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Join us tomorrow for an event exploring why people undertake extraordinary adventures at sea, inspired by our recent story “Surviving the Race to Alaska.”
For many people, the dream of pushing away from a dock and setting off into the breaking waves for freedom and adventure at sea is an alluring one. Some thirst for the challenge, others for acclaim, and some may even go seeking fortune. The Race to Alaska—R2AK to those in the know—gives adventure seekers that opportunity. To win US $10,000, competitors brave gale warnings, downpours, and notoriously dangerous tidal rapids en route from Port Angeles, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska. The race has two basic rules: no motors and no support. The winners travel the 1,200 kilometers in as little as four days, running on pure adrenaline. Racers sail nonstop when there’s wind and paddle—or pedal elaborate bicycle propellors—when there isn’t. For the stragglers, just completing R2AK can take weeks. The endeavor is brutal and risky. So what drives people to take on such extreme challenges?
On Tuesday, June 7, at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time, join Hakai Magazine editor in chief Jude Isabella for a conversation with adventure psychologist Paula Reid, who has spent 10 months racing a yacht around the world and skied to the South Pole; Karl Krüger, the first person to complete the Race to Alaska by paddleboard; and Douglas Smith, who is entering the Race to Alaska for the first time this year.
When I told a friend who once sailed from Victoria, British Columbia, to Ketchikan that Krüger completed R2AK in 14 days on a paddleboard, she was shocked. “I thought you were going to say two months,” she said. Trust me—you’ll want to hear his story.
Sign up for the event here. Registrants will receive reminders and the opportunity to participate in a Q&A following the panel. Or join us live on YouTube.
See you there,
Vanessa Minke-Martin
Audience engagement editor |
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