“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.” – e. e. cummings
Guys, it’s the final push!! Transformative maritime experiences are happening right before our eyes! If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: it’s These People against THEMSELVES. Tracker Nation may be wondering what the heck they are doing. But the spirit of WA360 is Get There When You Get There and You Do You, right? It’s an un-race! And now we’re all getting a little taste of what that looks like:
Team Big Moo Canoe
Having secured the inaugural Snake Wake Award for WA360 (not yet an official Race-Boss-approved designation), Rob Bean finished to great fanfare in Port Townsend yesterday afternoon. Why great fanfare? He’s by himself, he’s rowing/sailing an Angus RowCruiser (catchy tagline: Sail, Row, and Sleep), and it’s a lonely course out there at this point. We have the warm fuzzies because the boat was built here at Northwest Maritime, and has previously been used for adventures in California, Florida, and Colorado, just now returned to the Pacific Northwest for WA360.
Attentive fans have no doubt noted that Rob spent several days stopped in Telegraph Bay—a not-quite-harbor at the south end of Lopez Island. Having been delayed by strong currents in Rosario Strait, and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Rob made a sliiiide across Admiralty Inlet, and then a quick tack over to examine the north end of Marrowstone Island before finishing and storming the beach to ring the bell a little after 3:30 PM. We bet he is glad to just be sleeping, rather than also sailing and rowing.
Team Let Loose The Goose
Does a snug anchorage near YMCA Camp Orkila on the farther-away side of Orcas Island mean you have to participate in arts and crafts activities or leadership-development exercises? Rachel Gibbs and Levi McDonald will have to tell us when they get here—today they got up early and made good southing. As of this writing, they seem to be tucked in at Friday Harbor. Maybe a nice luncheon ashore? Winds are forecast to be light today—in their snappy and stylish Thunderbird, maybe they will just decide to enjoy bopping around in the islands—finish time (and RaceHQ) be damned! Truth is, we don’t know. See you soon, Rachel and Levi!
Team MZEE
Solo competitor David May is still on the course, in a kayak, all alone. He has been putting in very long days on the water. We’re not sure he has that many snacks left. Late yesterday, his track suggested he might position for a final push along Whidbey Island to the finish line. Last night he was tucked in on Cypress Head—that little nub on the east side of Cypress Island—it’s a Washington Water Trails campsite. Tracker Nation, do you know about the Washington Water Trails Association? This is not a paid post! Seriously—they support public access to waterways, shorelines, and marine trails for human-powered watercraft, so these are our people, and lots of WA360’ers have used WWTA sites—we are grateful! Honestly, Cypress Head looks kind of awesome: nice beach, fire pits, not that far from Anacortes? Maybe we’ll put it on our RaceHQ staff wellness retreat list? We’d love to know how it is. As of this writing, Mzee’s headed south at a reasonable clip – final route and timing are uncertain—paddle to us, David! Or call?
Teams Paddle on…Paddle on and Rogue Kayaker
For those keeping track, these two teams have been traveling together the whole time, and unless you zoom waaaaaay in, their tracker icons are on top of each other.
Married couple Melissa Lovejoy and Travis Goldman are fan favorites from many SEVENTY48s, and are two-time WA360 competitors—they bring lots of experience paddling (and paddling, and paddling) through the far reaches of our waters. They are no strangers to racing against themselves, as Melissa eloquently opined:
“The inaugural SEVENTY48 broke my will. And after about 90 minutes of existential crisis in Eagle Harbor, I managed to patch that up and keep going. The 2022 SEVENTY48 broke my hatch . . . paddling straight through in SEVENTY48 2024 broke my brain a bit. I’m confident [WA360] won’t break my life or my marriage. I have field repair kits for everything else.”
After WA360 2021, they told the Race Boss their goal for 2025 was simply to reach Tacoma on the northbound leg after rounding Olympia Shoal–ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! They recently took a full zero day at Larrabee State Park, south of Chuckanut Bay, and are currently stopped at the Community Boating Center in Fairhaven, Bellingham.
Stick with it out there, Tracker Nation—these teams need the energy you are sending into the universe! Help them overcome the depths of uncertainty with your vibes! We’ll keep you posted.
– Katie Oman, Chief Operating Officer for Northwest Maritime
Fresh Footage
Video by Taylor Amble, Header photo by Luc Schoonjans