R2AK 2022 Pre-Race Musings

Race to Alaska 2022 begins June 13. I think aloud about it as part of half-Aussie team Vegemite Vigilantes.

Salmon in the Seine book stuff yields to boat stuff for June. This post breaks five days before the starting gun goes off for Leg #1 of R2AK 2022 in Port Townsend. I am one of the four souls of the half-Aussie team Vegemite Vigilantes. Our steed? Fellow teammate and de facto captain Scott Wallingford’s shiny new Corsair 760 racing trimaran. Our source of power? The overwhelming amount of B Vitamins in Vegemite, of course!

The writer in me wants to dish the dirt free of self-censure. But the racer in me takes the reins here. Cards must be played close to chests in this pre-race week. So here is my non-spoiler take on R2AK 2022 to give onlookers macro-level context from where I’m sitting.

Scott Wallingford, a man with a dawg, a boat, and a dream.

R2AK 2022 GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

Pent-Up Pandemic Energy = R2AK Junkies Need a Fix?

I’ll dive into specific teams shortly, but my first impression of R2AK 2022 talent on display is that it is a relatively competitive year. Olympians, seasoned racers, R2AK veterans, and the like abound. We have 38 full course teams with an additional 11 Leg #1 only racers this year, which is around where it normally is (I think there were 46 teams in 2019). There’s a generally eager vibe in the air and the pre-race Ruckus party in Port Townsend and the Victoria shenanigans could be extra electric.