← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams
Crew: Gabe Mills, Jason Taft, Jon Totten, and Terry Brinton
Hometown: Coeur d’Alene, ID
Vessel: Corsair F27
Class: The Wind Division
Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube
Get to know Team Dogsmile Adventures
First thing first. Why race in WA360?
Because it’s an incredible race through some of the most interesting and beautiful waters around. We never stopped talking about doing it again, and are thrilled at its return. I’ve seen it referred to as R2AK light, but I think that’s a bit of an injustice. while it’s definitely shorter, logistically much easier, and lacks the very serious you-are-a-long-way-from-help-factor, it has it’s own set of challenges. You live and die by the current pretty much the whole race, not just to Seymour Narrows. There are routing options pretty much the whole time that can make or break you. And the marine traffic is intense. The thrill of trying to decipher what’s three Seattle porch lights that just happen to line up, and what’s a tug and tow that will literally cut you in half, all while gybing the spinnaker at 15 knots at 2am shouldn’t be underestimated. Plus we lost by 17 minutes last time, so that burns the less Zen among us.
What’s your connection to these waters?
Although we currently hail from a land locked hometown, All of our crew has a deep connection to the “west side”. some of us grew up on the sound, all of us have family and friends on your side of the mountains, and we travel to race and cruise in your waters every chance we get. The Salish Sea is truly one of the most beautiful and interesting places to sail in the world, and we are all grateful it’s only a trailer pull away.
Superpowers. Each crew member gets one. What are they and why?
Gabe Mills. Captain and head boat tinkerer. Able to maintain focus and intensity as long as it takes to get the job done.
Jay Taft. Head electronics officer and unfailingly committed Mahana crewman. Always steady, always cheerful, and capable of talking the captain down when his competitive urges threaten the mission.
Jon Totten. Tons of on water experience and steady good judgement. Has a magic hand on the tiller that can get you that last fraction of a knot, or that half a degree of pointing to just clear the rocks.
Terry Brinton. Cyclist and uphill skier who is actually excited to pedal this thing when the wind dies.
But our real superpower only shows when you look at the crew as a whole. Our crew is possibly the only successful example of “Leadership by committee” ever documented in the wild. It makes the whole greater than the parts and the experience of racing together awesome.
Defend your vessel choice for WA360. What makes it so cool and worthy?
Mahana is a Corsair F27 trimaran. The F27 is in the sailing hall of fame for a reason. It was designed by a Kiwi, and they seem to know their way around boats. It’s pretty fast, durable, has a cabin you can sleep out of the rain in, and can be put on the trailer to go race across the mountains in about an hour. We, and previous owners, have raced Mahana hard enough and long enough to expose and fix her weak spots. She’s a battle tested steed and ready to go again.
What are your adventure qualifications for WA360? What makes you (y’all) cool and capable?
Gabe Mills Adventure resume
I’ve tried to spend as much of my life as I can outside and avoiding monotony, and it’s worked out pretty well so far. Professionally I’m a Firefighter/Tech rescue team member/EMT. I have been a lifty, a river guide, and done a lot of construction type stuff. Recreationally I ride/race dirtbikes, streetbikes and snowbikes, snowboard, rockclimb, backpack, SCUBA, and of course sail. I’ve traveled the world as much as I can and never been anywhere I didn’t like. I pride myself on my ability to fix things and overcome problems with whatever resources I have at hand. I was around sailboats a bit growing up in Olympia, and got my first sailboat 11 years ago. Since then I have spent as much time under sail as I can, and hate to start the motor! I’m certified to the ASA 104 level. My home water is the large lakes of North Idaho, where gusting and shifting are the name of the game and the Navy still runs development subs in my home port of Bayview. I travel to the Salish sea to race and cruise whenever I can.
Mahana’s notable races include-
2021 WA360, 3rd boat to finish, 2nd in the “go fast” class.
2021 Round the County, 2nd in the Multihull division.
2022 Swiftsure, 3rd in the Multihull division.
2022 Round the County, 2nd in the Multihull division.
2023 R2AK, retired in the Grenville Channel with boat damage.
2023 Round the County, 3rd Multihull.
2024 Swiftsure, 2nd in the Multihull Division.
2024 Round the County, 3rd Multihull.
So as you can see, Mahana has a record of strong showings, without any of the dangerous hubris that I imagine might come along with ever actually winning anything.
When not racing my wife and I have cruised the San Juans, Gulf Islands, and south sound fairly extensively, and bareboat chartered in Croatia, Italy, and Greece. I’ve also sailed a bit in Hawaii and crewed on a few deliveries up the west coast of the U.S. and Mexico.
Jason Taft, team Dogsmile.
Wa360 finisher (3rd boat to finish)
Swiftsure 2022 and 2024.
Round the county 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Scuba in Honduras and Thialand
Hiked to top of Chirripo in Costa Rica
Raised 2 children
Cross country skied to school in winter 5th an 6th grades. (not uphill both ways)
Jon Totten – Adventure Resume
I have spent the past 25 years working as a guide and outdoor educator. I’ve worked in desert, mountain and ocean environments. I am also an experienced adventure racer, avid mountain biker, backcountry skier, and whitewater paddler. I make my living sailing and skiing and feel 100% up to the challenge.
Terry Brinton- Adventure Resume
I am a career outdoor educator and guide, and have been working in the field in one way or another since I was a teenager (I am 43 now). I have lead others professionally in mountain, desert, marine, and wilderness environments. From multi-week canoe expeditions in northern Canada, climbing Cascade volcanoes with students, teaching avalanche safety and backcountry ski skills, to offshore sail training in New England, risk management and expedition skills are central to my job. I am currently running an outdoor recreation program at North Idaho College, teaching in an Outdoor Leadership academic program, teaching avalanche safety courses for the local center, and am a USCG licensed captain.
What is going to break?
Nothing. If I thought something was going to break I would fix it. Of course that’s what I though before R2AK 23′ too, and we delaminated a bulkhead that forced us to limp back 90 miles to Bella Bella with a greater than zero chance of the starboard hull staging a mutiny and striking off on it’s own. So you never really know.