Another Day, Another Channel (Day 14)
Leigh & Clare run with the tide in the morning, then battle the wind in the afternoon as they tackle Grenville Channel.
Our team repeated the story of the Princess Royal Channel today on the Union Passage; row with the current in the morning, then pull hard against an opposing current in the afternoon. Still, Team Don't Tell Mom made another 37 miles, stopping on the east side of Pitt Island, putting them within 3 days of finishing. Tomorrow: On to Prince Rupert.
For more info on the race and other competitors, check out the R2AK Instagram or Facebook account as well as the web daily updates!
Squalls & Calms (Day 13)
Leigh & Clare row through squalls and calms as the reach the end of one long channel and camp at the beginnning of another.
View from campsite near Camp Point, southern end of Grenville Channel
Don't Tell Mom rowed the northern half of Princess Royal Channel this morning, making average speed most of the way despite going against an incoming tide. Crossing just south of the village of Hartley Bay they held up entering Grenville Channel as the tide had begun to run out against them. Team Let's Row Maybe closed up on them during the day and held up also outside the Passage. Our team's tracker hasn't updated for a few hours as of evening. Will they continue up or wait for tide change?
Fun fact from Dameon: "The sisters are rowing through the only place on Earth the spirit bear lives."
Tidal Roulette (Day 12)
Crossing Finlayson Channel in a morning calm
Leigh and Clare started their push through Princess Royal Channel making good time, seeming to be on schedule to time the tide change correctly in the Channel. But the tides in the twisty inside channels are capricious and slowed our team so that by high tide they did not reach the point where the outgoing tide would push them to the other end of the Channel.
Pulling hard against the outgoing tide to make any progress, the team pulled over to eat dinner and wait for the tide to slow, taking back off in the evening in an effort to position for the next outgoing tide.
Will our team make a run in the middle of the night to escape Princess Royal?
Stress Test - R2AK Here We Come!
While you're here, don't forget to check out the latest article in the Bangor Daily News:
"Belfast woman prepares for wild ocean race to Alaska"
A month out from the start of R2AK, Leigh and Clare met up for a much needed weekend R2AK practice run around Penobscot Bay. Departing Friday morning and returning Sunday morning, this two day adventure was planned as a stress test of the gear and the food planning. It was also a good endurance test to see how their bodies held up over 70 miles in less than 48 hours.
On the first day, they departed from Rockland Harbor after a slightly delayed start due to fog and put in roughly 32 miles before camping at Pond Island. Here they got to try out the brand new beach rollers. After a bit of a learning curve, MURSU was safely tucked away on shore. They also got to test out Clare's culinary skills with a dehydrated lentil stew.
The second day was thankfully fog free and they were able to get an early start hitting the water shortly after 7am. It was a beautiful morning to row as they rounded Vinalhaven enroute to Monroe Island, putting in about 33 miles for the day. On Monroe, they deployed the clothesline anchoring system with success and had time for a quick hike around the island with the bonus of testing the water filter out on a pond.
Sunday morning was an early start and a quick 5 mile jaunt back to Rockland Harbor. Overall it was a great trip that revealed no major issues but was very helpful in finding a bunch of little things to tweak before the start of the race. While they did fewer miles each day than they are planning to do for the race, both felt relatively good and woke up both days feeling fully refreshed. No doubt the R2AK will be challenging but this trip left Leigh and Clare are feeling prepared and excited!
Downeast Island Camping
Earlier this summer during a beautiful week in July, Leigh and Dameon took Leigh's dad, Chuck, out on a 4-day, 3-night rowing island hopping adventure as a delayed 60th birthday present. Leigh's sister Clare tagged along to round out the two 2-person crews of MURSU and NORPPA. It was Clare's first time rowing and the start of R2AK 2022 becoming a reality.
Another trip highlight was seeing rams on Ram Island!
