Race to Alaska competitors are still on the course and a trickle of finishers are ringing the bell in Ketchikan. Here’s the latest update from Race HQ…

Folks who spend a lot of time on the water like to refer to those who make good decisions and well-considered preparations as “prudent mariners.” Team Monkey Fist are what you might call “prudent mariners,” and they indeed have gone through the crucial, years-long process of getting their asses whooped to earn the title. To understand how these naval tree-swingers came to earn this moniker while standing proudly on the finish line dock in Ketchikan yesterday afternoon, you might want to take a quick mental journey back to the R2AK Proving Ground 2017.

For those following the race for the first time this year, you may have been tricked into believing that the R2AK Proving Ground is a tame beast—a black labrador watchdog more likely to lick your eyeball than send you jumping the chain link fence. Maybe it’s losing its touch, maybe it’s getting soft. Maybe climate change. But how about last year? Or maybe back in the day?

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Feature image by Jim Meyers.