Monthly: June 2015

Below is an excerpt from our interview with the indomitable Roger Mann—the first place solo Race to Alaska finisher who completed the adverse 750 mile course pedaling and sailing his Hobie Adventure Island sailing kayak.

Roger on transiting Seymour Narrows: “Heard that Team Un-Cruise did it at night, so took one last quick nap and headed out after midnight. Took much longer than I expected to get into the Narrows, so I hit it late and when I did it there was at least 20 knots on the nose, which caused severe conditions—worst that I had seen yet. I didn’t carry much sail into it, but used the current, staying in the middle and just rafting along, but the waves were so close together I ended up missing getting lined up for one big one with the pedal drive and ended up getting washed off the boat. I had my surfboard leash on and quickly got back aboard, climbing over and bending my tiller steering rods. I looked for a place to hide out but nothing came up until early in the morning about the time the tide was changing. I found a nice island to get behind and tied up to bull kelp.”

On pithchpoling at Cape Caution: “As I reached the Cape it was around 10 pm, dark, and swells were around 20 feet—I was not making progress very well. I reefed, lined up for a beach landing and went for the middle which I knew was clear, but the surf was just too big for the 16 foot boat and I planted the nose and the boat flipped over forward with the right ama hitting the ground, sheering the breakaway bolt and then folding back as the mast hit the sand and the wave crashed everything onto the beach.

“Everything that I had Johnstone had taken away.”

“My feet were working the pedals trying to keep the speed, so when we hit, one leg of the drive system broke off as I got thrown from the boat. I stood up in chest deep water and grabbed the mast and pulled it up and the boat popped back upright with the right ama folded as another wave crashed down. I had a large bag on the back storage area and many things attached to the hiking benches. The bag and right bench had gotten washed off and waves continued to crash and push us in. I noticed I had trouble moving and thought that it was undertow. Instead it was that I had left my fly zipper open on my drysuit and my legs had filled with water. I was pinned to the beach and couldn’t pull myself up and out of the water, so I got my knife and slit open the feet which let the water out and I was able to get up and drag the boat out of the surf…

“I took care of getting out of the wet clothes and warmed myself and felt Like I was now out of danger, and then started seeing how bad it was going to end up being. I was thinking the worst, and that the akas may be bent and I may need to call for rescue. But as I assessed the boat I did not find any major damage. I had replacement breakaway bolts so that was going to be okay, but I was missing a lot of stuff—mainly the Hobie seat. It was just plain gone. Plus the anchor and many other items.”

On one of many trip highlights: “My last night on the water. I had pushed very hard, was hallucinating bad, was pretty much lost although I knew about where I was, and just plain beat down, so I tied up to some kelp around 2 am to get some sleep. I was awakened by the snort of a huge whale only about 50 feet away. As I awoke his back slid slowly through the water with his tail coming way up and out of the water. It was huge—had to be as wide as an airplane’s wing—maybe 30 feet or so. It was foggy, misty, very calm and very cool and pretty magical. Just amazing.”

On surviving the straits: “Everything that I had Johnstone had taken away…I had a major personal moment with myself. I was very proud that I had made it in those conditions and having had so many things taken from me. I felt like I was broken down and reborn as a new stronger person that had confidence to take on big challenges and overcome them. It was a life changing moment for me. I am not ashamed to say that I shed a few tears of joy. It was very tough and challenging and I am very glad that it was, because it allowed me to learn a lot about myself.”

The complete interview and an R2AK recap article will appear in the next issue of Small Craft Advisor.—Eds

Up until yesterday it appeared Mother Nature’s anemometer was broken with the switch stuck on force 7. Winds continued gusting to 35 knots in Johnstone Strait through Friday.

With R2AK-winners Team Elsie Piddock tied to a dock in Ketchikan, three boats have now cleared the Bella Bella checkpoint behind them, but most teams are still working to break free of the straits. This narrow stretch was intended to be a filter of sorts, but who would’ve thought getting through would be the nearly sisyphean task it’s been.

Just how bad was the weather? The experienced sergeant aboard the Royal Canadian Mounted Police vessel that helped assist the dismasted Team Broderna said he had never encountered such severe conditions.

Some of the Boats of R2AK

Few if any boat races have had such as diverse assortment of vessels competing. Below is a quick guide to the front seven so far. (Photos by Debra Colvin)

Team Elsie Piddock
F-25C Trimaran (Farrier Marine)
Length: 26’ 11”
Beam: 19’
Draft: 10” / 4’ 5”
Sail Area: 440 sq ft
Empty Weight: 1760 lb

With a PHRF rating of -20, the F-25C is an ultra high performance trailerable multihull and possibly the fastest production cabin multihull of its size. It’s a kit boat built from high tech materials (vacuum-bagged epoxy carbon fiber composite and balsa coring) to achieve extreme light weight. The mast is a carbon fiber rotating wing section and a freestanding bow pole is used to fly an asymmetric spinnaker and screacher. Farrier Marine says the F-25C “enjoys quite a reputation as a ‘giant killer’ on the race course,” and that although it was originally thought of as a light air boat, “some of the F-25C’s most impressive wins have come under trying conditions…” Chalk up one more!

Team Por Favor
Hobie 33
Length: 33’
Beam: 8’
Draft: 5.5’
Displacement: 4,000 lb
Sail Area: 429 sq ft

A highly competitive one-design and PHRF racer, the 33 is based on the ULDB (Ultra Light Displacement Boat) concept. With its sleek, narrow hull, the Hobie 33 is known especially for its performance off the wind, capable of reaching speeds of 15 knots or more. It also tends to excel at the extremes—very light and very strong air. Not considered particularly comfortable (only 48” of headroom) they have proven remarkably seaworthy. One wonders how well Team Por Favor would have done if they’d seen any downwind sailing in the R2AK.

Team MOB Mentality
F-85SR Super Racer
Length: 27’ 10”
Beam: 19’ 9”
Draft: 11’4” / 6.2’
Empty Weight: 1400-1800 lb
Sail Area 516 sq ft

The original F-82 was designed in part to meet a particular racing rule that limits rig size, and the F-82SR is an even more race optimized version with lower cabin and taller rig. Remarkably the F-85SR can include as many as 5 berths and the boat is easily trailerable. With its powerful sail plan this boat was intended for experienced sailors only.

Team Kohara
Warrior 29 Catamaran
Length: 29’
Beam: 16’
Draft: 1’/ 3.33’
Empty Weight: 2000 lb
Sail Area: 400 sq ft

Originally built beginning in 1976, only 17 Warrior Cats were ever completed. The hulls were constructed of Airex/fiberglass and connected with aluminum crossbeams. Sleek, seaworthy and quite fast, the Warrior 29s’ hulls each have an 11’ 3” bunk and room for a galley and head. Riding low in the stern, they apparently sometimes struggle beating into a choppy sea. Team Kohara have already rightly been receiving kudos for their performance thus far in this older design.

Team Un-Cruise
F-25C Trimaran (Farrier Marine)
Length: 26’ 11”
Beam: 19’
Draft: 10” / 4’ 5”
Sail Area: 440 sq ft
Empty Weight: 1760 lb

Photo from R2AK website

(Edited correction, Un-Cruise was on F-25c, like Elsie Piddock) With a PHRF rating of -20, the F-25C is an ultra high performance trailerable multihull and possibly the fastest production cabin multihull of its size. It’s a kit boat built from high tech materials (vacuum-bagged epoxy carbon fiber composite and balsa coring) to achieve extreme light weight. The mast is a carbon fiber rotating wing section and a freestanding bow pole is used to fly an asymmetric spinnaker and screacher. Farrier Marine says the F-25C “enjoys quite a reputation as a ‘giant killer’ on the race course,” and that although it was originally thought of as a light air boat, “some of the F-25C’s most impressive wins have come under trying conditions…”

Team FreeBurd
ARC 22 Catamaran (Aquarius Sail)
Length: 22’
Beam: 12’
Draft: 2’ / 4’
Empty Weight: 415 lb
Sail Area: 380 sq ft

A high-performance catamaran designed to be the ultimate beach cat, the ARC 22 features advanced construction materials and techniques (vacuum bagging, epoxy resin, carbon fiber, etc.) Simple and Spartan, the ARC looks more or less like a typical trampoline beach cat. The ultra-light 22 is capable of 20 knot speeds and flying a hull for miles on end, but 420 pound boat needs to be actively sailed by crew and offers no accommodations nor any place to duck out of the weather. We’re mighty impressed with the performance of all of the beach cat sailors in this race—they have already endured an amazing amount of abuse.

Team Soggy Beavers
OC-6 Outrigger Canoe
Length: 42’
Weight: 450 lb
Modified with two Hobie Cat sail rigs

Probably the most unusual boat left in the R2AK, the Beav’s OC-6 is propelled by six paddlers or sailed in anything but a stiff headwind. Unfortunately for the Beavers, that’s about all they’ve seen. Most OC-6 boats are considered quite seaworthy and many have crossed challenging bodies of water in formidable conditions. The boat has no bunks, head, or amenities. Resting crew will recline in one of the rowing stations or on a tramp. The Beavers have shown incredible endurance already, paddling into a brutal headwind for several days. How would they have done if predominate conditions were closer to those on June 7th when they rushed out to a lead leaving Victoria?

Team Discovery
Hobie Mirage Adventure Island
Length: 16’ 7”
Beam: 9’ 6”
Weight: 142 lb
Sail Area: 65 sq ft
Auxiliary Propulsion: Mirage Pedal Drive

It’s amazing to consider the 7th place “team” is a solo sailor on a 142 lb sailboat. Roger Mann’s Hobie Adventure Island is a proven trimaran sailing kayak, just big enough to accommodate expedition stowage and sleeping. While conditions have favored bigger, heavier boats, Roger has appeared to use his manageable little Hobie to advantage, sailing or pedaling in back eddies near shore, easily adjusting sail area to match conditions, and beaching when necessary.