|
|
|
|
|
|
Breaking Down and Breaking In
Aug. 11, 2009
By Justin
Breaking Down and Breaking InTrial Running Alaska's 2,000-Mile Wet Dog RaceText and Photography by Ralph "Trawlercat" Perez
Now that this "greenhorn" is thawed out and back in sunny Los Angeles, California, from the first-ever Alaska Wet Dog expedition (May 19th through June 12, 2009), it's time to share with future PWC Wet Dog racers around the world some experiences and lessons learned. Six years ago, John Lang of Wasilla, Alaska, proposed the world's longest personal watercraft (PWC) endurance race with the goal of the largest prize payout ($1 million) in history. Most thought he was crazy; but here you are today reading about it. The first Wet Dog endurance race is now set for May 2011, to test the stamina of man and machine.
I believe that all that 21st century man is searching for is adventure, similar to the right of passage that Australian aborigines undergo - a journey into the wilderness as an occasional interruption of regular work. Our Wet Dog expedition provided that "spiritual journey" in more ways than one. Don't let the short Alaska summer fool you. We survived the second largest tidal drops in the world; 41- to 44-degree ocean water; 10- to 15-foot "Deadliest Catch" Bering seas and 40- to 60-knot williwaw winds.
Lang's goal was simple, to add a summertime event to match the infamous winter events: Iditarod dog sled race at 1,131 miles and Iron Dog race at 1,971 miles.
(Above: The first group of Wet Dog explorers: Martin Buser, John Lang, Petr Bucinsky, Ron Peye, Gina Poths, and Ralph Perez.)
Our six person expedition was filmed and directed by Aaron Kinser of Los Angeles, California, and cameraman Scott Hough, from Boise, Idaho. They are the reason that we rarely rode over 30 mph. The made-for-television series should air in the near future. Reporter Bradley Zint, from the Kodiak Daily News also accompanied the group from Kodiak to Old Harbor, the coldest place we visited (41 degrees in June!).
(Above: Only 41 degrees in June!)
The PWC riders included Martin Buser, four-time Iditarod Champion; John Lang, the expedition leader; Petr Bucinsky, Ron Peye, and Gina Poths from Anchorage, and yours truly. Memory Maker charters, of Homer, Alaska, owned by Brenda Hays, supplied the 35-foot Sea Wolf aluminum boat and captain. Captain Bruce Lokzar served as the film crew's transportation and floating self-service gas station. For extra fuel, we carried between two and four Blitz six gallon gas cans. We constantly packed and repacked. For some reason, anything you try to put on a PWC always looks like a mountain of extra gear. My gear was strapped in a large waterproof bag across my rear seat. Others mounted pelican boxes across the stern of their boats. John used a homebuilt aluminum rack that reminded me of Jed Clampett's Model T Ford on "The Beverly Hillbillies."
Crossing the Shelikof Straits from the coastal strip of Kodiak Island can be a bear. This strait is well known for its extreme tidal flow, which can drop nearly 40 feet. What we found out through the course of this trip is that any stock, normally aspirated PWC can make it. When people call offshore races "enduros," they really have no idea what they're talking about. In a race like this, wide open throttle riding will not make you a winner.
Our first mechanical failure was John, who sucked up a rock after refueling on a beach off the Kenai Peninsula. Next thing you know an airplane lands on the rocky beach beside us. Jim, the pilot, walks over to us and says, "You guys are crazy to be out here." Ron and I look at each other and say, "Didn't he just land that airplane on this beach, and he's calling us crazy?" From then on, all refueling was done offshore (without spilling a drop thanks to our Blitz fuel cans).
(Above: With the WAKE platform filled with extra fuel instead of water, this GTX discovers the rules of weight distribution)
To ride in Alaskan waters, you must wear a dry suit and float coat. The dry suit is not meant to keep you warm but to keep you dry. You wear undergarments to keep you warm. Despite bobbing around the unruly ocean, I wore Helly Hansen polypro underwear top/bottoms; two sets of wool socks; Polypro bottom; Polypro jacket; Kokatat polartec coveralls; Glacier gloves; Kokatat full head hood; Chota neoprene full length muklugs and a Kokatat Dry Suit - plus Oakley H2O goggles. I also wore a Mustang Force 6 Instructor Life Vest instead of the float coat as it's equipped with front and rear pockets. We were all equipped to survive both on land and sea. Add to all this equipment an ION Transponder, SAT phone, SPOT personal locator tracker, Garmin 76CX, West Marine VHF and Olympus waterproof camera.
(Above: Thousands of miles of riding requires lots of regular servicing)
A couple days later, Petr was trying to resolve mechanical issues around the Baranoff Islands in about ten-foot swells. As I looked over, I saw Gina napping on her Sea-Doo. Peeing in a dry suit is also not an option. That is why they install a horizontal zipper in dry suits. Good for men but not for women. This issue presented problems for Gina when the riding days extended beyond ten hours. Also, I don't recall seeing night time - it was always light enough to see.
(Above: With nowhere to lay down and no way to pee, Gina gives up and takes a nap on her ski)
In addition to camping, we made stops at the Kodiak Comfort Inn, Larsen Bay Lodge, Port Graham B&B, two native villages and three fish canneries who took us in for the night, thanks to Gina our logistician. We always ate well thanks to Petr and Ron. Ron arranged a crab feast for us "Wet Doggers" on Kodiak Island that is now to be a yearly event. Petr fished anytime he could. His first catch was a 28-pound halibut which he filleted on his lap. Thirty minutes later, that fed us all on the beach by a roaring driftwood fire.
(Above: Desperate for fresh food, Petr guts a halibut in his lap and preps it for dinner that evening)
(Above: With plenty of driftwood to burn, we kept warm next to our flotsam inferno)
At about the second week of our expedition, I recall sitting by a stream sucking down some bottled honey while dipping moose jerky into a jar of peanut butter. After drinking from a small waterfall, I now knew I was now one with Alaska. Others had similar experiences.
Most memorable experiences include an unplanned stop due to weather at an abandoned cannery north of Kodiak on Shuyak Island. We quickly encountered 71-year-old Dick Holta and his two dogs. Dick told us his cannery closed in the early ‘70s and he bought it in 1980 and, until recently, ran a successful fishing lodge. Dick is now retiring to Palm Springs, California. The next morning, our PWCs sat high and
dry, about 100 yards from the water. I took over anchor duty after that
incident and used a small danforth anchor to secure us all. Ron and
Dick found a ten-foot-long, ten-inch thick plastic pipe that we used to
roll the ski's back into the water. A mistake like that could cause you
the race.
(Above: Fish out of water...)
Mary Nelson is the President of the Natives of Larsen Bay Tribal Council. Mary and her husband Bill helped us with everything from securing fuel to food and lodging. Bill took us to see our first of many Kodiak brown bears.
(Above:
Ralph gets uncomfortably close to a Kodiak bear, because having one's
limbs torn off actually sounds better than another 1,000 miles on a PWC)
RIVA supplied three of the five Sea-Doos, complete with snowmobile windshields, electric hand grip warmers, bilge pumps, navigation lights, GPS and lighter connections. Martin Buser left the expedition at Kenai, Alaska, due to time constraints. His friend, Todd Palin (soon-to-be ex-spouse to ex-Alaskan governor Sarah Palin) and other dignitaries came to see us all off. Todd is a friend of Martin and John and a top competitor in the Iron Dog.
The second checkpoint was in Kenai, Alaska. The film crew and I drove for two hours to catch up with the rest of the expedition. We found them thawing out in a local bar. It would seem that someone miscalculated the tide, so the group ended up stranded upriver about half a mile. One of the locals drove up and picked them up.
(Above: Stranded and landlocked, the crew hitches a ride back to shore)
The goal was to complete 2,000 miles from May 19th through June 9th. We fell short by 1,000 miles, primarily due to weather. The five new 2008/09 Sea-Doos performed flawlessly. I speak for the group when I say we welcome any normally-aspirated Yamaha, Kawasaki or Honda to see how they would perform given similar circumstances.
Our Alaskan firsts now include standing as close as 20 feet from a full size Kodiak bear without getting mauled, riding a PWC for nearly 1,000 miles down the Aleutian peninsula, riding alongside as many as thirty whales, watching bald eagles compete for fish, and going back into Alaska salmon cannery history. We are now a part of the first group of men and women who claim the bragging rights to the first Wet Dog expedition.
(Above: Tap the Rockies)
Fifteen-foot seas on PWC in Alaska are not doable. During the spring season, two main storm tracks affect the Aleutian island chain and we caught one of them. We were holed up in tents for three days while, outside, 40- to 60-knot winds and freezing sideways rain pelted us. Just below our camp, a now roaring creek flowed to the ocean and above us, the snow-covered hills were quickly melting. Beyond the five (intentionally) beached Sea-Doos, ten-foot seas raged with the occasional waterspouts thrown in for good measure. The occasional stellar sea lion still poked their head out of the water. And out there somewhere was our not-so-happy Captain and seasick film crew. With us running out of time, we abandoned the PWC to the safety of the support boat. We arranged for a landing craft to pick up our watercraft and equipment when the seas finally settled later that week.
Only a shortened trial run of the May, 2011 race, our expedition was a memorable one and one that many more should experience. If you're interested in participating in this event or in next year's second trial run, visit www.wetdograce.com.
(Above: No man is an island, but a man can be alone on that island, if that makes any sense)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Personal Watercraft Illustrated Privacy Statement Copyright Personal Watercraft Illustrated 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this service maybe be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher of Personal Watercraft Illustrated.
|
|
|
|
|
