NORTH to ALASKA
Copywrite 2020
Published by Archway Publishers
Available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Walmart, and Archway Publishing
The Race to Alaska is a very real race that is the brainchild of the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend, WA. It's a 750-mile race up the Inside Passage from Port Townsend to Ketchikan, AK. No motors or outside assistance is allowed. That's the extent of the rules. The first to finish wins $10,000. The second-place finisher gets a set of steak knives. Along the way, competitors have to contend with gales and drifters, killer whales and grizzly bears, and deadheads and killer whirlpools. The current rushes through the narrows at 10 to 12 knots setting up standing waves and eddies that effectively block passage except at slack water. On the other hand, the Inside Passage is home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in North America. Mountains line both sides funneling the wind, sometimes to deadly levels. Once the competitor passes Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island, he's on his own. There is no civilization for most of the rest of the race.
I competed in 2016 in a 38-foot ocean-racing catamaran named Nice Pair. We finished in tenth place in six days. We had very light winds for half the race requiring us to row a 4300-pound boat for hours on end. We arrived exhausted and wet but willing to do it again. I'd really like to do the race solo. That's what my book, North to Alaska, is all about.
North to Alaska is the story of one competitor who wants the record for the smallest boat to complete the race. He builds a 16-foot cedar-stripped sailboat and sets out to conquer the elements. Along the way, he enters a race-within-the-race between the other solo racers. He pushes his boat to the limit, and mother nature is not his friend. He weathers long periods with no wind at all, severe gales, and one massive storm that almost defeats him. He survives and keeps going only to face the last hurdle, the notorious Dixon Entrance.
Get your copy here: Archway Publishing
(ps. I get a bigger royalty if you buy from Archway Publishers rather than Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Just saying...)
There is a second edition coming out one of these days designed for the movies. Same story, same characters, just added perspectives from three different characters.
