First I would like to tell you what the entry fee will cover.

 

1: All of the fuel for the race will be paid for from Checkpoint 2 ( Valdez ) to the end of the race. We do not pay for the fuel at the start of the race. Each racer will be required to start the race with a full fuel tank and what ever else it will take to get to Valdez . Fuel is going to be one of the biggest portions of the entry fee and depending on what the cost per gallon is going to be in 2010 it could very easily be the biggest portion. One thing about the fuel is that we have to order and pay for the fuel 1 year before the race actually takes place. So if we say that we are going to have the race in May, 2010, we will have to order the fuel in 2008 and have it delivered and paid for at the time of delievery in 2009. There is a huge lead time. The sooner that we get enough people saying that they want to race in this event then we can get started on accepting monies for the fuel and we can get it ordered and get this race turning into reality.

 

2: We will be supplying you a brand new dry suit with booties. Currently we are planning on using the Kokatat Gortex dry suits. They are the suit of choice for all of us who ride year round here in Alaska . They are the very best on the market. This will be your dry suit to keep. If you have a dry suit that you like you are more than welcome to use it as long as it meets our requirements and specifications.

 

3: We will be supplying you a float coat. Once again they are the very best in the world. Our preferred choice is the Mustangs. These float coats will be embroidered with the Wet Dog logo on the back. They will be bright orange for easy visibility and you are highly recommended at this point to wear them. We may as the race gets closer to starting decide to require you to wear these float coats. This is going to be your float coat to keep.

 

4: We will be renting from Alaska Satellite communications a Satellite phone and 500 minutes and each racer will be required to carry it. It will be set up for Alaska and it is intended to be used only in an emergency situation. Each phone will be supplied in a waterproof pelican case with a spare battery and dielectric grease to coat the battery connections. This is to prevent the salt water from corroding the connections. You will be required to turn the phone back in at the end of the race. Each phone will be registered to each racer and if the phone is not turned back in at the end of the race there will be a two thousand dollar cost added to that racer.

 

5: You will be renting a Personal Locater Beacon. It will be tested and registered to each racer, do not change with someone else. This PLB will be required to be attached to your person and not allowed to be carried in or on the boat. Its intended purpose is in case you get washed off of your watercraft by a huge wave and you get separated from it and your team member and you're floating out there alone, you can activate the PLB and the Coast Guard will scramble a helicopter to come get you. You are required to use our PLB even if you have one, you will need to have ours. This PLB will also need to be returned and you could incur a one thousand dollar cost if it is not returned.

 

6: You will be renting a Marine handheld waterproof radio. The ones that we will be supplying are the model that is waterproof and it floats if it is dropped in the ocean. This can be a really good thing. You are not required to keep the radio on and it is more than anything considered an emergency unit. You will be able to contact any support boats if you happen to breakdown and need to get towed to port. You will however be required to carry the radio on your person just like the PLB. You will also be supplied extra batteries that will be vacuum packed and they can be carried in or on your watercraft.

 

7: Part of your entry fee is for the prize fund as you must have guessed this. We are still working out the exactly how much but we estimate that there will be between four and five thousand dollars per racer that goes to the prize fund.

 

8: In talking with the State of Alaska it sounds like they are going to require us to buy a "Permit" to run this race. I am hoping that I can talk them out of it but it may be required. We will keep you all informed as we get closer to the start.

 

9: Each racer to have a location transponder that we will be renting. We are going to be talking with Ion Earth and Global Communications Center to get the best price that we can. The location transponder is so that the world can watch the race from their computers and also it will help our checkpoint locations to keep track of the racers and know where they are and estimate when they will be showing up.

 

10: A small portion of the entry fee is going to pay for the administration cost of putting this event together.

 

11: We will have to ship your watercrafts back from the finish line to Anchorage . This cost will be covered in the entry fee. We have an estimate but will know better closer to the start.

 

12: We will have a bond set aside that will be for rescuing stranded watercrafts. This is in case the coast guard has to be called in to rescue someone, or we have to scramble a leer jet for a medical evacuation, or any unforeseen event that we have not planned for. After the race is over we will be refunding whatever monies have not been used.

 

13: I mentioned in the first line that we will be paying for all the fuel for the race. What also goes along with that is that we also have to pay for the fuel barges and tugboats that deliver that fuel and they are not cheap. We may even have to stage a few fuel barges in very remote areas to ensure that everyone will have enough to get through those areas.

 

14: One of the last things that we need to cover is a Tunnel Pass Fee. For those who are wondering what I am talking about let me explain. Whittier Alaska is isolated from the rest of the world by a two and one half mile long tunnel through a mountain. It is a single lane tunnel and they charge a toll to go thru it. I am going to be talking to the city of Whittier to work out a week long pass so the racers will be able to go back and forth without having to pay the tunnel fee every time.

 

15: The city of Whittier also charges to launch boats and watercrafts. We will be talking to the harbor master and doing the best we can to try and get a launch pass for the racers so that they can go down and do some riding and see what the area looks like. We will keep you posted as we get those prices narrowed down

.

16: Whittier will have parking there and it costs to park there, Part of your entry fee is going to cover the parking permit for the race. We will be talking to the city to see what kind of deal we can work out to help keep the cost as low as possible.

 

17: Support boats will be a vital necessity for this race and a portion of the entry fee will be going to pay for the support boats.

 

 

Now with all of that said, we have a rough estimate so far that the entry fee is going to be around $25,000.00 per racer. Based on the need to have 1000 racers or 500 teams. We are still working out the final details and are trying to keep the cost as low as possible. We realize that this is a large chunk of money for someone who wants to race. Please do not get discouraged. In the big picture it really is not all the much.

For those who really want to race, you know that you are going to go out and find sponsors to cover your entry fee and possibly some of your other expenses. I know it will not take long to come up with that money if you really want to win a million dollars.

Start looking for sponsors and start saving now and by the time we get this race together you will be covered.

Good luck to all of you.