A team of three brothers from Marblehead, Mass was first across the line in Ketchikan at around 1500 today. Minutes behind was the big boat from Anacortes, Wash. They had been racing head-to-head for the last 24 hours at least. The winner gets $10,000. Second place gets a set of steak knives.
Obviously, those in row boats and on paddleboards aren’t in it for the money (which can be eaten up just to get your boat back home). The bulk of the fleet is holed up along the east coast of Vancouver Island waiting out gale-force winds, but a few made it through into protected waters and are moving along. They’ll be crossing tonight and tomorrow. There are plenty of good stories for the next couple of weeks.
No matter when you cross, every racer has the option to sell their boat for $10,000 to the race committee, but the offer (just one) only stands for 30 minutes after you finish. Someone (maybe several) will say “I never want to touch that boat again”.
Right now I’m watching three millenials from Vancouver in an old boat in fourth place but far ahead of the rest and have been executing the race in perfect order.