Rowing in and out of Victoria in the Race to Alaska

The Race to Alaska is a no-engine event, yet you are not allowed to sail in Victoria harbour, so every entrant had to use human power. On Team "Golden Oldies", a Crowther 38 catamaran, we had two sliding seats, one on each transom scoop. The 24ft beam meant the oars would not touch when all 4 were used. We could row at 3.2 knots at full speed, but 2.5 was more comfortable. We won the first leg, you can see Team "Freeburd" behind us. The start from Victoria was Le Mans style with all crews on shore and running down to their boats and rowing away. Despite the differences in type and size all boats seemed to row at around 3 knots, we overtook the Mirror 16. We rowed for over 6 miles non stop before the wind got up and we could sail. Richard Woods of Woods Designs www.sailingcatamarans.com