Solstice.  The longest day of the year.  A holiday in Alaska.  The Yukon 800 is underway.  The what?  The Yukon 800 is one bad boat race.  Starting and ending on the Chena River in Fairbanks, this 800 mile race follows the Chena, Tanana, Nenana, and Yukon rivers to Galena and back.

Legacy...

 It’s a tradition here.  These aren’t just any old boats.  These guys not only race, but they build their own boats.  It takes a lot of dedication, time, effort, and skill to compete here.  The boats are long, lean and fast.  Even though the engines are only 50 horsepower they cover each 400-mile leg in about five hours. 

Second boat in...Just Kidding!

 Teams of three, man these sleek machines.  The captain mans the throttle and steering wheel with two crew members working as ballast and spotters for any floating or hidden obstacles that might be encountered.  This race is remote.  It’s not like running a river in the Lower 48 with towns and medical access up and down the route. 

While racing each other, these guys are also fighting the elements.  If it rains they keep going.  If the wind howls they keep going. They must contend with barge and fishing boat traffic.  Barges put out big wakes.  Big wakes mean big waves.  If a wake is hit wrong, these very light boats are up in the air and on their backs before the crews know what has happened. 

 

Have a good flight Scotty!

These guys can’t depend on medical and rescue crews if something goes wrong.  It’s them and their boats against nature.  It’s tough.  This is primarily a Native Alaskan race.  These are the guys that know the rivers.  These are the guys that grew up on these waters.  These are the guys that depend on the river system as a transportation source year-round.  After all, these are the guys that Alaska really belongs to. 

Screamin'

 What can I say, today is a party.  I’m sitting here at the halfway point getting as many pictures as I can of this annual event.  Yeah, I’m the outsider here so I stay back and take it all in.  Offending someone is the last thing I want to do.  This is cool though!

All the crews will be in the village tonight and start the return trip tomorrow.  It’s going to be a party with reunions everywhere.  Solstice is a time to celebrate in the bush!

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