KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Wet Dogs have decided to call it a trip. After three days stranded by inclement weather at Wide Bay on the Alaska Peninsula, the five jet skiers on a journey from Anchorage to Iliamna have suspended their trip and now plan to head back to Anchorage early next week, after a brief stopover in Kodiak.
Wet Dogs team leader John Lang said from Larsen Bay on Kodiak’s west side that the group made it as far as Wide Bay before weather delayed them for three days from getting to Chignik, their next intended checkpoint.
The group is using what would seem to others as a major setback as a learning experience in planning a 2,000-mile race on personal watercraft. Lang and the other members of the team are considering the trip a success in spite of its premature end.
Lang said the landing craft is expected to pick up the jet skis from the beach on Saturday, when the weather is expected to break, and that the group will then ride from Larsen Bay to Kodiak City. From there, two team members will fly back to Anchorage, and the remaining three will ride their jet skis back with the support boat. Lang said time limitations were the deciding factor in calling off the trip early.
The goal of the Wet Dogs’ journey around the Alaska Peninsula was to lay the groundwork for the Alaskan Wet Dog Race. Lang said he remains confident in seeing the 2,000-mile race on personal watercraft become a reality in the near future.
