The Race to Alaska covers 750 miles. There are only two rules: no motor, and no support. Racers bring all different kinds of boats, anything from kayaks to multihull trimarans, to paddle and sail through the inside passage to Alaska. Despite the extreme demands of the race, the frigid water didn’t scare champion offshore sailor Ryan Breymaier, local hero. He took on the race with Tritium Racing Team, alongside John Sanemeister, despite having to make a boat change and one long delivery. At the start of Stage Two, however, the team looked at the weather and the race course and decided they weren't ready to sail to Ketchikan on the boat. Here’s what he had to say about it.
What made you want to join this race?
I work for and sail with John Sangmeister, who owns the TRITIUM RACING program. He has a 73-foot modified Orma trimaran that he wanted to do the race with. He and I raced the boat in the Transpac in 2013 and so we worked on refitting the boat for the first part of this year to prepare for this race.
Why made you think the trimaran was the best option?
It was the biggest boat to have ever entered the race. We spent a lot of time preparing it with new appendages during the first part of the year. Unfortunately, we damaged the boat during the delivery north, and with time being short we decided to return the boat to Long Beach. We were offered a replacement boat by a friend of the owner so we decided to collect it and still take the start. The replacement boat was a Farrier 32 (trimaran) built to race. It was a super option but with so little time to train we were no longer race favorites. It didn't stop us from having a great time.
How do you physically and mentally to prepare yourself for an endurance race?
I think that before entering an endurance race, you are already mentally prepared, otherwise you wouldn't be considering entering it. With the big boat, just training and knowing how to sail it correctly is sufficient physical training. As we were planning on racing as a team, there is a lot less mental preparation as for those who are doing it on a kayak or SUP for example.
Who would get to keep the steak knives?
The owner of the boat would have been very proud to use them for formal family occasions had we won them. Maybe another year!
Of all the races you could be doing, why this one?
Because John Sangmeister had the idea we would do it! He has a lot of crazy ideas and I am very happy that he shares them with me and lets me be a part of the adventure. Even though it didn't go as far as we would have liked this year.
What’s the appeal of racing to Alaska by boat?
It’s a super concept, well organized, a lot of fun, and staged by a great group of people. I'd definitely like to come back. There's a raid in Scandinavia that's pretty crazy, but it has limitations on the type of boat you can race. This one is fun because of the "run what you brung" factor.
What do love about sailing the most?
There are lots of things I love about it. Preparing the boats can be arduous, but there's a whole lot of satisfaction when you're sailing fast and you know it was your work that made it happen. There are lots of aspects, not just the physical part, that are interesting. The navigation, local knowledge of tides and currents, knowing how to fix something that breaks. To win this kind of event you need to have strong all-round knowledge, not just know how to trim a gybe.
Where else would you like to go, either cruising or racing?
I spend a lot of time in Europe and I race a lot on the IMOCA circuit which is short-handed ocean racing. I love long races across oceans or around the world rather than just up and down a racecourse. Any race that has a cool start or end location; I like the idea of doing the Cape Town to Rio. I know my wife wants me to do the Sydney Hobart so she can catch up with some old friends of hers in Sydney!! As for cruising; the water has to be warm and I have to be able to see the bottom.
When your children grow up, do you see them following in your footsteps and becoming racers themselves?
Why not? I think like any parent, I just want my kids to grow up happy and fulfilled. If it's sailing that does that for mine, then great, but I'd rather give them a start in life with as many options as possible so they can make the right choice themselves.
Ed. note: Breymaier welcomed baby girl Ruby to the world on July 12. Congratulations, Ryan. That's one lucky little lady.
By Emily Bentz
