Breakfast in Hood River

Seriously, Save the Date

March 7, 2018 Comments (0) journal

Closer to the Starting Line

So here’s the plan, bare bones, nothing-but-the-facts-ma’am:

On June 11, at 5:30pm, I’m planning to start paddling from Tacoma to Port Townsend. It’s the Seventy48, the pre-funk to the Race to Alaska, and it’s only open to human powered vessels, kayaks, canoes, rowboats, SUPs, etc.

I will be paddling a kayak(?) that I am making from foamed plastic that washed up on the beach in the Tacoma Narrows. The boat is shaped now and awaiting the wrap job, after which it will be painted and ready to go. I hope. There are no guide books for this.

I’m not expecting to win. That honor will go, I predict, to a double surf ski, paddled by very fit men in their 20’s or 30’s, and they’ll finish in less than 10 hours. (That’s just my bet, without looking at the rest of the field.) I do plan on finishing, however, which means that my boat, the Basura del Mar, needs to be able to cover the 7o miles in less than 48 hours.

I’m doing this primarily as a way to bring attention to marine debris and to get people to think about their own use of plastic. To the extent that it is entertaining and somewhat uncertain, that is all a bonus. The Ikkatsu Project will have a booth at the pre-race festivities where you can see the boat and get more info about upcoming events and programs. See you there!