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Randall Reeves, Harmon Shragge and ‘Moli’ Departing for Alaska

This past Saturday we joined a crowd of well-wishers at the Sausalito Yacht Club who came by to wish Randall Reeves and his new crew member, Harmon Shragge, as they prepare to head out the Gate. If you know Randall and Harmon’s sailing history, you know they’re probably not headed south in the fall for some warm tropical paradise. The plan is to leave, weather permitting, on Tuesday and take the Great Circle route north to Homer, Alaska, with the goal of arriving in early October.

Randall Reeves and Harmon Shragge
Randall Reeves and Harmon Shragge show off the chart for their planned voyage. As a backup, they have GPS and Starlink.
© 2023 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John

As you may recall, Randall Reeves is a veteran of two singlehanded circumnavigations, one continuing into the epic 40,000-mile Figure 8 Voyage around the Earth and the Americas. Harmon has appeared in the pages of Latitude 38 as a veteran of the Clipper Race and the Singlehanded Transpacific Race. The pair met as volunteers for the Farallon Patrol, bringing people and supplies to the scientists on the Farallon Islands. This led to a plan for another voyage around the Americas over the course of three or four years. The map above shows the intended route, which includes the “wrong-way” rounding of Cape Horn in a couple of years.

Randall, Moli, Hawiaan Chieftan
Randall and Moli were both looking fit and ready for their next voyaging challenge.
© 2023 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John

The first leg of the voyage will take them to Homer, AK, where the boat will be put on the hard and stored until May, when they plan to resume the trek north with the intention of reaching Point Barrow, the northernmost point of the US at 71 degrees north, by early July. Then, if the ice breaks up in the Northwest Passage, they will head east with the goal of reaching Nova Scotia by the end of summer or early next fall. The boat will again be put on the hard for the winter. In spring 2025 the voyage will resume as the sailors head south to eventually round Cape Horn, with the dive to 57 degrees south delivering the uphill battle against the prevailing Southern Hemisphere trade winds.

Randall and Moli
Marianne Armand caught Randall, Harmon and Moli out on the Bay as they prepare for departure.
© 2023 Marianne Armand

As part of the evolving world of voyaging, Moli is now departing with Starlink aboard, so we hope they use their bandwidth and occasional calm seas to help us follow along a bit more closely. You can follow Randall, Harmon and Moli on their tracker here.

We all wish you fair winds and following seas.

Sailing

10 Comments

  1. William 1 year ago

    What time will Moli be departing the Golden Gate on 8/29?

    • Harmon Shragge 1 year ago

      Doing shakedown in-the bay sail tomorrow. Please standby for departure time on Wednesday.

  2. Harmon Shragge 1 year ago

    Thank you for the article John. Please note that I (Harmon) have been a longtime member and former officer of the SSS, but have not yet attempted or completed the Singlehanded Transpacific Race. Someday!!

  3. Carliane Johnson 1 year ago

    Wow, you guys, have fun! What a trip. I’ll be looking forward to hearing your updates on this grand adventure.

  4. Chuck Hawley 1 year ago

    Thanks for doing stuff that the rest of us can only dream of doing! We’ll follow you (remotely) all the way.

  5. David Borton 1 year ago

    Harmon this is again so impressive what you are doing. We wish you a great and safe journey.
    Ahoy,
    David and Hanne

  6. Linda McDonald 1 year ago

    Omg! This is so exciting! We will be tracking you! We are Bruce and Lavonna’s friends. Wishing you a safe and amazing trip! Linda & John McDonald

  7. Lisa Finkelstein 1 year ago

    Godspeed! Have a safe and fun journey!!!

  8. Ruby Prokopiof 4 months ago

    Hi Harmon and Russell,
    Hope all is well with you 2. Whoa I’m tracking you all, wholly your on top of world right now looks like. Tc my Friends Ruby, Laurence, Curtis

  9. Gregg Boehler 3 months ago

    Are you looking for a place to store your boat in Newfoundland?

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