So, if ya'll haven't been following the R2AK, you've been missing out. Most fun and exciting race I've followed.
www.r2ak.com, threads on sailing anarchy and wooden boat forum are fun for armchair commentary too.
First of all, huge bummer that the proa Team Pure and Wild is out. Props to them for making a tough call though. That race in a new boat with all the shakedown punch list items literally shaking down....scary. I was really rooting for them.
For those that aren't following, there has been a good bit of unexpected air, and the sailing multis are trouncing the monos and human powered teams. Currently it's an F-25C with a huge lead.
So, whats the ultimate harryproa for this race look like? Keeping in mind 2 things. 1. This year turned out much windier than expected, and 2. At least some human power is absolutely necessary, no sailing at all at the start line in Victoria.
So what can spank an F-25C with experienced crew, and stands up to the other factors of the race? What would you take? Expeditionarry? Bucket List? Solitarry?
Personally I'd be scared to death in those waters with no more protection than Exp. and BL. Yeah, there is a beach cat in the front half of the pack, but, damn, seriously? Sol sounds awesome, but that rig is a bit experimental, eh?
If I were building just for this race, I'd go with either Expeditionarry with some sort of hard protection added or the cruising Bucket List with the Sol's windward hull would be an awesome choice. I guess if there were less/no air the Exp. would be easier to drive with human power.
Human power? Of course I'd get our resident expert Rick Willoghby to design a 2 person pedal powered, air cavity blowing pedal rig! And carry a sculling oar for backup/variety.
I'm just having fun, but I think R2AK will develop into a pretty big deal. It's a helluva lot more fun and relevant to most sailors than the AC, and it'd be a great proving ground for the HP platform.