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!
