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Photo of the Week: The Snowflakes – R2AK

750 miles to Alaska on this cat!

February 26, 2026

You don’t have to be a fanatic but it might help if you plan to sail an open catamaran in the legendary Race to Alaska (R2AK)!  Jeff Williams from Orillia ON and his crew Mike Van Joy (the boat is named Snowball; the crew is known on FB as The Snowflakes) are racing to Alaska 2026, beginning June 14th, starting in Port Townsend, WA and finishing in Ketchikan, AK. Where it gets shaky is that this is all happening aboard this 20-foot Tornado catamaran.

The R2AK is an annual 750-mile race that allows all sorts of boats but no engines. Gear storage in wet bags and sleeping accommodation is on the boat’s trampoline. Sails support is coming from Richard at Precision Sails in Barrie.

“We love a challenge. While most competitions for a boat like ours focuses on boat handling skills for a few hours at a time, this race adds so many factors like hypothermia, hunger, thirst, isolation, lack of sleep and repair facilities, as well as a string of challenges we probably haven’t even thought about yet. Yeah, we like that sort of stuff. This is the type of challenge where just finishing is good enough for bragging rights, and as a bonus, we get to cross the line with some of the best sailors in the world.”

We will bring you more on the team as the race gets closer.

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