{"id":78512,"date":"2024-07-17T12:07:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T16:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=78512"},"modified":"2024-07-23T15:15:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T19:15:42","slug":"wildcats-wild-race-to-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/wildcats-wild-race-to-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildcat\u2019s Wild Race to Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Adam Cove’s first attempt at the Race To Alaska was a successful one thanks to the exhaustive preparation of the Marshall Cat 18 “WildCat.”<\/span>\n Adam Cove<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Join Adam Cove and Sailing World\u2019s Dave Reed at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta<\/a> Speaker Series at Eastern YC in Marblehead (Massachusetts) on July 25 at 6:30 PM for a riveting Race to Alaska debrief and information session.\u00a0Additional details here<\/a>.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Facing breaking waves, roaring headwinds and raging currents, Massachusetts native, Adam Cove, recognized the limits of himself and his customized Marshall Cat 18 when he ran for cover in Canada\u2019s Queen Charlotte Sound during this summer\u2019s maniacal Race to Alaska<\/a>. It was one of many pivotal decisions along the 750-mile route from Port Townsend, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, that got Cove to the finish in record time and into the history books of this unique and extreme adventure race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were a lot of difficult parts, but that was the toughest,\u201d Cove says. \u201cComing out of Johnstone Strait, which is a very narrow area where the winds really funnel and the currents are 2.5-plus knots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he made the exit and tacked his way north, Cove was quickly contemplating his next move. The waves, 6 to 7 feet, were breaking and unruly. \u201cI\u2019d been short-tacking upwind through square waves for over a day and decided to take the first exit out of Johnstone. I thought it couldn\u2019t get worse, but I was wrong. I was taking on heavy spray and risking a lot in that sea state. Making limited progress to weather, I turned around and tucked in behind Malcolm Island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a tenuous anchor along the rocky coast he stayed put for nearly 5 hours and rested, and once the thermal gusts relented and the current eased, he set out again, making way for Ketchikan and the eventual solo monohull race record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Cove, the now bi-annual Race to Alaska proved to be as challenging as the brochure promised. Unpredictable winds, sweeping currents, rocks, logs, bears and hazards galore were only part of the allure for the 36-year-old marine industry consultant and Technical Editor for Sail<\/em> magazine. Finishing was a victory unto itself and for Cove, but as the top solo monohull sailor with two race records in hand, he\u2019s now part of lore of the America\u2019s most difficult race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n