capes and points to weather. Tidal currents are more complex, as are wind patterns.
It's an interesting, scenic, and potentially safer route for very small craft. The major downside is the almost doubling of the distance.
By not going "out in the middle" of Juan De Fuca we bring the route to nearer 80 miles... This is fine for the trip home but might be a stiff test to do in 36 hours at a 2.5 mph average, depending on conditions of course.

There are problems with the "coasting route". The timing of the race means an ebb current until past noon on June 4. It would be very hard to make progress north until afternoon, when the wind is likely to pick up. Winds are typically from the west in June, the NW coast of Whidbey becomes a lee shore with no harbors. Rosario is a big crossing also, but after that yes, it you could plot a nice cruise through the islands.

Indeed R. G. !
That inshore route is non-competitive as things are now structured. If a team is not concerned with qualifying for leg 2, or is looking for a less problematic, more varied trip home , with a great midway anchorage at McKay Harbor, it's the logical route, however.
Race support and monitored tracking beacons have not been mentioned for a returning leg 1 fleet.
Yes, you are absolutely correct about that section east of Smith Island. What we used to call the "West Beach" of Whidby, south of Deception Pass, is a desolate shelterless stretch of notorious lee shore. A guy might want to give himself sea room and watch the weather and figure the tides closely here.
If race day is fair, a team could also plot a hybrid course cutting the corners a bit but still keeping some kind of Notheast option to flood up into Haro Strait, or over to San Juan. A loop like this would probably add no more than 15 or so miles and keep you in the Eastern end of that inland sea, where you are in range of protection with the westerly on your stern and following seas, if things pipe up.
For me the roughest part of that Strait has always centered around and out , and up and down from Port Angeles where it's a long run to anywhere . The prevailing Northwesterly must pile up against the Olympics and funnel up on the U.S. side or something. It can be legendary with a good ebb against it. The Eastern end, at least you have places to go.

Race Boss here,

Dirk, thanks for bringing it up. There will not be R2AK support for vessel returning from Victoria after the first leg, however...there has been a thread started on this site for boats returning to the states after the Victoria run.

Here is the link: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1287

I'd be great if all this good consideration found it's way to that thread as well. And Dirk, you are correct. The SPOT beacons will be collected from Stage 1 racers at Victoria, so they won't have them for returning home. It does look like some folks are talking about making the return leg together, which sound fun to me!

Race Boss

You guys might take a look at Memory-Map for Android and Apple.

It's an interesting chartplotter app, that offer cross track error data. So take a bearing go along it for 5-10 minutes whatever you want, then the APP will give you the error data, how far you moved sideways off that track which should enable you to calculate set and drift, and supposedly from the reviews can give you some accurate bearings in the chart plotter to fight the current.

I haven't seen any other chart plotter that can do a set and drift to figure out a corrected course to steer.

From everything I've read, this is one of the best chartplotter APPS for those of us serious sailors that will really get into the usage of it and want to understand the data. Thoughts?

Resources:
http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps ... id-App.htm
http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps ... gation.htm

Edward
www.foggysailing.com

Yes E. C.,
Thanks for that tip. Close to shore it's often plain to see how you are slipping sideways with a current, or making leeway under sail.
Line up a point or headland or even a bouy or tree, with the background and your intuition and sea senses kick right in.
Out in the middle though, or in a fog, there's not a lot to go by.
Cross track effects, yes, a big factor in this region. Nice to have these new tools..
Speaking of which, the Spot system has been fascinating this past few days for the real- time wind and wave reports from the Leg 1 area of the eastern Strait and vicinity. I always knew it was a tricky area, and I went past twice close in, and it was breezy those days too, but that Race Rocks has stood out for being a nice little windhole every time I have checked this week. Often 10 or 15 knots above the surrounding 5 to 10's.
It's name says it all about the tidal current too..
Man, time is slipping away..too bad I had to cancel my entry..just getting that far was surprisingly enlivening in it's own right ... You can bet I will be armchair sailing this challenging and beautiful event as hard as I can.

the Race Rocks station is actually more representative of the actual conditions on the water. almost all the others significantly under-report the actually wind/sea conditions.

Indeed Dave!
There are some enlightening experiences and opinions being shared right now over on the wooden boat R2AK thread, including some Race Rocks testimony from one of the gurus..
A lot of subjective factors and memories come into play right away when a skipper is trying to piece together a model of what is really happening "out there". Other people's reports generally don't cut it unless you know they know, or better yet, know who they are yourself!

Ha, ha! We tag our experiences with emotion you see, and that transfers quickly to skepticism and mistrust when personal fear underlies the whole assemblage. Call it prudence or healthy respect, if it feels better,...but you get the idea....The flip side, active and intermingled, is that other driving force, pride and determination!

Reality itself is a slippery concept second hand...and rarely more so than on the water, depending on the weather, the boat, crew, experience level, local knowledge, and a vast bank of mind and matter variables.
It's a different world out there, as only we know, and only those on the boat with us, or alongside, actually have a clue about the "true conditions".

The forecast?... Well, that's part of a day or night at sea too....it can be a standing joke, or God's own truth....right?