As the Race Boss of WA360, I’ve been finding myself continually at the edge of tears seeing the deep effect this race is having on competitors. I keep hearing stories about people connecting more deeply with their home waters—deeply experienced sailors have told me things like, “You know, I’d never sailed in South Sound—it was awesome!” Not only this—but racers are constantly forging relationships with each other. (As I’m writing this, Teams Sporting Chance, Trash Tramp, and 500 Paddles are charging across the Strait to the finish line, having joined forces midway through.) Our hope is that when WA360 comes around again in 2027, the next set of young people will take hold of it and let it propel them forward.
One of the most poignant moments of the finish line so far was yesterday’s arrival of Team Luff of Bread, a youth trio aboard a Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2, and a continuation of the tradition set in 2023 by R2AK Team Rite of Passage—who became the first truly youth team to compete in an adventure race by Northwest Maritime.
I caught Luff of Bread on the water before their finish, out by the bell buoy near Point Hudson. Michael Dougherty, father of Francesca and Enzo of Rite of Passage (also R2AK’s Roscoe Pickle Train, R2AK’s Rock the Boat, SEVENTY48’s Uncomfortably Numb and WA360’s Narrow’s Minded!), joined me on a fast rib, camera in hand, to document Luff’s achievement. When we caught sight of them, we found Zev, Max, and Maddie all crowded at the bow, forward of the mast, keeping the weight forward. “They’re sailing it like an FJ!” Michael shouted. As the Moana soundtrack blasted out from the boat, Max sat with a leg on either side of the forestay, directing the tiller from a line in either hand led back to the cockpit.
Team Luff of Bread is an endeavor that emerged from the good idea machine that is the newly minted Community Sailing Center—a wing of the Corinthian Yacht Club at Shilshole Bay Marina in Seattle. This place—bursting at the seams with energy and top-notch water skills—is helping to prove that expedition sailing is not out of reach for the younger folks out there.
As Luff approached the dock, the hooting and hollering from the gathered proud parents commenced, and someone watching their arrival would have thought they had won the whole shebang. Donuts and an actual loaf of bread were awarded to the team, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Talking to Michael inspired and gratified me that WA360 is, in fact, just what we had hoped it would be: something that anybody could reach for and attain, something that young people (with an appropriate but attainable amount of experience) could challenge themselves with, and help them grow the confidence to do whatever it is they’ve set on their horizon. My hope, and the dream of all of us at Northwest Maritime is that Luff of Bread as well as our other youth team this year, Bowl of Sloop (they come up with the best names, by the way) will continue to inspire a full field of youth competitors when WA360 returns in 2027. With around 15 teams still on course, there are surely more stories to come.
When we started these races—WA360, SEVENTY48, R2AK—nobody knew exactly what they’d turn into. But we trusted that the sea has a way of changing people, creating challenges and experiences you can’t always predict.
So we’ve kept these races open—big containers for anyone to pour in their own ambitions and ideas. And that’s exactly what happened. Lifelong sailors have explored parts of the Sound they’ve never seen. Young teams like Luff of Bread and Bowl of Sloop have shown how much is possible.
WA360, especially, keeps proving that it is far more than just a race. It’s a way for people to embrace life and make connections.
– Jesse Wiegel, Race Boss at Northwest Maritime
Fresh Footage
Video by Ryder Booth, Header photo by Michael Dougherty