WA360: The Race That Accidentally Made Everything Make Sense

By Jesse Wiegel, Race Boss

Race to Alaska and SEVENTY48 are doing just fine, thanks. They’ve got international hype, a cottage industry of waterproof documentary crews, and a crowd of dedicated die-hards consistently finding ways to do it harder, without us even asking.

So why are we booting up another one?

Sure, on paper, WA360 looks like just one more race. But it’s more on purpose—the third point that defines the plane, opens the door wider to the adventure-hungry, and lets each race stand more fully in its own form. WA360 isn’t a side hustle. It’s the long game.

Born in the chaos of COVID, WA360 was our answer to a locked border and a shut-down world. No Canada? No problem. We mapped 360 miles of human-and-wind-powered possibility inside Washington’s lines—and figured we’d run it once, maybe twice, then retire it before anyone was the wiser.

But after we got back to R2AKing again in ‘22, the question kept popping up: “When are you running WA360 again?”

It turns out WA360 worked. Not just “barely survived the pandemic and was enough like R2AK to get people through without withdrawals” worked. It clicked! It was tough, beautiful, and just the right size to hook people who were hungry for a challenge but not quite ready to spend three weeks on a bicycle duct taped to a trimaran.

Now it’s growing up. WA360 is no longer the backup plan—it’s the plan. (At least every other year, alternating summers with R2AK.) It’s a race with its own attitude (a little less snarky than its sibling), its own route, and its own reasons to exist. A bruiser of a loop from Port Townsend to Olympia, up through the salty blender of Deception Pass or the surprisingly swift currents of the Swinomish Channel, touching into Bellingham Bay, brushing the Canadian border at Point Roberts before putting on afterburners back to Port Townsend. No engines. No support. Just saltwater, snacks, and a clever way to make sure your VHF doesn’t run out of juice.

WA360 is for the ones who want in—who want to feel the miles in their hands and butt-sores, tired of watching the dot crawl across the map. It’s for racers testing new boats and new tactics. For folks who can’t swing R2AK every year but still want to chase something bigger than a Strava segment. Those who want to push further than SEVENTY48.  It’s where you can race with your kid, your dog, or that one friend who swears it’ll be “mostly downwind.”

WA360 is also for the fans, the volunteers, the person flying a drone from a driftwood stump, and everyone who believes that the maritime world is more than ferry rides and orca sightings. This race belongs to everyone. Every cup of coffee handed to a tired racer, every cheer at the finish, every story passed along in bars, boatyards, and breakfast tables—it all weaves the fabric tighter. WA360 doesn’t just stand on its own; it keeps the whole thing strong. When this community shows up here, it shows up everywhere—for R2AK, for SEVENTY48, for whatever comes next.

Header photo by Heather J