Journey's End
Leigh & Clare arrive in Ketchikan, becoming the first female human-powered team to ever complete the Race to Alaska.
Rowing the last three miles to the finish line (photo by Rebecca Ross)
Leigh and Clare finished the Race To Alaska in dramatic fashion on 2 July, rowing most of the night to arrive in Ketchikan at 7 in the morning, the first female rowing crew to finish the R2AK. Clare's wife Julie surprised the team by showing up in a support boat as they neared the harbor. Video on Instagram shows the sisters looking lively despite rowing the last 95 miles in less than 27 hours. Leigh said that having another female crew keeping pace with them added a new dimension to the race. Team Let's Row Maybe camped 40 miles short of Ketchikan and would finish later that day. Clare said the race was a great adventure and she's never doing it again.
Congratulations to team Let's Row Maybe for a strong finish in a 750 mile row!
Ringing the Bell at the Finish Line! (Photo by Rebecca Ross)
Julie surprised Clare at the Finish Line! (Photo by Rebecca Ross)
The Longest Day (Day 16)
Leigh & Clare row 70 miles, putting them only 24 miles from the finish line in Ketchikan. Will they wait till morning to finish the race?
View from the Alaskan mainland, where we stopped around 5pm to eat some supper before rowing another 20 miles across Revillagigedo Channel
In a thrilling move Team Don't Tell Mom is making a mad dash into the US with their longest day of the race, ensuring a finish in Ketchikan tomorrow. On the water by 0530, our team is still rowing at 7 pm after already covering over 55 miles. Favorable conditions allowed consistently fast progress hour after hour, leaving rival rowing team Let's Row Maybe 20-25 miles back. LRM has pushed themselves 50 miles so far with no sign of stopping but DTM is not allowing the gap to close. With 3 hours of daylight remaining, how far will these rowers push themselves tonight with the lights of Ketchikan now only 30 miles off their bow?
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!
