After months of hand-wringing and gear-fondling, WA360 2.0 cannonballed off the dock yesterday. 84 teams shoved off from Port Townsend on their 360-mile lap of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, powered by hope, biceps, and a breeze that was more than many had believed would manifest. Compared to the 2021 drift-fest, it was practically a gale, letting folks start strong.
Because nothing good happens on an empty stomach, Northwest Maritime decided to grease the skids with bacon and eggs—and lo, the masses came. 400-450 people showed up for pre-race breakfast, including racers, locals, and anyone else who needed calories. The Marina Cafe and Sunrise Coffee kept the griddles sizzling and caffeine flowing, fueling gossip, new friendships, and bets that we’d like to be a part of.
At precisely 11:00 AM, a cannon blast from the good ship Argonaut II shouted “Go!” and Rick Astley sang the fleet from the line. The fleet hit the gas and wasted zero time making the first call: Port Townsend Cut or over the top of Marrowstone Island. Two logical routes, two flavors of risk. The big majority headed toward the Cut, the leaders racing south at 6-7 knots until the narrowing of the bay near the canal squeezed the current right at them. Meanwhile, the north-of-Marrowstone crowd ran into foul currents of their own, and a couple ended up dropping anchor just offshore, biding their time.
One team that nailed the north-of-Marrowstone gambit was Team JED Racing. After negotiating the tide rips, they basked in long tacks down Admiralty Inlet, trading leads with Team Puget Sound Navigation Company near the Kingston-Edmonds ferry. By the time the Seattle skyline shimmered into view, JED Racing was in front. Both teams chose the East Passage route around Vashon Island, only to see the Colvos Passage sailors claw ahead. At least for a while.
In the Muscle Group, Teams Meatball Jack, Toad’s Wild Ride, and Boogie Barge flexed hard early, fighting through the Port Townsend Cut in just over an hour. And then… plot twist: after leading for five hours, Meatball Jack said “Nope.” They spun it around, called the Race Boss, and headed home. They’re plotting a comeback in future Northwest Maritime misadventures.
Meatball’s exit cleared the way for Toad’s Wild Ride to grab the human-powered lead, until they hit pause for some R&R. Enter Boogie Barge, who quietly boogied into human-powered first place—the same slot they held on Day 1 back in 2021. (Although they led the entire fleet back then.)
By nightfall, most of the Wind Division was in Colvos or even within spitting distance of the Tacoma Narrows. Puget Sound Navigation Company snatched back the lead near Olympia under a cloak of darkness, which is exactly how we’d do it if we were trying to look cool.
At sunrise, two-way traffic south of Tacoma was the order of business, with a bunch of teams past Olympia Shoal and already looking ahead to the second waypoint at Goat Island, near Deception Pass. Northerly winds were forecast to stick around and puff up a bit through the day.
And because no good race story is complete without at least one person going off-script: shoutout to Team Sporting Chance, currently attempting “Lillian’s Way”—dragging his kayak several miles between Hood Canal and South Puget Sound at Belfair. Rumor has it there’s a festival happening in his honor. We hope they’re selling T-shirts.
Fresh Footage
Photo by Taylor Amble, Video by Ryder Booth