‘Northbound Nutters’ win R2AK
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026
The R2AK — Race to Alaska that local sailing instructor Nige Oswald won this week isn’t a typical race. Oswald posed for a photo with teammates Gavin Brackett and Rob Woelfel (Mike Holt had to catch a flight home), proudly holding their grand prize for beating the 69 other teams in the harrowing, no-engine race: it was a piece of driftwood with $10,000 nailed onto it and a Sharpied note reading: “You’re nuts!”
Second prize? A set of steak knives.
Considering the 6 to 8 months of prep Oswald spent building out his trimaran, Kelona, with systems and pedal drives to ensure it was ready for a tough race on a public stage, one has to wonder what motivates these racers to participate. It can’t be the steak knives, right?
“It’s because it’s hard. Doing hard things is satisfying and it also creates great communities,” Oswald told the Journal. “It’s a challenging course; there are lots of races that are more than 750 miles, but this one has no engines, remote areas with no support, and is in some of the toughest waters to navigate. That challenge makes you want to test yourself in what you can build and what you can handle. But mainly we do it because everyone is nuts,” Oswald laughed at the end. “Especially the people only doing it with human power!”
Some racers, like team Apple Bottom Boy, were on nothing but a stand-up paddleboard. Ridiculous names (Oswald’s team moniker was Northbound Nutters), along with the absurd prizes and hilarious social media commentary, keep the focus of R2AK on what matters during the grueling event — community and spirit.
The fun vibes don’t minimize the very real intensity, though, and even danger, that can come with crossing waters where storms can come in fast and temperatures plummet quickly, Oswald said.
“The toughest moment was at the beginning of the Johnstone Strait,” he shared. “It was pitch black — no moon — and we were tacking up a narrow channel with crazy wind and currents. We couldn’t see what waves were hitting us, and we got bounced three times in a row, getting closer to the rocks each time.” They made it through on the fourth attempt — but each member of the team agreed it was the highest risk sailing situation they’d ever experienced.
Perhaps it was because of the pod of Orcas accompanying them part of the way, or the systems Oswald had spent the last year perfecting, or the magical combination of the four-member team’s skill and humor — but it was no surprise to anyone watching the R2AK trackers online that the Northbound Nutters took the first-place prize. They crossed the finish line almost 38 hours ahead of the second-place team.
Oswald is now safely back at home in Friday Harbor.
“I’m exhausted — it’s been six months of burning the candle at both ends and putting everything else aside for this,” he said. “I’m only starting to realize that the biggest feeling I have is relief. The prep for this race is SO much work. I’m both proud and relieved that everything we designed/made/replaced worked really well and we could keep pushing the boat in some really nasty conditions that other fast boats struggled with. So many people to thank, from Gavin and the guys for helping, my kids for putting up with me being in the shop or on the boat most of the time, and the hundreds of comments from both our local community and every other one on the way up!”
