Great Sailing Adventure! Admiralty Island Rally (AIR)

Promoting again folks - getting down to the wire for entry! ....Boat owners who meet the eligibility requirements are invited to apply for entry in the Admiralty Island Rally (AIR). 

This is a SEAS recreational event open to both racing and cruising sailboats, promoted in the spirit of adventure of all sailors.  This is an incredible way to get away from town and into ship-board living for a week, testing both technical sailing skills and the basics of being prepared for anything and everything life on the water in our region can bring. 

So skippers: Confirm you Crew, pack you coolers and join us June 21-29!  9am start at the Marmion Line, this next Saturday mornign!

The daily races are comprised of legs 20-30 nautical miles in length that connect evening anchorages on the +200-mile course around Admiralty Island.   In the spirit of comradery and fun, participants are welcome to share the adventures of the day each evening at anchor, and at the midpoint layover at Baranof Warm Springs.  

The AIR alternates seasons with the SEAS Spirit of Admiralty, which essentially follows the same course with no stops but for the layover at Warm Springs bay.  The Spirit is a Race, more rigorous in that sailors must be capable and prepared to sail at night in inland waters, in any weather.  The AIR is a Rally – a series of day races between evening stops, with the latitude of adjusting the smaller segments by common agreement to adapt to weather and just how much fun folks want to have.  The race-minded boats can race each day.  Those who want to cruise can cruise by motor or sail as the heart desires.   The AIR welcomes sailors and boats of all kinds and inclination, as long as each is capable and self-sufficient, willing to operate within the safety guideline of the event, and is interested in adventure.

In lauding the beauty of our region, we cannot overlook the challenges either – each leg of this race takes you through a relatively remote and isolated portions of our inland waters.  The term “inland waters” is a little deceiving too:  the straights and channels we traverse are quite broad, weather and tides can be quiet severe, and amenities of food, fresh water, and fuel scares.   Preparation requires careful planning and knowing both the capabilities of your boat and crew.  Best bring clothing for all seasons, raingear and fleece, shorts and sunglasses.   Extra food and fuel along with your fishing gear.   Some find the still-air hot days we often have in June more challenging than the windy wet ones (most of us are first and foremost sailors, after all!)    

As an advocate and SEAS Coordinator for the AIR 2014, I will present a series of articles this early spring, summarize the race course.  If you find yourself interested, grab a copy of the 2014 SEAS AIR Specific Sailing Instructions and study it carefully.   Please feel free to contact me through our website if you have any questions about the event, course, application, or sailing instructions. 

Skippers Meeting: 5pm June 19 (Thrusday) at T.K. McGuires (Prospector).

Sean Boily, S/V HighNoon
SEAS Race Committee, AIR Chair