For the next three weeks — and possibly longer — Ian Graeme and Janice Mason will be working together in a double kayak, paddling the coastline of British Columbia to Ketchikan, Alaska.
They will face challenges in endurance and strength, and the forces of nature that will bring big waves, tricky currents and, possibly, huge storms.
But the Victoria couple is up for it.
In fact, Graeme, 61, and Mason, 62, are competing in the Race2Alaska — billed the longest human or wind-powered race in North America — for the fifth and fourth time, respectively, and are relishing the challenge of paddling the 1,207 kilometres from Port Townsend, Washington to the southern coast of Alaska.
“It’s the teamwork, the rhythm we have and the ability to share the trip and experience — that’s what we really love about it,” said Graeme, a retired forester. “I’m comfortable out in the wilderness.”
Mason was a Canadian Olympic team rower in 1980 and 1984 and won gold and bronze medals at the world championships in 1982 and 1987. The competitive side of her still burns.
Aside from the challenge of racing, she enjoys the tranquility and solitude along the remote coast that few people get to experience.
“A lot of it is just getting out of the city. I grew up in Victoria. The race is a great place to get away from traffic, the noise and the connectivity. It gets very remote and quiet.
“Part of me says we should slow it down and explore,” said Mason — although with a laugh because she’s wired for racing.
Mason and Graeme completed the first leg of the race on Wednesday morning, a 64-kilometre sprint from Port Townsend to Victoria. It’s called the “proving ground” and racers have to finish within a 60-hour period to qualify for the long stretch from Victoria to Alaska.
Four participants had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on opening day Monday after gale-force winds capsized several boats, and race organizers extended the start window.
The Victoria couple waited until the Juan de Fuca Strait calmed.
The last time they crossed the strait in 2019 — the race was cancelled for two years because of the pandemic — Graeme and Mason missed their landing at the Inner Harbour and ended up off the Victoria Golf Club.
It was too windy to paddle around to the harbour, so they landed their double kayak, put it on wheels and carted the vessel to the finish line “by portage.”
They missed the race deadline by 30 minutes and couldn’t compete in the rest of the race.
The couple finished the entire race in 2017 using a rowboat and in 2018 in a double kayak. Graeme was also part of a sailing crew that finished the race in 2016.
The challenge of the gruelling race aside, Graeme and Mason say part of the attraction is meeting like-minded adventurers along the way.
They have been offered sleeping quarters on sailboats along the route. On Dungeness Spit, as they were waiting out weather to cross Juan de Fuca Strait, the lighthouse keepers plied them with coffee and baking, and offered a pad to pitch their tent.
Typically, they paddle all day, depending on the weather, and sleep in a small tent on remote shores. They pack only essentials, including all safety and survival gear, and prepare their food ahead of the race. Mason said she starts dehydrating chicken and pork and vegetarian dishes weeks before, and they bring along high-protein, high-energy meals and snacks such as oatmeal, granola bars, trail mix, chocolate and salami.
Graeme and Mason, who go by the moniker Team Oracle, are one of only four teams paddling the entire route either by kayak or rowboat. The rest of the 35 teams are in sail-powered boats.
That means they have no chance of winning the $10,000 US prize, and they have to take extra precautions. “It really comes down to being conservative, patient and watching forecasts,” said Graeme. “[The weather] can be confusing sometimes near shore. Sometimes it’s better to be a nautical mile out.”
Race organizers said in a bio of the couple: “Team Oracle has our vote for most likely to succeed.
“Kardashians be damned: Janice and Ian are R2AK’s JayZ and Beyonce-level power couple.”
They plan to average 50 to 60 kilometres a day and hope to reach Ketchikan by July 3. All teams leave today at noon from the Inner Harbour.
