Canada’s Carling Zeeman gets set to race to Alaska

As the Canadian rowing team took off for Europe and World Cup II last week, their teammate Carling Zeeman, two-time Olympian in the women’s single sculls, was preparing for a very different challenge.

Zeeman is setting off on the 750 mile (1,207km) ‘Race to Alaska’ starting today, Monday 13 June. She and crewmate Michelle Choy will race as ‘Team Let’s Row Maybe?’ and are one of three all-female rowing crews to compete in this year’s event.

The Race to Alaska is an unsupported race from Port Townsend, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, for human and weather-powered vessels. That includes sailing boats, kayaks and of course rowing boats.

“I’ve had my eye on the race for quite some time,” Zeeman explains.

“I think a lot of the times there’s this misconception that athletes are just athletes and that’s their only goal in life and it’s a one-sided thing. My background is more in the adventuring side, which is kind of the reason what drew me to rowing in the first place,” she adds.

Carling Zeeman originally signed up for the race with a friend, who dropped out, but the organisers put her in touch with Choy. The experienced ocean rower had hoped to row in the cancelled 2020 and 2021 races, but her partner was unable to participate in 2022.

Zeeman and Choy will race in a 6.7-metre-long coastal rowing boat and sleep on shore, carrying a maximum of about 90kg of gear and food. Zeeman, a self-confessed picky eater, has made all their meals but admits she is not looking forward to being hungry.

She is looking forward to disconnecting.

“For most of the trip we won’t have any sort of reception or service. I’ve had an incredibly busy winter and spring, so it’ll be nice to turn off the phone, turn off the emails,” Zeeman says, explaining they hope to spot wildlife such as whales and grizzly bears while on the water.

To prepare, Zeeman has continued training with the national squad in Victoria. She says little adjustment to her programme was needed.

Zeeman and Choy expect to complete the race in anything from 16 to 21 days, depending on the weather. That makes daily mileage about 70km, something which Zeeman is used to thanks to several years with New Zealand coach Dick Tonks.

“He’s relatively renowned for how long he makes his athletes row for and when I calculated the kilometres per day for this trip I was like ‘this is going to be relatively normal’,” Zeeman says.

Zeeman said the rest of the Canadian squad have been supportive and curious about the challenge, while also remaining focused on their World Cup campaign.

“This is my World Cup II and III,” she adds. “It’s so perfect because the timeline works out, I leave when the team leaves and I come back when the team comes back.”

“After that I’ll be able to join in the selection to go to the World Championships. It’s not like I’ll be losing fitness on this trip. It doubles as a bit of a break but also a training camp; it will be fun for sure,” Zeeman concludes.