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perfectclassic · 6 years ago

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I remember back when I played football in high school. But let’s start from the beginning.

I played pop warner when I was like 7 years old. I was extremely shy and small and didn’t really get much playing time because of that. But I was fast, and that went overlooked too. I played for the Anaheim Lions. I remember a lot of moments...wow... -I wore a red tank top to the first day and was late. -I remember our running back...he was light skinned, half hispanic half white kid. I remember thinking at the time that he reminded me of the kid on our fridge who our family sponsored in Ecuador. -One day in practice, I ran down that star player and the coach was amazed that he got caught. He asked who got him and I raised my hand, and then the coach said something about angles and tackling as if it wasn’t just my raw speed. I was so overlooked, but I was way too shy to speak up about anything. -Before a game when we were all lined up to go out to the field, I don’t remember how it was brought up, but some teammates were talking about who was faster, and I think I spoke up and said I was faster than someone, that someone being “Lupe”, and everyone said he was faster, but I knew the truth. So we actually raced to a tree and back and I won.

Then I played flag football in 6th grade at Calvary Chapel Downey. We had coach Gallegos. He’d always say, “Alright, guys, now check it out...” haha, my best friend at the time and still to today, Josh, does the best impression of coach doing that exact quote. Wow next memory rush incoming... -I remember Dominic...wow...now I’m just thinking about all of 6th grade... but let me try and stay on track here... -I remember one of the first days, everyone was really hyped that I was out there and gonna play. I was a new student in 5th grade, and my athleticism, sport IQ, and top tier speed was evident at recess and lunch year round. So anyways, we did this drill where you had to juke a guy 1v1 and get thru the flags. And when it was my turn everyone was watching with anticipation, and I could feel it. And the coach was like all interested because word had gotten around from some of the other students I guess, so yeah haha. Then my flag got pulled everytime in the drill lol. Like I couldn’t utilize my speed cuz the boundries were so narrow and this was my first time wearing flags (you have to juke a certain way to be effective). -I remember Elijah Denton was our punter. -I was named 3rd string running back at beginning of the season, but I got the ball the most. But we had a lot of good players and we went undefeated... -until we lost in the championship in a fluky game with possible ref bias to a team we had beaten before. -I had a long touchdown run along the sideline and the ref called it back saying I stepped on out of bounds and I remember I was upset about that. -I got MVP at the awards ceremony.

Then I played flag football in jr. high. Wow memory flood... So it was 7th and 8th grade together on a team. This is still at Downey... My goodness I’m having so many memories of jr. high now. I’ll have to write about some of these memories another time. But for football when I was in 7th grade, I remember... -once, my girlfriend, Kristine, came to one of my games. We kinda became a thing in 6th grade. OH MY GOSH, I’m remembering so much now. I’ll have to write about this later too. ANYWAYS, her mom took a picture of us together at that game and I still have that picture. She was so much taller than me haha! But I think it’s normal for girls to start getting taller before guys, right? Especially around that age. -I remember our head coach, Coach Jones. Did not like him. Not a nice person at all. My talent went overlooked. I was still very shy. -I remember intercepting a ball that was thrown to his son in practice; Tyler was his name, and he started pouting like it was pass interference (lol no way), and his dad starting telling me, “you can’t go through the receiver...” blah blah blah. -I remember Eric Toscano, and how I would carpool with him and vice versa since they lived kinda close to us. -The coaches really got hyped on Eric one practice in the middle of the season cuz he was doing well and then they made him a starter. -I was pretty much overlooked. Underutilized talent per usual, partly because I’m so quiet and stuff. -Mr. Mendez was a coach too. His son was also on the team, 8th grader. Mr. Mendez was nice. -During the season I was getting really bad pains in my ankles and knees and my doctors diagnosed it as growing pains. I remember taking tylenol grape chewable tablets before practice. -I just sat in my chair for a few minutes thinking about this memory, wondering also if I should even share it, but I think I will. I even cried at one practice because we were all getting yelled at and doing sprints and my ankle was in so much pain, but I was too shy to say anything and plus Coach Jones is not a nice, approachable, understanding person. So it got to a point where I just went down on one knee and grabbed my ankle and I started crying a bit. -There was a time where Ian was like my new friend. He was an 8th grader, super funny, and for whatever reason, he decided he wanted to be friends with me. I was thrilled with this new friendship to be honest. I remember after the end of one of our games he was like, “Where’s Maxx?!” so we could celebrate the win together. And then later when I was home, my dad asked me who that guy was that was looking for me after the game. -But that friendship with Ian was short lived. It seemed to me to be a thing that he did often. He would move from person to person like every 2 weeks. I don’t know if that was intentional or what, but I did observe that. -I remember a play I made on a kickoff where the other team did this lateral across the field on their return and I saw it coming all-day; not because it was obvious, I just have high football IQ (just being honest lol). And I pulled the guy’s flag soon as he caught the ball. And I went back to the sideline and Coach Jones gave me a high five and said “Way to stay home baby!”. And he was right, I stayed home just like I should have. But in my mind, I was thinking I should have been more aggressive and tried to intercept the lateral, because I saw it coming. Had I been more comfortable in the coaching staff knowing who I was and in my actual ability, I probably would’ve had the confidence to pull the trigger and not be afraid at taking shots at big plays. -Once at the end of the game, I was put in the game because we were gonna win and we were just running the ball to kill the clock. I was hoping to at least get the ball, get some handoffs. But I didn’t. All went to Aaron. I was upset. Then when I went to the sideline my bestie Josh told me that one of the coaches suggested to give me the ball for a play and Coach Jones said “No, he’ll screw it up.” -I think our banquet was at a Shakey’s. Ok, now 8th grade football was an absolute delight. It was probably the most fun year of football in my life. I just remembered, where our games and practice field were. We’d have to cross the street together at the crosswalk every day after school. I have a lot of memories on that field. So yeah, 8th grade football was filled with so much laughter with my best friends. -I remember having a race to see who was the fastest and I was so happy to hear it. So everyone raced and I won. But there was one kid who was actually not too far behind, and that was Joshua Guerra, a 7th grader. I remember him showing everyone his six pack in the locker room lol. But I went and talked to him after practice in the locker room and telling him he’s fast and stuff and he was pretty nice and polite, but he said he was surprised, and I could tell it bothered him (confirmed true). But I get it, I had been an elite fast kid my whole life. To lose a race would be test the ego was not used to. -We had Coach Hearron (I just looked up his name to see if I was spelling it correctly (I was), and I came across this: “his favorite shout out from the WORD is ‘MARANATHA!’”. So true! haha) as our head coach. -And Coach Christie. Josh and I would always mock his odd throwing motion with the full extended follow through haha. -Mr. Christie taught us about Thomas Hooker. -I got the ball a lot this year. So did Josh. Micah was our QB. We dominated everyone. -On one of the rival teams, there was a kid that looked like a chicken. Like he literally could have chicken dna like infused with human dna. Idk if that makes sense, but that’s what he looked like. -We won the championship. I remember Mr. Mendez, who had been a coach last year, said to me and another teammate in our class (he was a math teacher) after we had won the championship, “Wasn’t it easier though this year with the competition?”. And yes, it was, he wasn’t wrong. The team that we had lost to the year before was a really good team, but their school now had changed their jr. high football program to tackle, so they weren’t around anymore. I feel like I’ve written enough for this post. I’ll have to talk about high school football in it’s own post another time. Thanks for reading.

#glue #island sweet skunk #i actually did a post

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cloverpunkwrites · 7 years ago

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January

Challenge: Royal We

(Replace I with we)

New - 1

We pretend it's impressive, and special, we pretend we don't do this every night anyway. We pretend that this actually means something. We make promises we will forget and resolutions we don’t intend to keep. We keep our neighbors up with noise and lights to hold them to the same goal we expect of ourselves. To be New this year.

Wolf Moon - 2

The January moon is named for the wolf. Perhaps a little joke about Werewolves who would spend more time transformed during these months with longer nights. Or perhaps not. We suppose most people don’t spend as long as us thinking about werewolves.

Merry-Go-Round - 8

Why does home always seem to be wherever one is not? When we are in the house we grew up in, we want to be at school, but the rush of anxiety when we arrive back at school this time is worse than ever. The grass is always greener in some unknown location we have never actually seen, because something has to be better than this endless merry-go-round we are currently stuck on.

Melatonin - 11

We've never been a fan of drugs. Even helpful, prescribed medicine or over-the-counter cough syrup. Our roommate brought a bottle of chewable Melatonin to school, the kind that tastes like strawberries, and let us take one when we couldn’t sleep. No, not one, half of one, one third. The bottle got left behind, almost full. Tonight we take an entire tablet and sleep for a week, until we have to get up for work tomorrow.

Tempest - 12

Prospera is the best thing one can do for the Tempest. If we speak too often of the Tempest, it is because we feel the strongest attachment to it, as 1/4 of Ariel. The Ariel that was mad for freedom. Grant us our liberty from the Tempest, or we shall be as one of the devils released from hell. The most interesting relationship was always that of Prospera and Ariel.

Jewelry - 13

We've had pierced ears since we were 7. We got a jewelry box for our golden birthday. We own bracelets and necklaces and even a few rings. We wear none of them. Until today we wear all of them. No, not all. Earrings of Edgar Poe and a Raven. Three punk bracelets on one hand and two on the other. Our class ring fits on our middle finger in the winter. A necklace filled with gold. It's Punk, we say. It's for her, we think.

Snow - 14

We hate the winter. We hate it with every part of our soul. We hate the cold air and the dark skies and the slippery iced roads. This is what they mean by seasonal depression. But the snow. Oh, Deus de Caelo, the soft fresh snow falling gently past the streetlights at midnight lit from behind and sparkling like frozen glitter. This is what we mean by beauty.

Necklace - 15

They had 7 of them made from the gold they found in Alaska. One for herself, Two for two daughters, One for a future daughter-in-law, One for her mother, One for her brother's wife, One for little baby us - their only niece. Back when we were a niece, and our sister was less than a thought in our parents minds. We think part of the reason she loved them so much was because we knew early on, there would not be one for her. When she came of age, our grandmother took hers off for the first time in 20 years and passed it on. We wonder if she feels as guilty as we do about never wearing it.

Rut - 16

It’s almost strange how easily we fall into a rut, and one day blends into the next and the next and we spend our truly vast amount of free time worrying and being upset about the chunk of the next day that we will have to spend unhappily. And we look at our schedule and say soon we will be done but then we are done and we worry.

Horror - 17

Growing up we were not allowed to watch horror movies. Our parents didn’t like them and our sister was too easily scared. That was fine. We said we didn’t care about horror movies. We didn’t like to be scared, those things didn’t scare us anyway, and besides, they never have a good plot or characters. When we were 20 we saw the new IT movie with friends. We laughed though the entire thing and now we think we are fearless.

Pool - 18

It's like sitting at the edge of a pool with a bunch of others and no one is actually in the water and we really want to go in the pool but we don’t want to be the only one and we don’t know how to ask if anyone else wants to join us.

Fog - 21

Light cuts through the fog in half measures, but the headlights of one's car still try to break through the dense air and we can see the particles dancing like fairies, only in the places the light shines, like when the sun is setting in the evening and streams of light pour through the blinds on our window and the fairie particles get split as well.

Ash - 22

Like ash mistaken for snow, we cannot see the lurking fire making its way through the forest for the trees. One branch is a torch but two is catching, a tree is a bonfire but two are the woods. She burns and we burn and the forest burns, but when the ash starts to fall on the town everyone sees snow. One tries to warm us up. They burn too.

Soft - 23

If snow grew on the side of trees like moss, would we find it as beautiful when the western wind sticks it to them? The contrast of soft white frost brushed on dark bark. The lake moves slower and calmer than it has in months and we wonder if that color should be called slate or ash and we wonder if either of those properly capture the wintery green.

Sunrise - 25

We take extra care to wake early for the sunrise. The pink and orange rising over and reflecting off the white snow. After the long cold night the warm, bright sun makes us feel fresh and clean, and we are more awake than we have been in months, as if this one sun rise has dragged our very soul out of the dark. The sparkles on the lake are like old friends come to welcome us home to the light.

Won't - 26

What if we don't want to? What if we maybe, theoretically could, but it's hard and maybe not actually worth the effort, and so we just don't want to. Nobody listens to can't anyway, and they both lead to won't. What if maybe there was someone who did want to, and could, and would, maybe we should just leave it to them. But we don't want to do that either.

After - 28

There is always the next morning, when we wake up after a mental breakdown the night before, and we are more calm and refreshed than we have felt in months, because we let out something that had been building up, and maybe we can still feel the tears pricking behind our eyes but that comes second to the fact that the sun is shining and we survived another one. Those days after we are at our weakest are the days we most feel strong.

Useful - 29

We have brief moments of productivity, when safe and calm intersect with motivation and necessity. And in those moments we feel like a person again, rather than a soul being dragged through something almost like life. Even one hour of this makes us feel more useful and usefulness makes us feel more human. We know it will end, but the short bursts of ability more than make up for it.

Luck - 31

We missed the rare, beautiful, right up our alley, one night only event. Not that we would have had a great view of it. Everyone told us it would be the 31st, and most people assumed the night of. We assumed the night of. It was the morning of. The wee hours of the morning you can count on one hand. Even if we had known, we would have missed it. It was bad weather. But isn't it just our luck?

Days completed:

19/31

#my writing #poetry #prose #short form literature #daily writing #writing challenge

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huhnicoles · 7 years ago

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So I have this puppy stuffed toy which I named after the Chef's dog in Oh My Ghostess; Stalker.

I really love dogs since time immemorial. Naks. Haha. I love their cuteness, gentleness, and their loyalty. Haaaay. I'd give a lot to have a dog of my own. But my allergy happened and all my dreams of having a dog went to the drain. Mom would go berserk kapag nalaman niyang mag-aalaga ako ng sarili kong aso. Ang lambing ko pa naman sa dog kasi feeling ko anak ko 'yon. Huhu. Stuwee is my first baby. I hug dogs, I let Stuwee play with my hair, I scratch his belly, I tie his hair, I hold his feet and play with those. Stuwee is a Yorkie; Yorkshire Terrier. Ang liit niiiiiiyaaaaa na mataba. I miss my Stu. Oh well, I'll see him next Monday anyway. I can't wait na. I'm just not sure if I could stop myself before I get a hold of him. My allergies could go to hell for all I care. Hahaha.

So going back to Stalker, I keep him beside me when I sleep and I kinda talk to him sometimes. Hehe. I want a dog, a real one, but because of my allergies, I couldn't. Lalo na ngayon na may finger talaga ako na one month nang may small wound na hindi gumagaling because I keep on eating chicken meat at eggs. Bakit ba ang dami dami kong allergies eh. Stupid allergies. So lately, nung nakita kong medyo lumaki 'yong wound and it's a bit swollen na, I started taking it seriously. HAHAHA. I'm scared that it'll reach the point where the doctors are gonna chop this off. Hahahaha. Pero ngayon, okay na siya. It's almost gone. Why? Last week, I decided to consult a doctor and told him about how I feel. Then he told me which antibiotics to buy, it's not Erythromycin though. Hindi na raw kasi effective 'yon eh. Ah, I must've known that kasi i don't drink that. I don't drink anything until Saturday when I started taking Clarythromycin. Damn, ang pangit ng lasa. Ang lakas masiyado ng gamot to the point na kailangan ko umuwi agad agad because I felt nauseous several hours after taking my first tablet and after ilang hours, I'll feel something soooo bitter in my mouth. Yuck, ang sama. I'm acidic. Yeah, there's a lot that's going on with my system. Haha. Again, I'm acidic and Clarythromycin was too much for me to take kaya I felt bad, I almost had a flu. Jeez. Mom said I should buy antacids and take it before my antibiotics. But I hate medicines! Gamot na naman, I'm taking in too much meds, ayoko ng ganon. So I said no. I'll get used to it eventually. Kailangang masanay ng sistema ko sa gamot because iinumin ko siya for 7 days and, maybe but hopefully not, for the next times that I'll need to drink it. Hindi pwedeng umasa ako sa antacids, I have to get used to it. I've had antacids before. Chewable siya kaya hindi naman nahirapan si Mommy na painumin ako, and maybe because Simeco tastes nice, 'yong white part nga lang.

Oh my god, I got lost na.

Ah, basta the antibiotics are doing great so far. Whatever. 😂

Nawala na tuloy kay Stalker ang spotlight. Huhu.

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jeantparks · 8 years ago

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R2AK Update: Congrats, it’s all over — who’s in for next year?!

UPDATE, 7:30 p.m. 7/05/17:

R2AK teams packed in tight, ready to head back south.

The third running of the Race to Alaska is over. Done.

Janice Mason and Ian Graeme (Team Oaracle) finished late in the afternoon on Tuesday, becoming the final finishers in this year’s race. Human powered only, they rowed the 750 nautical miles in 23 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes. A heroic effort. Rumor has it, they threw logs in the water to disable the sweep boat, but whether it was due to a bent shaft, or slightly bent rules, they did not get swept. True R2AK fashion.

Thirty four teams were on the roster to start in Port Townsend, 27 finished. The first place finishers did it in a little over four days. The last three teams averaged 22 days. Which efforts were more heroic? Pick a team. Any team. Whether you value speed, strength, tenacity or any other character building attribute, you’ll find a team to admire. Each team undertook a challenge — either to win, get the steak knives, sell their boat for $10,000, test themselves, pursue adventure, raise money for a good cause, do science along the way or just have a great time while suffering. My hunch is most got what they came for and more. Much more.

R2Ak gets under your skin. Alaska has an allure in and of itself, the Inside Passage is what dreams are made of, and the race combines all that with an irresistible personal challenge.

I bumped into Colin and Jordan from team ‘Make It So’ while in Ketchikan over the weekend. They had a long journey up and finished on July 2. I asked them “are you going to do it again?” They responded they had just talked about that and think they’ll take another shot at it. Not in the same boat (they were emphatic), but securing the right crew first, then figure out the best boat. My hunch is they’ll be on the start line in PT and Victoria next year.

As for the coverage from the great folks who run R2AK. For the last two years, Jake packaged up daily written updates: Brilliant, poignant and hysterical. His use (abuse?) of the English language defied description. He has many talents aside from creating a great race, but his writing skills are at the elite level. The tracker refresh button was pushed only little more than the refresh button awaiting his recaps.

This year they switched to podcasts. At first, I wasn’t a fan. I could nitpick because I thought I wanted the written word. The clever turn of phrase. The metaphors. But most of all, the humor. And they took too along to listen to. I wanted it all packaged up for my convenience.

Then I began to listen. We all have decisions on how to spend our time and listening to the podcasts turned out to be time well spent. Most of them were 15 minutes long. The exception was Karl Kruger’s interview which lasted 60 minutes. Well worth tuning in for. The fellow chooses his words carefully and he has a poignant view on life. He’s thought a lot about how to live fully and live well. The two part round tables with several teams were insightful and the racers themselves voiced their perspectives, stories and advice.

Overall, I thought the Facebook feed with the tracker was a great addition. It made it easy to get the latest news and updates while seeing the positions of the competitors. There weren’t many failures with the tracker either; a few minutes here and there, but overall stable, unlike the previous two years.

The party line from R2AK HQ is that they’ll announce a decision on next year’s race at a later date. As I understand it, there’s an ongoing process to understand what went well and what didn’t go well, and once the debrief takes place, then plans are evaluated for the following year.

I have a hunch that R2AK will be back for version four. Start getting your boats and crew ready.

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. 6/26/17:

Since the last update, five more teams have finished, one is knocking at the door of ‘done’ and the final eight teams are strung out from Prince Rupert to Bella Bella. The mystical, mythical and perhaps metaphorical “sweep boat” started on the 25th, making 75 nautical miles a day. Meaning this race has just over a week left to go before, one way or another, it’s over for this year.

Team Sistership, once near dead last, passed much of the fleet to finish 15th, but couldn’t quite catch team Adventourists, the Australians on Gizmo. After a two day lag, the Frenchmen aboard Team Phocoena finished and minutes later Karl Kruger on his standup paddleboard finished. Each team is a story on their own, but Karl’s journey was exceptional. Seven hundred and fifty miles on a SUP. 750! After he finished, Karl seemed to say he was battling himself as much or more than the elements. That voice that says, “stop, you don’t have to do this.” But the indomitable will that over powers that voice.

Karl Kruger. Roger Mann. The boys, now men, of North2Alaska. Sistership after their setback. Broderna after their initial breakage. Global after their boom crumpled. Everyone trying to pedal, paddle and row through rain and calms. These hearty souls make up R2AK. Everyone battled the elements, fatigue, equipment and themselves. Each of the teams in the R2AK offers examples of our better selves and life lessons to follow. Oh what a race.

Ryan (Nomadica) should finish shortly. He came into Shearwater with no electronics, navigating the last few pitch black miles with a head lamp.

The other teams are still heading North. Rush Aweigh, the Montgomery 17 is just outside of Prince Rupert and three other boats, the Kayak (Matt Prius, Vis Reporter’, canoe (Rod Price Adventures) and Kristen and Elena with Team Kelp (carrying ‘flat Dan!’) are on the east side of Porcher Island. The three guys on the old pinky ‘Grace B’ are just to the south. Oaracle and team ‘Make it so’ are in Shearwater and Dan Gilbert, (Team Gar) is the southern most racer just now approaching Bella Bella.

Great stories yet to come and now the math of the Sweep Boat enters into an already complicated equation.

Rock on R2AK V 3.0!

UPDATE, 8:30 p.m. 6/22/17:

It’s the home stretch for many R2AK competitors. Click the image to follow the tracker live.

Thirteen teams have finished, 14 are left working their way north and an additional three teams have retired from the race.

Russell Brown handily beat the singlehanded record and Roger Mann finished several hours later. With a much faster boat, Russell took a more gentlemanly approach stopping every night. Roger Mann, with a slower boat, got to Ketchikan with strength, determination and sheer will.

In R2AK, it’s said that “everyone finds their race.” The four boys and a dad (North2Alaska) in the aluminum high school project sharpie were focused on beating their competitor Team Global. And beat them they did. Their bold move through Seymour Narrows in the dead of night gave them strategic advantage and they built on it with relentless effort. Eerily similar to Roger Mann, they pulled oars, all nighters and gave it everything they had. The boys became men upon their successful arrival in Ketchikan, and Henry became the youngest ever to complete the R2AK.

Just as North2Alaska pulled off an audaciously bold move, team Global thought they had their move lined up when they headed to the outside in Hecate Strait. Their boat is the heaviest in the fleet and, in their words “sucks in light wind.” With strong southerlies they saw their chance to perhaps get in front of the coming gale and make good time. They headed outside and all was going well till it wasn’t. As they surfed a wave their boom buckled.

Again, in their words, they cursed, broke out some food and snacked. Then discussed how to fix things. Obtaining shelter in a cove, they created a splint for the boom and pushed on to Ketchikan.

The next two to land in Ketchikan will likely be Adventourists and Sistership. Adventourists has the lead, Sistership may have something to prove. Sistership has been passing teams right and left after their setback with their centerboard. Can they pass the last team between them and Ketchikan?

Karl Kruger is headed up Grenville channel. Eating three to four chewable tablets per hour, he’s been averaging about 50 miles per day on his paddleboard. Before the race, Daniel Evans explained to me that his thinking about paddleboards had evolved over the past couple of years. When it comes to being prepared to go overboard, most of us sailors wear PFDs giving the illusion we’re ready to take a dunk. But we know our chances of going over are exceedingly slim. We may or may not be wearing a dry or wet suit and wearing a PFD isn’t really an indication of preparedness for the real thing. For a paddleboarder, it’s a real risk. Karl explained as much when he took on Johnstone Strait in high winds. He was suited up and ready for a swim.

Most of the rest of the fleet is above Bella Bella with only three teams remaining south of Cape Caution.

The “Fueled on Stoke” guys have retired from the race, as has John Guider who had been battling bronchitis.

UPDATE, 7:00 a.m. 6/18/17:

The teams are spread wide. Click on the image to view the tracker.

It’s Sunday morning. Three teams are done and 10 teams are above the Bella Bella check point. All teams are preparing for strong southerlies projected for today.

Two very dissimilar teams are battling it out in the final stages. Ketch Me if You Can, on a Nacra 20 Catamaran with a team of two should out pace the West Coast Wild Ones to Ketchikan next, but given their performance, the Wild Ones are sailing their O’Day 27 exceedingly well. Reportedly, ‘Ketch Me’ is after the $10K buyback prize and will shortly be on their final approach to Ketchikan.

With a large gap between the likely 4th and 5th place boats, 3 ½ Aussies are in 6th place currently about to enter Estevan Sound.

Next are 7 boats the just above Bella Bella. The diversity of these craft, so close together, is remarkable. Tri’s, Cats, monohulls and a rowboat that has no reason – and yet every reason – to be hanging with far faster craft. The monohulls range from a mid-sixties Columbia sailboat to a state of the art planning Seascape 27. Low tech and high tech. Within that group is Roger Mann, positioned again to be the first solo finisher although it’s way premature to call it. Also within that group are the four high schoolers plus a dad rowing and sailing an aluminum replica of a sharpie. Happy Fathers Day to him!

Both the high schoolers and Roger Mann are showing what both the young, and the not-so young, are capable of. Both pulled all nighters yesterday with Roger Mann in team Discovery chugging up Fitzhugh Sound with the high schoolers right behind. With a full generation between Roger and the teenagers, it was a great sight. The spirit of R2AK is well represented between those two teams.

In a league by himself, Karl Kruger is camped after a big day near Cape Caution. Consider he’s gone the length of Vancouver Island in 6 days on a standup paddleboard. Re-read the previous sentence and let that sink in. And he just turned 45.

Adventourists, who have been posting some funny clips, had a fairly close encounter with a bear (they got a picture of it) is poised to pass Karl today as they drive Gizmo north through Queen Charlotte Sound.

The rest of the teams haven’t yet cleared the top of Vancouver Island. Sistership is on the move after rafting to former team mate Janice Mason near Helmcken Island for a reunion. Down to to three crewmembers, they’re still aiming to pick off as many teams as they can as they head north.

All but four of the teams are now above the Narrows and John Guilder, currently the southernmost boat, is battling a return of his Asthma and his posts indicate he’s struggling but at last report was still headed north. His tracker is acting up, so I don’t know his exact location.

There was a brief scare Thursday when Rod Price tried to head out into Seymour Narrows. He was seen battling large standing waves and wasn’t seen again. His batteries had given out on his Spot tracker, but he wisely returned to a cove and took shelter. All the while he was oblivious to increasing alarm both within the R2AK organizers and his wife. The Canadian Coast Guard mounted a search, but Matt Prius, knowing what he’d do in a similar situation, followed a hunch and located Rod right where he thought he’d be. Safe and sound. All’s well that ends well, but there were about 30 increasingly nervous hours on the part of all parties, not the least of which was Rod’s wife. In a posted video Rod was apologetic for the unintended event and he was clearly concerned about the angst he caused his wife (who likely holds the keys on future adventures!).

Strong southerlies are in the forecast today which should favor sail power. I’d look for some separation with the tri’s and the planning capable Seascape (Willpower) to rocket north.

Rock on R2AK v3.0!!

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m. 6/16/17:

Team Bad Kitty has just arrived in Ketchikan and takes third place. Huge congrats goes out to them for fighting on!

Ketch Me If You Can and West Coast Wild Ones are past Bella Bella and a host of others are north of Vancouver Island.

UPDATE, 9:45 a.m. 6/16/17:

Excellent report on yesterday’s action in Ketchikan here from R2AK HQ…

Team Pure & Wild and Big Broderna at the finish: Sean Huston, Nels Strandberg, Mars Le Baron, Lars Strandberg, Tripp Burd, Trevor Burd, Chris Burd (from left to right)

Despite the color of the flag, the feel of the money, and the sun-deprived caucasian pallor whose color falls somewhere between sidewalk stripe and salamander belly- Alaska is different. Bigger mountains, more rain, fewer people, louder jokes, thicker shirts, more xtra tuffs that serve here as the topsiders for anyone within a chew spit of the shoreline. Different as Alaska is, from the time the solstice-driven dawn began its slow yawn at 3 am, until three exhausted beers after the two teams finished, the same things were happening on the screen side of the last frontier as were happening in the rest of the R2AK nation. All of us were there: wide eyes, twitchy fingers that were alternately wearing out the tracker refresh and offering a center digit salute when it froze. All of us shared the desire to make eye contact with anyone nearby who wasn’t our boss to share just how damned exciting this all was. 750 miles and they were right on top of each other? If you had a pulse and more than two bars of cell coverage how could you not be excited? This was a race to the end. Continue reading…

Bad Kitty is on the move towards AK, as more teams head towards Bella Bella. Click the image to view the tracker.

UPDATE, 9:45 p.m. 6/15/17:

After 750 miles it boiled down to two sets of brothers from opposite coasts.

Accomplished sailors with great boats win races. But R2AK is about so much more than the top finishers. As gales rake the Inside Passage with the remaining R2AKers strung up and down the coast, there are still a couple of weeks left in this event. Consider that most teams are currently hunkered down waiting for the front to pass. Except for Karl Kruger on his paddleboard. He’s been on the move. When it was blowing 25-35 knots and prudent mariners were being prudent, he was hitting nearly 7 knots in Johnstone Strait. On a paddleboard!

And the high school kids (and one dad). They are on the move as well, but in a boat that is as uncomfortable as it can be. The dad deserves a great father’s day this weekend. But he knows he’s already got it.

After the gale lifts, though, there is still plenty of cheering left for great teams. Who will be the first solo R2Aker this year? Will Karl really make Ketchikan on his paddleboard? Who will get the $10K boat buy back? How many teams will Sistership pass? Are there bold moves left for the high schoolers on North2Alaska? What about Rod Price and his single paddle? Will Kristen and Elena carrying ‘flat Dan’ retain their cheerfulness and get all the way to Ketchikan? Will West Coast Wild Ones in their old ODay 27 beat Ketch Me If You Can?

Everyone on the course finds their own race. Against others, against the elements, or against themselves. Find your racers. Cheer them on. And take the spirit of R2AK and make it your own.

Hit the refresh button on the tracker often. It’s all yet to unfold.

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m. 6/15/17:

The Three Sheets Northwest crew was absolutely glued to the tracker and Facebook updates as Team Pure & Wild/Freeburd and Team Big Broderna battled to the finish in Ketchikan just moments ago. A huge congratulations goes out to the Burd brothers on Pure & Wild for taking number 1 — what a race! Wow.

And our hats go off to Team Big Broderna for giving them an epic run. Enjoy those steak knives, boys. You earned ’em!

UPDATE, 8:15 a.m. 6/15/17:

Well, it looks like a two horse race at this point, folks. The question is, who will snag the 10 grand and who will take home the steak knives?

Team Pure & Wild/Freeburd and Team Big Broderna are neck and neck near the BC – Alaska border and will finish today.

It’s gonna be a tight finish in Ketchikan! Click the tracker image to follow live.

For reasons yet unknown, Team Bad Kitty is holed up and out of contention for the first two slots. And don’t expect a lot of movement from the rest of the fleet as gales will rake the Inside Passage throughout the day.

UPDATE, Noon 6/14/17:

The R2AK playing field grows. Click on the image to view the tracker live.

The course now strings along from Nanaimo to Bella Bella. As of noon on Wednesday, there’s much to report. On the northern front, the brothers Burd on Pure & Wild have cleared the Bella Bella checkpoint and were cruising at 13 knots. Big Broderna and Bad Kitty are coming up on the checkpoint at about 7 knots. Lots of twists and turns ahead, but the focus now may be more on the steak knives. Strong southerlies are in the forecast – hold on!!

On the southern front, Sistership has re-engaged the race after repairing their centerboard. They are in it and it’ll be interesting to see just how many boats they can pick off as they find their own race north.

By my count, I have 30 boats actively racing now.

Aside from the top 3, Ketch me if you can is in 4th, with Team 3 and ½ Aussies in 5th but docked at Port McNeil.

There’s quite a gap to 6th, with West Coast Wild Ones still sailing up Johnstone strait and Roger Mann in 7th doggedly following.

Having no business in 8th place, but holding it after last night’s incredibly daring move through Seymour Narrows is North2Alaska. Most of Johnstone Strait is in front of them, but early mornings, late nights, guile and skill have this aluminum sharpie moving much faster than it logically should. Despite my misgivings, the team reports the event itself was mostly uneventful. “Minimal tide rips and perfect wind.” They rushed through within 10 minutes and achieved 12 knots, the fastest the old Johnny (for Johnny Horton) has ever gone. The team went on to say it was a strategic move to get ahead of the other teams holed up in Campbell River. Well played, sirs.

About 15 nautical miles behind and closing are 6 boats in close proximity. In an order that is likely to change, in 9th to 14th place are PT Watercraft, Global, Away Team, Triceratops, Nomadica, and the SeaScape 27, Willpower.

All the above teams are past Seymour Narrows. Seymour is ebbing right now – flowing the right direction, but with strong currents. Slack is just after three this afternoon, then the window closes with peak flood at 6:31 followed by another slack at 10 p.m.

In 15th through 19th position are five teams all at the same marina in Campbell River. Sailpro Racing (after some questionable navigation approaching Cape Mudge last night), team Kelp (after what must have been an incredibly long day yesterday!), Rush Aweigh, Adventourists, and new arrival just a few minutes ago, Karl Kruger on his standup paddleboard (Heart of Gold). All these teams could avail themselves of the afternoon slack.

Speaking of Adventourists, they tried to sneak away (their own admission) in the dead of night to get the benefit of the strong ebb around midnight and just as they were about to leave a random fellow on the dock called their attention to a missing rudder pin. No steering could have been catastrophic in the strong current. It’s likely Gizmo has an angel looking over her.

Four teams are just below Campbell River. Matt Prius and Grace B are well within range of the afternoon slack and there’s an outside chance that Rod Price and Freya could make it as well.

The other 7 teams are out of the Gulf Islands but still south of Comox. It’s really great to see Sistership back in it and charging north. It’s not the situation they had hoped for, but they’re back in and it will be fun to cheer them on. Adversity can bring out the best in the best.

A final note, Kairos has turned around. The technical issues were apparently insurmountable.

UPDATE, 7 a.m. 6/14/17:

Local knowledge defined. Team North2Alaska transited Seymour Narrows at peak ebb at 0045 hours. Dudes!

They’re going to remember this night for the rest of their lives. Four guys fresh out of high school and a dad. But the dad is a commercial fisherman who has done the Inside Passage hundreds of times according to an article in the PT Leader.

Team North2Alaska at the start in Port Townsend.

At the front of the pack, the Burd Brothers (Team Pure & Wild) remain in first and are nearing the checkpoint at Bella Bella. Team Broderna jumped into second and Team Bad Kitty is clawing its way north in third. The rest of the pack can basically split into two sections, those who have transited Seymour Narrows and, well, those who have not.

Here’s a great weather brief from our friends at Sailish.com.

UPDATE, 9 p.m. 6/13/17:

Some news at the front of the pack. The Burd brothers, in the lead, left Malcolm Island to port and went up through George Passage. Bad Kitty, in second, appeared to gamble, leaving Malcolm Island to starboard and went through Broughton Strait. Big Broderna, in third, followed the Burd Brothers. As of 2100 Tuesday night, it appears the gamble didn’t work. Bad Kitty is now in third and Big Broderna is in second trying to reel in the Burd Brothers. They’re all at the top of Vancouver Island with a lot of water ahead of them, so one can’t get too confident or disappointed.

Team 3 and ½ Aussies is alone in 4th place about midway in Johnstone Strait and Ketch me if you can is in 5th starting their run at Johnstone.

Five teams above the Narrows but slack is 9:19 with six teams at Campbell River with more arriving shortly. Two of those six, Roger Mann on Discovery and West Coast Wild Ones, appear poised to take advantage of the evening slack. The others may wait until either the 3:51 a.m. slack or perhaps the 8:58 slack. Between the evening slack and the 3:51 slack the current is moving in the right direction, but with strong eddies and whirlpools. Arriving near peak current last night, the Burd brothers faced a choice. Wait and watch their lead diminish or go for it. I’m not privy to their deliberation, but their description was great:

They recalled the entry into the narrows as the “darkest of dark you can imagine and nearly max current”. Fading wind, little steerage but they were prepared – hatch covers, Ocean Rodeo suits, headlamps, and deck vests on. As they entered “the gut of the narrows” they could hear, but not see, breaking waves. “Here we go!” they thought. Only to find that the breaking waves were really a school of 30 to 40 porpoises. I suspect they were Pacific Whitesided Dolphins, but in any case the porpoises/dolphins played with their bow and made an already memorable trip that much more memorable.

The next 10 hours or so will be great to watch on who makes what decision. I suspect the 8:58 slack will be a busy one for R2AK, although the aggressive may try earlier.

Pear Shaped Racing has formally retired and Team Kairos is having some issues with their row cruiser and trying to make repairs.

Sistership hit some rocks exiting Active Pass and has posted some heartbreaking posts. Their centerboard is jammed in the up position and they were just towed back to Nanaimo. They’ll need to be hauled out of the water and then make the decision whether or not to carry on and go for Ketchikan. It’s tough watching the live posts they’ve made — the disappointment is palpable. I’m hoping they go for it as they can still find their race picking off the slower craft. They’ve got a good boat and a good crew.

If there’s a most improved boat, team Kelp had a good day. Would have been better had they gotten up a little earlier the past few days (ahem:).

More on the smaller human powered boats later – they are holding their own and the North2Alaska guys are really making a fine accounting of themselves.

As this missive closes, I’m thinking about Roger Mann, alone in his boat, making the 9 p.m. slack. He’s not going to get much sleep tonight.

UPDATE, 9 a.m. 6/13/17:

Team Pure & Wild/Freeburd, Team Bad Kitty and Team Big Broderna are building a lead in Johnstone Strait. Click on the image to view tracker live.

The overall picture hasn’t changed much, but the Burd brothers didn’t wait for slack and took Seymour Narrows on shortly after midnight. Bad Kitty and Big Broderna also got through the checkpoint at Campbell River and are through the Narrows. The Burd brothers hold roughly a 15 nautical mile lead over Bad Kitty, slightly less than what they had leading up to Campbell River. The wind is blowing and they’ve got an adverse current at present.

Roger Mann was up early as were the boys in North2Alaska and Matt Prius in Viz Reporter.

A quick note on North2Alaska: When I was in Port Townsend, I looked at this boat. It’s a high school project, a home made welded aluminum sharpie. Their oars appeared to be crude affairs so heavy they were counter balanced with zincs. The unstayed masts wobbled and the thought of five souls aboard (four teenagers just graduated from high school plus one dad), made me shudder. Privately I didn’t give them much of a shot to make it to Victoria much less Ketchikan. There’s still a lot of water between them and Ketchikan, but they have put in long days and the last two mornings beat the sun up getting underway. Ahead of some faster, more capable boats, these guys are bring their A game and then some. This morning they left Lasqueti Island and are headed north. In any case, my earlier assessment of their chances was flat wrong. And being wrong on something like this makes me very happy as it’s exactly that type of performance by young people that provides hope for the future.

Team Sistership took an odd turn last night, getting out of the strait and pulled into French Creek. No movement yet this morning. Hope all is well with them. The rest of the field is scattered throughout Georgia Strait.

It’s another day for R2AK!

Original Post, 9:30 p.m. 6/12/17:

Screen shot of the race tracker at 9:32 p.m. Click on the image to view the tracker live.

R2AK is off and running. Similar to the start at Port Townsend, the Victoria re-start was in calm weather. Unlike the Port Townsend start, the forecasted calm wind was supposed to last all day.

Unfortunately, when the racers took off from Victoria Harbour at high noon on Sunday it was marred by a collision between a powerboat and team Oaracle. The powerboat came up behind the rowers and caused some damage, but fortunately no injuries. Clearly the overtaking and hence burdened vessel, the powerboat’s operator yelled at the rowers and reportedly took off — the equivalent of an aquatic hit and run.

Just days before, the Port Townsend to Victoria race was really two races. Or, more candidly, a race then a fight for survival. The predicted heavy wind arrive and, in the words of Jake Beattie, “went from zero to 50 as if it had something to prove.” For a full recap of that leg, Jake’s writing is well worth a read.

As of this writing, Monday afternoon, Team Pure and Wild/Freeburd, with the brothers Burd ( Tripp, Chris and Trevor) are opening up a commanding lead, charging up the Strait of Georgia despite hitting something hard last night. Overnight and earlier into the morning Pear Shaped Racing had been giving them competition, but a log strike at 8 knots sent them into Nanaimo for inspection.

The Burd brothers vessel has a nice combination of fast sailing, an effective propulsion system (Pedal powered) and three athletic young men as crew. They can deal with calms, they can deal with wind and they don’t have to stop. They were the first sailboat to arrive in Victoria, arriving just minutes before Pear Shaped Racing, PT Watercraft and Bad Kitty. All fast boats, but the log strike certainly impacted the Pear Shaped team and PT Watercraft has a crew of one, who will need to sleep. Bad Kitty and Big Broderna are sure to provide some competition, but it’s setting up to have the Burd brothers get through Seymour Narrows a slack or two before their nearest rival. They’re aiming for the slack around 2000 hours tonight.

Of the three paddleboarders, Karl Kruger is showing how it’s done. He was up early this morning and moving – currently the first of the primarily human powered craft. Following close behind is Rod Price in his canoe (looks like a kayak with training wheels, but he’s got a single sided paddle and technically it’s a canoe) and Viz Reporter (Matt Prius). All three opted to avoid Dodd Narrows and went through False Narrows shortly after noon. The other two paddle boarders, Luke Burritt and Edrogan Kirac with ‘Stoked on Fuel” have been at Van Isle Marina all morning but got underway shortly after noon and opted to go through Sansum narrows. So far, all the other teams going up the inside opted to take Trincomali Channel.

Roger Mann opted for open water and surprisingly is ahead of larger boats with larger crews. If he slept at all last night, it wasn’t for very long.

The rest of the fleet is split between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ with the larger cats and tri’s headed outside and the primarily human powered craft going inside through the Gulf Islands. For the smaller teams unable to go 24 hours a day, the length of their day will make a difference. The Port Townsend high school boys were up and at it early this morning as were many of the teams. Some chose to sleep in. As we’ve seen before, the cumulative effect of those different habits will string out the fleet over the next week.

Some of the teams did a hybrid approach, going up the inside, but escaping the Gulf Islands through one of the passes. Kelp and Sistership opted for Active pass, and North2Alaska and Adventourists took Porlier Pass.

Speaking of what’s coming next, it’s wind. There’s a strong wind warning in Johnstone Strait later today, tonight and tomorrow. Thursday will be 25 – 35, but out of the southeast. From personal experience in a small boat with less than a foot of freeboard, Johnstone Strait can be brutal, but at least it’ll be a following sea on Thursday. The wind will pick up in Georgia Strait as well, making up for the earlier easy time for the human powered craft. Look for the racers to spread out. Some will take advantage of the wind and charge forward, others will try and avoid the wind respecting their vessels and perhaps their own limitations. This isn’t really a race. But then again, it is.