J/24 Completes Race 2 Alaska- a 1st for J/24s!

 
(Vancouver, BC)- With its lack of handicaps, lack of rules, and Wild West attitude, on the surface it would seem the Race to Alaska is a setup to disappoint just about everyone. If you’re focused only on the capital “W” win, it’s a forgone conclusion that bankrolled teams of sailors with better-than-Olympics credentials will grab the prize, grab the glory, and leave the everyone else in the dust.

To the surprise of no one close to the race and paying attention, that preconception is as true as it isn’t. While the only prizes were given out some five days prior, recognition of the valor and dedication of those who simply finish could be seen at the dock today as throngs of teams who came before were on hand to welcome finishers.

Sometimes it’s about standing on the podium, most of the time it’s about standing with yourself and the satisfaction you’ve done something extraordinary— whether or not people applaud.

The two teams bookending today’s Ketchikan finish line embody the second kind of accomplishment and seemingly represent a time-lapsed view of Canadian lives well-sailed.

The “Teen Beat” sleeper cell sensation of Team McGuffin Brothers Racing completed the course and earned the honor of being the collectively youngest team to ever finish this thing. If only to revel in the incredible, in a way they probably won’t, we’d like to point out that the new bar for youngest team boasts an average age of 19.25 years!!

If Team Pitoraq’s victory was rooted in a lifetime culmination, Team MBR’s landed solidly in the “Are you kidding me?” envy of a teenage rite of passage, with everyone greeting them on the dock in Ketchikan wishing they’d had the parents and the courage to have done this in their day.

The cherub-cheeked, “aw shucks” everything of the three actual and one honorary brothers won the day and the hearts of fellow racers and Ketchikan fans who came down to welcome them.

To a person, the onlookers were in awe of a life path, so well started, and largely yet to come.

“This trip is something that the rest of us built towards, this is their baseline— imagine what else they’ll do.”

The crowd was as impressed as it was filled with questions, and the brothers deferential answers were those of the humble, their sparse words offered in the rare brand of taciturn that lies between shy and polite. They hit the dock with uniformly bare feet and matching grey sweaters with MBR patches hand sewn on the breast.

How did you pick your uniforms?
“Well, I like Stanfields, and Callum likes Stanfields so we thought they would be pretty good.”

How was the boat?
“Pretty good.” They had leaks from the forward hatch, main hatch, lazarette hatch, the toe rail, and the mast boot. “Pretty much everything leaked.” The only time they begrudgingly conceded things might have been less than ideal were the times when they woke up for watch in the 1am darkness and waded through the damp clothes they had drying below. “There was a big wave, we had our hatch open, and we got pretty wet I broke the leeboard and ended up in Duncan’s bunk, but other than that, it was pretty good.”

What did you eat?
“Baked beans, chia pudding, and canned sprats.” Sprats, for the un-indoctrinated are the tins of fish that they would crack open and share for lunch, dinner and sometimes breakfast.

Three times a day and for eight days straight; unabashed, unresentful and recounted with a smile. The tins were the gift of their grandfather in Ottawa who bought them and sent them; apparently making the rounds and clearing the shelves of Ottawa’s strategic reserve of tinned fish to send his boys north. The fact that they were eating canned fish bought in Canada’s inland capital 3,000 kilometers east, then sent to the heart of it’s seafood industry was an irony that only occurred to them after the question was posed.

They had food; they ate it gratefully, and had enough leftover that they were planning to eat it for their return trip south. Sprats north, sprats south, and on the way back they were going to meet up with their grandfather, Granddad Sprats himself. There’d be plenty for him, too.

What did you miss?
“None of us drink coffee or beer, so we’re set on those.” They settled on hamburgers, and after climbing the dock to the racer party they set into a four identical plates of burgers and fries, appreciatively consumed at a politely moderate pace.

What do they do for fun?
“Well, we mostly just sail.” They replied to the question of whether or not it felt weird to be done, with the unintentional punch line, “Well, we still have to go all the way back…”

They were planning on shore leave of no more than a day. They needed to get back, so were going to limit their wild and crazy to picking up their outboard, restocking some fresh food, and that’s exactly it.

Duncan was hoping to make it back in time for his last day of school, the rest were going to get ready for their canoe trip down the Mackenzie River.

For the teams that came before, and likely those to come, the finish line is at least a reprieve and at most an ending. For Team MBR it was the beginning of a “no-parents summer” that starts with R2AK and culminates in a canoe trip to the Arctic Circle.

The trip to K-town wasn’t a hardship, it was fun; not the vice fueled Spring Break binge of excess of their peers to the south.  It was the adventure version of a jigsaw puzzle and a cup-of-tea type enjoyable.

So, it was the trip back that couldn’t start soon enough. They had their granddad’s sprats, the last thing they needed was to hang around on shore and stress. Or, consume beer in order to cope with a hardship that for them doesn’t even exist. They are the very definition of “Pretty good.”

Whether you are more or less than their average of 19 years, imagine where you would be after eight days and 700 miles of non-stop sailing?

Would you gloat in self-satisfaction? Would you crave the indulgences of civilization, movies, girls, or at the very least a temporary antidote to the banal inconveniences that brought you here: a dry bed, a hot shower, a plated meal, ice cream—anything other than the steady state diet of less sleep and more canned fish?

Would you offer a tinge of anything less that the honest and holistic optimism of “Pretty good?”

For the McGuffins, and to the envy of everyone, their answer was true. They were pretty good, and their smiles were only rivaled by those on the adults at the dock who had found in them the role models for youth they were too late to follow.

They had just sailed to Alaska, alone and unassisted as young as 16, and with as little as 6 months sailing experience. They weren’t self-impressed or particularly jubilant, and it didn’t seem to dawn on them to be as proud as everyone else was.

They were “pretty good,” but better than just about everybody.

McGuffin Brothers Racing finished 13th at a very convenient 7:21 PM on June 14. And have the new record for Youngest Team at a combined age of 19.25 years old. They beat out the 2018 J/88 Team Blue Flash; remarkably, their combined ages were 19.5 years old!

It’s blowing strong out of the north in Johnstone Strait, making it very difficult for teams to get to the Queen Charlotte’s and beyond. However, those teams already there are seeing some light winds mixed with some real southerlies moving them quickly to their goal.  Follow TEAM MBR’s exploits on Instagram here  and on their Team MBR Facebook page here  Here is Team MBR’s website  For more R2AK sailing information and tracking information

J/24 Starts Race 2 Alaska!

(Vancouver, BC)- “June's arrival in the Pacific Northwest is a special time thanks to the area's unique sailing scene that includes events such as the Van Isle 360 (odd-numbered years), the Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race (even-numbered years), and the annual Race to Alaska (R2AK), the latter of which began yesterday (Monday, June 3) on the waters off of Port Townsend, Washington. While the former two races are exciting, the R2AK's rules add a significant level of commitment by forbidding competitors from sailing with engines. And we're not talking the honor system here: to be eligible to compete in the R2AK, a boat cannot carry auxiliary power, irrespective of the rocky and remote lee shores (sometimes populated with grizzly bears) that are part of the R2AK experience.

The first obstacle to overcome is the Johnstone Straits (yes, same family/ relative).  A foreboding, long, narrow, body of water everyone must transit heading north, famous for powerful, gusty winds rolling off towering snow-capped peaks and even stronger currents with a few tidal whirlpools thrown in.

Then, after going north past the Johnstone Straits, there's the even more formidable Seymour Narrows. This is a very narrow channel just north of the British Columbian fishing town of Campbell River, where tidal swings can generate up to 15 knots of current, and where even whales are said to wait for favorable waters to make their passage!!

So, it's fair to say that travelling to Alaska under human power (R2AK rules allow for paddles, peddle-driven propellers and sails) adds a significant complicating factor to the race while also testing each competitor's commitment to the dream with ample exposure to cold water, notoriously fickle winds, and plenty of hard-won local knowledge.

Then there's the obvious: cold, hypothermia-inducing water, wilderness coastlines, wild-card weather, and a serious need for self-sustainability.

On Thursday, June 6 at 12:00pm, the fleet will begin the 710 nautical mile leg to Ketchikan, which is first marked by the all-out sprint to make it through Seymour Narrows before the tidal window shuts and the current machine forces boats to circle above the whales. Then comes the dash for the $10,000 cash prize (and Ketchikan).

Amongst the fleet will be a team of young men sailing on a J/24, a first for this race. In the 40.0nm “qualifier”, Team MBR (McGuffin Brothers Racing) finished just 2 hours behind the fastest 30-foot trimaran. Last year’s winners, the all-women Sail Like A Girl M32 team finished just 45 minutes ahead (they finished 7th). It was a gear-buster, people-buster of a race, with winds gusting to 35 kts on the nose and big seas. The weather was so bad, that over half the fleet did not even “start” on the first day, as you had 36 hours to make the crossing across the capricious Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Who is Team MGR?  It was founded by twin brothers living on Saltspring Island,  B.C. and racing out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Cianan McGuffin, Finn McGuffin, Callum McGuffin, and Duncan Macdonald comprise the four-person team. Powered by the wind and oars, they will fight on in the grand tradition of the race to discover more about themselves, their inner souls, their tenaciousness, and the world around them. We wish them well.” Thanks for contribution from Sail-World.com’s North American Editor- David Schmidt.  Follow TEAM MBR’s exploits on Instagram here   Here is Team MBR’s website  For more R2AK sailing information and tracking information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Team MBR (McGuffin Brothers Racing) Racing a J/24 to Alaska!?

It was in 2018 that four brothers in their late teens/20’s stopped whatever activity they were doing on Salt Spring Island (British Columbia), stared at the R2AK Race that swarmed around their island, and reached a collective conclusion: “There is an undefinable but compelling reason that we are drawn into this adventure,” and Team McGuffin Brothers Racing was born out of its own name.

At ages 18, 19, 19, and 22 years old, they are dead even with youngest team to ever enter.  The team members include Cianan McGuffin, Finn McGuffin, Callum McGuffin, and “brother in arms” Conner Ekelund.

Who are these ripped young’uns from the generation Millennials? Combined, they are sailors who dinghy train on 49ers every week, paddle a SUP 40 miles at a clip, hike the trails, paddle dragon racing canoes, amongst many other outdoor activities.

Short version: these guys aren’t waiting for life to happen, they’re happening to life.

Our favorite part: their goal is to use their soon to be R2AK-glory to springboard themselves into the world of professional sailing.

Their words: “We don’t see how Oracle Team USA could refuse us after we’ve completed this race!”  Two words: Larry Ellison.

While their guidance counselor might have just drank the other half of the bottle, she can rest easy on her desktop knowing they at least chose a boat well-suited as any for taking them to the land of salty opportunity. The J/24 might be the world’s most ubiquitous racing sled for this or any race.  Its got a keel to keep the wet side down, flared sides to keep the saltwater off the dry side, and a tiny cabin to create a bubble of sleepable moistness between the rain and sea.

There are over 5,400+ of these things charging around the buoys worldwide.  If you run the numbers, like we didn’t, literally at any given moment there are no less than seven J/24s sailing or nearly sailing, somewhere around Mother Earth!  That’s astounding! As far as we know, so far not one of them has gone engineless to Alaska!? Cool.

Note- these guys will be using oars, or maybe propellers driven by bicycles, in addition to other things to propel themselves along the tortuous route to the finish line.

Follow Team MBR and their sailing exploits on Facebook here  For more McGuffin Brothers Racing Team information  For more Race 2 Alaska sailing information

J/88 BLUE FLASH- Race 2 Alaska Done!

(Port Townsend, WA)- On Saturday, June 16th, the infamous Race to Alaska started off Port Townsend, WA for the first leg of 40nm.  Then, on Monday, June 18th, the “real race” took off to Ketchikan, Alaska for over 750nm up fearsome straits with currents up to 15 kts, tornado-puffs pealing down hillsides in 40 kt microbursts, and even midsummer snow off the Canadian maritime provinces of British Columbia and the “inside passage” north to Alaska.  The weather can be fearsome.  A race not for the faint of heart, that is for sure.

When the 2015 Race to Alaska was first announced, the premise was so absurd it woke up sailors far and wide with a wake-up call. No engine or support along 750 miles.  What reasonable person would tackle that challenge? Sure, the $10,000 first prize literally nailed to a piece of wood got everyone’s attention.  But, there’s no free lunch in life, and the cost of that ten grand was high.

Three years later, our over-wired, over-stressed, over-politicized planet remains in need of some pain and suffering to remind ourselves that, as John Maxwell notes, “You cannot overestimate the un-importance of practically everything.”

The 2018 edition of the R2AK delivered. Here’s the June 25 report from Ketchikan, Alaska:

Even for those who lack calloused fingertips and strained tendons commonly associated with “tracker finger,” just watching the dock in Ketchikan provides all the cues needed to predict the imminent arrival of another Race to Alaska team.

Regardless of the time of day (usually late) or amount of rain (usually a lot), the procession down the docks starts with people, then the cameras and microphones of local press plus the R2AK media team, then a bell on a stand from the Ketchikan Yacht Club, a six-pack or two of congratulatory beer, and a uniformed customs officer.

Sometimes, there’s also a guy playing bagpipes. Sometimes, someone brings a shotgun. To date, these two have remained peacefully unrelated.

Fans crowd the docks, line the piers and breakwater, and wait for the first hoot from the first sighting to break the damn of pent-up enthusiasm and respect and what follows is a rolling wave of joyous elation that brings people together, lifting their voices, bagpipes, and the occasional shotgun blast to a heart-warming cacophony that serves as encouragement and an audible navigational aid for their final 500 feet.

On Monday June 25th, that scene played out six times as the first echelon of finishers touched the dock, rang the bell, drank the beer, cleared customs, and had one reaction or another to the bagpipes.  First to finish at 12:17 AM with a champagne shower was Team Sail Like A Girl- it was a joyous celebration for the all-women crew of seven, first to ring the bell, and immediately announcing that all $10,000 nailed to the board would go to the women’s Breast Cancer research- kudos to them for a job well done!  

Several hours later, J/88 Team BLUE FLASH hove into view, much to the delight of many on the crowded dock.  Scott Grealish’s son Sean and five other crewmembers, all under-25, sailed their J/88 BLUE FLASH into the Ketchikan finish line as the sixth boat overall around 1635 hours.  That they even finished was a reward in itself as the youngest adventurers ever to accomplish that feat.

The team of six had an average age of 19.4 when they started the race (one just graduated high school a few weeks ago). Their race was one of competent prudence that outpaced their age. They arrived unscathed, boat intact, and other than burgers on the mind, none the worse for wear and tear.  An amazingly mature group of kids.

Team BlueFlash: “In the R2AK spirit we’d like to start a tradition for the youngest team in the race. In this bag are our sporks— we’ve all signed them. We’d like the youngest team in the next R2AK to carry them for good luck.”

Race Boss: “Did you wash them?”

Team BlueFlash: “No.”

Proud Dad- Scott: “You guys sailed 218 miles in the last 24 hours!”

Everyone else: “WOOOHOOOOO!”

Team Sail Like a Girl: “So, what was it like sailing with a boat full of boys?”

Maisey (the only girl on Team BlueFlash): "Ha ha! (lots of laughter)

Team BlueFlash: “I think we’ve proved that a bunch of young and stupid people could sail a really good race!”

Tim Penhallow- Team Boatyard Boys (Winners in 2015): “Well, thanks for coming and joining the old stupid people!” (laughing).

As the sun set on the official awards ceremony and the block party that mixed Ketchikan regulars with R2AK’s temporary residents, old and young, stupid and stupid alike. The celebrations continued into the long Alaskan night (really more like an extended twilight!).  Here is the “live video” of the J/88 BLUE FLASH arrival in Ketchikan, Alaska- on Facebook   Follow J/88 Blue Flash on Instagram   Follow the Race 2 Alaska on Facebook here  For more Race 2 Alaska sailing information
 

J/88 BLUE FLASH- Race 2 Alaska Update

(Port Townsend, WA)- On Saturday, June 16th, the infamous Race to Alaska started off Port Townsend, WA for the first qualifying leg of 40nm.  Then, on Monday, June 18th, the “real race” took off to Ketchikan, Alaska for over 735nm up fearsome straits with currents up to 15 kts, tornado-puffs pealing down hillsides like 40 kts microbursts gales, and even snow midsummer off the Canadian maritime provinces of British Columbia and the “inside passage” north to Alaska.  The weather can be fearsome.  A race not for the faint of heart, that is for sure.

Scott Grealish’s son Sean and five other crew members all under-25 are sailing their J/88 BLUE FLASH and hope to be the first boat to finish and win a cash prize of $10,000.  That they even finish will be a reward in itself as the youngest adventurers ever to accomplish that feat. Here are some of Scott’s daily updates on their progress north to Ketchikan.

June 18th- Monday- 2035 hrs Pacific
Quick update for those who didn't stay up half the night watching the tracker :)

The team made an incredible start out of the harbor, and worked really hard to build a lead in super light air and against current in the early going.  Really good stuff.

They had a tough decision to make at Turn point, and in the pre-race briefing, we had discussed going out of Boundary pass if they were late to this point.....but they went inside in a gamble to get up to Active pass before the current turned against them.....and it almost worked!!

At that point, with just a few more knots of breeze, they could have punched out into the straights and had a commanding lead.  It wasn't to be.

They made a choice to go north to the next pass, Portlier, which had a 3 am window of slack to allow them through...but they were fighting the ebb current in light air and you can see on the tracker that they bailed out and just hung around Active pass for hours waiting for their chance to get through there instead. I'm pretty sure that was a decision based on fatigue from a long hot day of pedaling and light air sailing.

In reality, if you got to turn point late and elected to go inside, you needed to 100% commit to going up to Portlier (as the race winning PT watercraft did).  That would have put them right where he is now, literally 25 miles at least ahead.

But as luck had it, the outside boats got just enough breeze to creep up north overnight, and the tough luck is that today the southerly boats haven't gotten the wind (as we expected) and so the boats in front will extend the lead and things look pretty grim for now.

BUT, that same idea works both ways, and here is my two cents on what's up next.

The light air zones in the straights will persist with all this high pressure today....and there may be some southerly even at times and places that could bring them back.  But by late tonight/early am there should be real southerly breeze that could bring the fleet back up towards the leaders.

PLUS, the next big "gate" to get past is Seymour Narrows....and if the leaders get there any time other than slack, they have to wait up to six hours.  So once again, a little luck can either get you way up the course or bring back the fleet to you.

The next wild card is the actual Johnstone Straight.  They can get past the narrows by pedaling (it's short) but all the teams will be very challenged if the light air continues as forecast and they have to manage the entire straight under mostly human power.....  The team knows this, and the pre-race plan was to pack in the sleep today/ tonight so they can power thru.

Once the leaders (whoever they are) clear that hurdle, they will be very hard to catch.  It's been a crazy race so far!

June 19th- Tuesday- 0900 hrs Pacific
Wow!  Big gains overnight for Team Blue Flash.  As expected, the southerly breeze came and brought them back into this race.  I'm sure there are smiles onboard this morning, as they are finally getting a chance to show they are good sailors.

They took 10 miles out of almost everyone, sailing away from the Olson 30 Dreamcatcher, and taking time out of the leaders.

I'll reveal my secret weapon now:  It's called the A2PHRF kite.  At 103 sq meters, it's much bigger up top than the typical 89 sqm J/88 kite.  Great for this stuff.  Version one took us to several victories (until Cal Offshore week when it went from 20 to 30 knots quickly and Andrew H (included here so I can tease him yet one more time :)  found out that at 19 knots boat speed even he can't keep the J/88 from wiping out when the rudder cavitates!)  So, we shredded that one.

But version two was cut even better for some reaching, and used only in the Mac race (served us well).  New sails are fast!

The big story:  The girls are nearing the tidal gate at Seymour Narrows, but they are going to miss the 10:30 ebb by a hair!  That means they get their turn to sit while the Blueflash gets until 4:30 to get there.  So, it's race restart at Seymour Narrows!!!

Then they all go thru and guess what?  It's a 10.6kn flood!  So, they all sit on the other side in Brown's bay until 11pm.  Then when they finally get the ebb....there won't  be any real wind!

So, it's river sailing in light wind and current.  Sean and Grant have been racing in that condition since they were 8!  I like their chances.  Going to be tricky at night too.... This just got interesting.....

June 20th- Wednesday- 1235 hrs Pacific
Got a great text around noon from the team:  "Team is in really good spirits.  Great trip so far".  After worrying about them half the night getting thru the Seymour Narrows and Johnstone Straits, that was a good text!

Sean started dreaming about this race two years ago, watched every video, analyzed all the tracks, talked to prior participants, and set out with one goal:  Create an all youth team and be the youngest to finish R2AK.

I bring that up because, naturally, in the prep and early stages of this R2AK, they clearly were out there with competitive ambitions. I'm thinking right about now they are stepping back and realizing that R2AK is really all about challenging yourself in the company of like-minded (crazy) people.  And, they are having a great adventure!

For the moment, they look good coming through Johnstone Straits without getting into big headwinds. The leaders are about 30 miles up the course, but considering the team stopped for a few tidal gates on the race so far, it's actually pretty cool there is this much company near the front of the fleet.

I think things could get closer, actually, as the leaders enter back into the channels to Bella Bella and the chasers look like they'll be reaching fast. And, a forecasted gale will slow the others down, while the J/88 can keep sailing!

I think Russell Brown on PT Watercraft (solo guy on a Gougeon catamaran, who stops every night) is sleeping more than I am this week!

Remember, they will lose cell coverage soon, so not likely to hear much until Bella Bella. I'll relay any sat phone updates I receive.

June 20th- Wednesday- 2335 hrs Pacific
I got a call from Sean. All good.  They tried to get out of Johnstone Strait, but got flushed back. No wind, much more current than charts suggest.

Trying again on this next cycle.

Conditions change quickly and don't reflect what we see online. Talks five minutes, then wind built from dead to over 15 kts. “Gotta go Dad”!

He confirmed they missed Active Pass by 45 minutes, so the ten mile lead turned into a ten mile loss. They tried for Portlier, but couldn't make berthing/ docks against the current. Their pedal drive is not up to the other leaders level- like the “girl power” in front of them.

He said the leaders went thru Seymour Narrows with nearly max ebb in no breeze (up to 15 kts!). Gutsy call. They would have had double that current, so they waited. They skipped the next slack to flood, as they didn't think they could get into Brown's Bay and would get flushed back through Seymour Narrows!

In any event, they timed their Johnstone Straits run perfectly, to get to Helmken Island, as planned, and out of the powerful currents flowing down Johnstone Straits.

They know about the dissolving omega block, approaching Low (depression), gale warning for Johnstone Strait.  That should help them a lot against the leaders- the J/88 can handle that, not so sure about the others!

They are going to need water and battery recharge in Bella Bella and plan to stop.

They are thinking things through and playing it conservative.

They told me to tell Stu Johnstone that you can hit a large floating tree at 5 knots going upwind in a J/88 and it doesn't leave a scratch!

I guess that proves the logs don't go away at night....Go BlueFlash!

More news when it’s fit to print next week!  Or, follow “LIVE” at the links below.  Fascinating race!!

Follow the Race 2 Alaska on Facebook here   For more Race 2 Alaska sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/35 Cruising Alaska?

(Juneau, Alaska)-  For sure!  It can be an amazing experience sailing the wild and un-explored waters of the mountainous Alaskan coastline.  We recently got a great report on that experience from Krista Howell:

“Early August finds us back in our home port of Valdez, AK after our summer cruise. This is our second summer of cruising our J/35 and it has confirmed our decision that it is an excellent boat for us. When we started boat shopping, we wanted a boat that would be fun to sail, capable of working into a headwind and seaworthy enough for some ocean passages including safely crossing the Gulf of Alaska.

We bought our J/35 VENTURE in the Seattle, WA area. She had been used for local racing and day sailing. In the Seattle area we made a few changes that would allow us to move her up the inside passage to AK. A Monitor Wind Vane and anchoring gear were the first two additions. We mounted the primary anchor on the bow with 300 ft of chain that leads back to the windless that is mounted on the cabin top aft of the V-birth hatch so that chain drops down into a chain locker we built in front of the mast, to reduce the weight in the bow. A secondary anchor was added to a holder on the stern. A solar panel, inflatable dinghy, epirb and life raft were also added. A local sail loft changed our racing sails from foil to hank ons. Leaving Seattle, we were a bit worried about how we would actually like cruising a J/35. We had a wonderful first trip north.

In Valdez, we have continued to make more cruising modifications. We live aboard so additional storage down below was needed. We changed the settees in the main cabin by building in cupboards on both sides that matched the width of the shelf that was there. We also modified the storage under the quarter-berths and V-berth to create smaller compartments. A set of three shelves were also added to the corner of the port quarter-birth just aft of the galley for increased galley storage. We have an ice box but do not have any refrigeration. During the summer a cooler fits behind the ladder, between the quarter-births. In the winter, the cooler is moved to the cockpit and a wood box fits in that area. We have a small electronic heater that runs when we are in the harbor but we also have a small Dickinson woodstove that is mounted to the bulkhead at the end of the starboard settee. In this winter climate we fight condensation. The wood stove provides very dry heat and we have a stackrobber mounted on the stove pipe with a small fan that flows warm air into the V-birth. During the winter, we put up large canvas covers that help shed the significant amount of snow that Valdez receives each winter, but are also easy to take down for the wind storms that blow through the harbor each winter.

This summer, we stayed out in the Gulf of Alaska from Prince William Sound to the north end of Prince of Wales Island. From there we traveled down the inside passage as far south as Shearwater, BC. Heading north, we have stayed in the inside passage to visit many small towns, scenic anchorages and natural hot springs in SE Alaska including Glacier Bay National Park before leaving the shelter of the inside passage to cross the Gulf again on our way back to Valdez. We have found our J/35 VENTURE to be well-suited to this type of cruising. When we left Valdez May first, the Gulf of Alaska was filled with series of low pressures that sent gale after gale from the SE moving along the coast. There are a number of bays that we could slip into and wait for the next small weather window before heading south again. The advances in communication now make it easy to get update weather reports even in remote locations. The J/35 design allowed us to easily and safely handle the offshore conditions with two people. Even when sailing her conservatively, she easily glides through the water making good time in offshore conditions handling the large swell and waves that can build in the Gulf of AK. The inside passage is known for shifting and varying wind conditions. SV Venture is fun to sail in these conditions because she sails so well to windward. In the course of the typical day, we alternated between working to windward and downwind sailing as the winds funnel around the islands and through the channels that did required frequent sail changes. Several days we were able to fly the spinnaker for hours at a time. We were able to sail most of the trip with very little motoring.

Back home and preparing to return to work for the winter, we are already starting to plan next summers destinations. Add to Flipboard Magazine.