R2AK

I'd think a Reynolds R33 or a ARC30 would be a pretty good weapon of choice. At least with those you could have a crew of four or five and push hard the whole time. Downside to the ARC, there's zero space out of the elements.

I suspect there will be a good amount of paddling, too...

Perhaps an anchor would be good to wait out counter-currents/tides..?

A lot of time has been spent on tides/currents in the pre-race chatter. Evidently, some

narrows

are impassable when the tide/current is going the wrong way. Could allow boats to catch up or boats to extend leads. Timing is everything.

I looked at the website and there are a lot of kayaks, dories and rowers. Here are the multihull types:

A F-27, a F-24, two F-25c, 38' Crowther Shockwave, Hobie 20, F85SR (28' Farrier Super Racer), Tiki 21, Nacra 570, custom rower + kite, L-7 trimaran, 19' beach cat (looks like it might be a Supercat) and a 24' custom cat (small cabin and pedal drive) and a ARC-22,

Seymor narrows. Google it, interesting place and it used to be way worse before they blew up a bunch of granite. I hope there is good footage of the passages through this section.

Seymor Narrows on Youtube

Why doesn't he just drop anchor and wait for the tide to change? All I can think of is all the fuel he is wasting driving around in that current.

Edit to quote Team Cat Fever:

I hope there is good footage of the passages through this section.

+1

Used to be WAY worse ,here's a cool history lesson of Ripple Rock that was in Seymor narrows.

Well that's one way to 'fix it'! Wow! I loved the part about,

They didn't know if it would cause an earthquake...but they did it anyway.

Too funny! I've never heard of this place but now I want to go fishing and float plane flying there!

some really neat designs pictured. Certainly brought out some creative mash-ups.

I think my money would be on the lightweight trimaran with the rowing chair/oars...

How much horsepower can a human produce on a bike/propeller setup?

I suspect that may be slightly less than the total work produced from a rowing chair?

And if you're rowing/pedaling you'll be in displacement mode, so weight and waterline would rule supreme I suspect?

Once sailing, windspeed and wave conditions would likely ferret out the top platform...

Given those two criteria, I'd focus on the displacement mode (since that will eat up the most time/distance) but hope for great sailing conditions...

Downtown Victoria livecam shows FreeBurd and the Shockwave tied up to the dock at the finish. Don't know the order.

This is the qualifier event, correct?

I see a lot of tris have finished or nearby. A few cats, and a Nacra 570 almost done.

Am I to understand correctly that team Y Triamoto is an ORMA 60'? Or did they just put that on their ID to mess with us?

I see on the team page it's a Multi 23 as a

mini ORMA 60

Rule 2: Start in Port Townsend
The starting gun goes off at 5 am sharp on June 4, 2015

The first stage of the race is the sprint across the border to Victoria, British Columbia- 40 miles away across the exposed and notoriously rough Strait of Juan de Fuca. We’ll have more of a safety structure in place for the first stage in case things get hairy. The second stage has no race specific safety net.

If you make it to Victoria without assistance then you’ve qualified for the second stage, which starts one day later.

If Captain Stubing and Chuck Norris had a love child- it would be Team Un-Cruise.

The team bio page is hilarious...

Welcome aboard Team Grin, given your track record for making choices we’re more than a little worried you think this race is a good idea.

Golden Oldies (Shockwave) first to finish, Freeburd next

A gallery of photos:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6f4tkpky05tic4p/AAB649FMjdOUr5zJ3Yn1zVmsa?dl=0

That's a really good idea kudo's for the organizers.

so you have to finish leg 1 across the bay within 24 hours to both qualify and start leg 2?

Nice read written by Bonnie Obremski!
http://www.sailmakersapprentice.com/

Anyone know what happened to FreeBurd? I see they appear to be parked at the beach?

F25 tri seems to be leading for now. Upwind slog it appears... but good 15kt breeze if that indicator is correct.

And Soggy Beavers (that huge paddling canoe) seems to be parked at snake island... Perhaps waiting out a tidal current?

And aren't there a lot of cruise ships running that inside route right now? It's high season for cruising up the inside passage...

If I had the moo-lah, maybe i'd take the cruise ship option and get some pics of everyone's suffering as I went by with a drink in my hand...

Yo grandpa, like their Facebook page and you'll get their newsfeed. https://www.facebook.com/TeamFreeBurd

I know you think it's gay and all, don't worry your secret is safe with me.

Posted 51 minutes ago:

Update from Team Freeburd:

quickly pulling to shore to repair some minor damage from last night. Should be back underway soon.

-Tripp

and 12 hours ago:

Race update! The Burds started slow in the light breeze but quickly caught back up to the lead pack. We're live tweeting the race over at Twitter.com/waterlust

<img src=" https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne... 179644635ebbf77313830bbf&oe=562F5988" alt="" />

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne... 3a33047cbe4deaa22e5dd76a&oe=55EB5B7F

I forgot, too, they may have been catching a nap, as they are 3 or 4 hours behind EST...

That Tijuana story dies with me, dude... You can't un-learn those images...

Two multis have withdrawn: Team Real Thing (L7 tri) and Team Turn Point Designs (custom cat + pedal drive).

buoy's are showing 14knots of wind but the Burds are only making 3.8knots (similar to every one else). The tide must be coming in....and wow...what a head game to be, presumably, double trapped in 14 knots of breeze while making less than 4 knots of SOG....as the sun has probably disappeared over the peak between you and the ocean and night starts to fall.

At least it's relatively warm at ~68 degrees for the time being.

Part of me is extremely jealous...another part of me happy to be sitting behind my computer.

The F25c Team Elsie Piddock has really run away with it, so far. Obviously a breakdown or something could change that, but they have a big led for now. I watched the tracker replay and they took the same route as many other boats, but they just did it better. I wonder what their secret is (they are a local boat with a crew that is extremely experienced)?

Crew list:
Former USCG Officer
2 X Annapolis Newport- Bermuda Race
3 X Singlehanded Transpac
3X Pacific Cup
5X Hawaii to Seattle delivery
6X Van Isle 360

That is quite a crew list! It doesn't take much more speed in that kind of current to make a huge difference and hit a different current window (which Alan and I can attest to in the 2014 Everglades Challenge).

We were about 1 to 1.5 hours behind randy entering the entrance to Chockoloskee - he barely made the current cuttoff and we didn't. We left Chockoloskee about 5.5 hours behind him and he caught a more favorable wind headed south and continued to stretch away. Same thing with the guys behind us...while we sat their stalled trying to get through the current, it allowed them to catch up to us.

And that F25c is probably just the right size... fast, light and small enough to row if need be. I think it's modded quite a bit, too, with lots of extra cloth.

But yes, those dudes could probably make a concrete paver fast...

Any news from freeburd? I don't have the facebook feed and am at work. They look like they're docked.

edit: it looks like everyone else around them is on a beach too...so either still sleeping or waiting for the tide to turn.

Here you go Jake:

Team Freeburd arrived in Campbell River! Resting up and fixing gear before they shoot the narrows! #r2ak #sperry

Dude, you need to check out the smart phones, they are nifty.