← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams
Crew: Ryan Miller, Rob Hodge, Dave White, Trevor Diuco, Kevin Depies, and Tim Spath
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Vessel: Olson 30
Class: The Wind Division
Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Get to know Fisheries Supply Team Monkey Fist
First thing first. Why race in WA360?
Rob and Dave hold the record for fastest 33rd place finish in Washington 360 history and would like to try for another place. Ryan is just excited to be able to finish in the same place we start after the one-way sprint of the 2023 R2AK. The three of us are gunning to complete the Northwest Maritime Center’s racing trifecta this spring and earn our 1180s. We’re joined by Tim, Kevin, and Trevor who are eager to dip their toes into the world of adventure racing. The Washington 360 provides the perfect combination of thrill ride, jigsaw puzzle, and zen in an accessible, front-country format.
What’s your connection to these waters?
Dave has spent most of his life paddling and sailing here. Rob’s spent over a decade exploring the area, including a fully “immersive experience” during the 2017 R2AK Proving Ground. Ryan is new to the region but fell completely in love even before his first orca sighting. We’re slowly convincing Trevor that the PNW is way cooler than California and we’re pretty sure we’ll wear him down eventually. Tim and Kevin just want to know why the water is so damn salty.
Superpowers. Each crew member gets one. What are they and why?
Dave: Juggles two kids, a life partner, two dogs and a cat, semi-retirement/job hunting, two sailboats, and six kayaks- all with just two arms.
Rob: Isn’t actually sure what his superpower is, but hopes it’s the ability to keep getting his “crazy adventure race” time-off requests approved at work.
Ryan: Only human alive who routinely describes Wildfire’s cabin as “cozy”.
Tim: Has the ability to form deep social bonds while sitting in silence, an ideal skill for long watches in miserable conditions.
Trevor: Morale and sailing skills astonishingly increase proportional to days without a shower.
George: A miraculous ability to stay dry and fluffy, and never damp, moldy or stinky.
Kevin: Refused to provide a superpower, so we assigned him one at random using https://randompowergenerator.com/. His superpower is: Bio-Luminescence. Excellent! Kevin has been assigned to all night watches; the rest of us have been assigned to get some sleep.
Defend your vessel choice for WA360. What makes it so cool and worthy?
Wildfire is a 1982 Olson 30 sailboat designed by George Olson sometime in the 70s. She is a three-time national champion in her one design class and is a two-time Race to Alaska finisher (2023 Fisheries Supply Team Monkey Fist, 2024 Team Natural Disaster). Wildfire is sound, fast, and dry-ish. She is equipped with dual Sea Cycle pedal drives which have also proven their merit in two R2AKs, and we’ll probably add some oars. Every Olson 30 to ever enter R2AK has finished the race, and an Olson 30 won the first WA360. We’re hoping to keep that streak going!
What are your adventure qualifications for WA360? What makes you (y’all) cool and capable?
Three of us and George finished the 2023 R2AK despite high winds, heavy seas, the siren song of the bars in Port McNeill, and that giant deadhead we try not to think about. We’re bringing along three more friends who pack a whole lot of enthusiasm and a little bit of youth. Team Monkey Fist is back, there are twice as many of us now to go half as far as we did in R2AK, and we want to win! Also, we’re totally bananas and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. (Also, we’re taking this race way more seriously than we’re taking our entry into the Seventy48, we swear.)
What is going to break?
Wildfire is 43 years old, so there are plenty of options. During R2AK 2023, we only broke our compass backlight. During R2AK 2024, Team Natural Disaster went slightly more extreme and broke the forestay. With this race happening in late June, we’re banking on lots of light wind conditions so the theory of maximum inconvenience means we’ll probably lose a pedal drive.