Recommendation/Suggestion/Advice Kindly Required

That will be quite the adventure. Everything I’ve read about the inside passage gave me goosebumps w its brutal currents and unpredictable chaos

Before I married I wanted to do that route either on yak or zodiac w a 50 horse motor

I have a cousin in Port Townsend who is a master sailor and this gives me an excuse to call and ask questions. He grew up sailing with his father who was an incredible solo sailor and who poisoned my blood by taking me out the Humboldt jaws in 25’ swell

Incidentally the guy I rescued at Muir was on a yak that’d been “repaired professionally by a good shop” and is now somewhere on the bottom of the Marin coast

nowhere man might be right on that one, not an adventure I would take on repaired plastic yak

maybe better to spring for a new one

That will be quite the adventure. Everything I’ve read about the inside passage gave me goosebumps w its brutal currents and unpredictable chaos

Hi Bluekayak,

Thank you for your information, sadly I have to use this repaired Kayak, I will be good

I hate to be a nay sayer and I don't intend for this to be mean or judgemental -- I hope you can take this as constructive, yet firm advice.  Your last two trips showed that you are not experienced enough to do the R2AK trip.  You were literally scared for your life in moderately severe conditions within immediate rescue range.  The R2AK is the opposite of that.  You had very near disaster moments due to poor judgement and lack of seamanship that could result in your death on the R2AK. 

Remember that you may be 1-2 days away from rescue when you press your PLB button, if you can get your frozen hands to work.  When you are malnourished and severely dehydrated, you won't have the sense to push the button because your brain will be starved.  When you're not dressed properly and your crack reappears, your survivability in those waters will be measured in hours, not the days it will take to find you and rescue you.

As evidenced in this thread so far, though, you will not heed this advice and you will do this trip anyway.  So, before all else, make sure your family is whole and update your life insurance policy for current needs and costs so that your poor decisions don't financially burden them. 

Just my 2 cents. 

Just my 2 cents.

HI Tedski, thanks for your concern, as usually, you always use so sharp words. I believe no one is perfect, what we can do is to be alert, to be careful, I will be good.

I saw some NCKA quote an interest words: "A ship in a harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for". I do like this word, this theory not only apply for ship, but also for man

And not all the R2AK applicant will be accepted by organizer, around 50% will be rejected, they accept me should have their own judgement, so please don't be too worry for me, I will be very much appreciated for the useful information/advice which someone give to me, like how to get the weather forecast(MooMoo), what the real situation looks like there (Ex-kayaker)......

Life is short, just do it. Once again, thanks for your care and concern. 

Im w tedski on this one Mr. X.   There seems undue aggregate risk, and this is coming from a lawyer who just last week rode my bike down to LA solo w no SAG.  Ppl called me crazy to do it at all let alone in three days, so i fully appreciate the adventure lust. 

Id hate for the community to lose u, brother. 

Peace n safety b unto u Mr X

Just my 2 cents.

HI Tedski, thanks for your concern, as usually, you always use so sharp words. I believe no one is perfect, what we can do is to be alert, to be careful, I will be good.

I saw some NCKA quote an interest words: "A ship in a harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for". I do like this word, this theory not only apply for ship, but also for man

And not all the R2AK applicant will be accepted by organizer, around 50% will be rejected, they accept me should have their own judgement, so please don't be too worry for me, I will be very much appreciated for the useful information/advice which someone give to me, like how to get the weather forecast(MooMoo), what the real situation looks like there (Ex-kayaker)......

Life is short, just do it. Once again, thanks for your care and concern. 

I'm sorry my words come across as sharp.  I intend for them to be blunt.  You have to understand that it comes from a place of pulling dead bodies out of the water and returning them to their loved ones at the dock -- or worse not finding them at all and having to show up to their loved ones empty handed.  In the vast majority of those cases, it was due to a lack of experience and poor judgement.  Your actions leave a mark on everyone involved in your rescue and recovery.

I've said it before and I'll say it again that your sense of adventure is inspiring.  I agree, more than you can realize, on your points about old sayings, too.  However, there's a difference between adventure and recklessness.  I think the R2AK is a great aspiration, I just don't personally feel you're there yet.  I think you should do more trips like your other ones that work up to the mileage of R2AK.  Maybe do some shorter trips that are as remote as R2AK but shorter in distance.  "Training" is a word that comes to mind.

Think of it this way.  Just because I ran a Turkey Trot two years ago and a 5k this year doesn't mean I'm ready to sign up for the Ironman.

I hope that softens the sharpness some.  You're an extremely valuable member of this community and you would leave a very large hole if something were to happen to you.

I believe there are a few items that you must have for your adventure.

1. A new kayak
2. A new spare drive
3. A adequate suit for extreme conditions
4. Adequate weather information devices
5. Reliability, and strengthening upgrades to the kayak.
6. Satellite phone
7. At least 2 high quality radios
8. Probably many more items I can’t think of

Any less, and they absolutely will not let you enter the competition. They cannot allow a tragedy to happen on their watch.

For your past adventures I suggested that you start a Go Fund Me to garner some funds, and you declined because you wanted to do it all on your own. Please reconsider, and think about putting a resume together to get sponsored by Hobie, or one of the local dealers.

Another consideration would be to crew on one of the teams if any open spots are available so you could get  the full experience of the event your first time out. The learning during the trip would be invaluable for your solo go at it.

Tedski is a veteran of the Coast Guard, and spent many years performing rescues so please take his advice seriously.

Some great advice and experience to prepare for a great adventure in the future. Looks like some requirements before your even considered.

I would imagine a new kayak would be a must. I would think a dry run would also be in order to familiarize yourself with a new one as well to make sure there are no defects.

How much use and stress has been exerted on your current kayak on your last journey? I think it was considerable? 

Love the enthusiasm. I think with some more thought-out research and planning you will achieve your goal quickly.

I believe there are a few items that you must have for your adventure.

1. A new kayak
2. A new spare drive
3. A adequate suit for extreme conditions
4. Adequate weather information devices
5. Reliability, and strengthening upgrades to the kayak.
6. Satellite phone
7. At least 2 high quality radios
8. Probably many more items I can’t think of

I've got a spare mirage drive that Mr. X can borrow. Sadly, no Tandem Island available, however...

Mr.X, you are truly one of the most badass kayakers I've seen on here with some major accomplishments, but I'd really listen to what Tedski and others have pointed out.  You seriously sound like you're getting yourself way over your head.  You using that quote you found on here is just nonsense, absolutely shouldn't be applying random quotes to your situation. You should be better prepared, need better gear, and most importantly a new kayak.  If unfortunately this is your only vessel, maybe its a sign for you to come back to this when you're better prepared.  If you choose to ignore all this good advice and still decide to go, we wish you luck.       

Wow !

Some of the vessels are smaller than what i would have thought? Even safety gear ?


https://youtu.be/V-j1aYDx7BY?si=GOzX8i_NvHIZtDNV

Maybe too late to register this year?

https://r2ak.com/r2ak-race-application/

"Apply now".   Rick Ross.

Wow !

Some of the vessels are smaller than what i would have thought? Even safety gear ?


https://youtu.be/V-j1aYDx7BY?si=GOzX8i_NvHIZtDNV

Bro on a Laser? Ok, I know what I'm doing next summer!

Mr X you picked a good one and we shouldnt all sound so negative! If I didn’t have a wife and 17 year old son I’d polish up the stealth and do it. Obviously you know the conditions will be extreme and that’s part of what it’s about

The ncka crew leans to the safety side of things and some w experience in rescue so that’s where all the cautions come from, all worth paying attention to

Especially about the repaired plastic maybe stuff every unused crevice on the AI floatation would be a good idea, you probably already did that
 
Back when I looked into it I wasn’t thinking of it as a race just a summer trip and planned to hit land here and there to camp. One of my pieces of essential gear was going to be a 38 or better

All that aside it’s an intriguing trip and wish I could do it myself

Maybe next year with my son