← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams
Crew: Rachel Gibbs and Levi McDonald
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Vessel: Thunderbird 26
Class: The Wind Division
Connect: Instagram
Get to know Team Let Loose the Goose
First thing first. Why race in WA360?
We plan to compete in all of the NW maritime center’s major adventure races, with this being our first. We are just getting started.
What’s your connection to these waters?
We both caught sea fever at a young age. From Levi’s early years fishing in Eastern Washington to Rachel’s childhood sailing on family boats on Lake Superior and the Mississippi River. We’ve spent the last 6+ years becoming familiar with the PNW waters. Levi and Rachel spend as much of their time on the salt as possible and see it as an extension of their being. Levi works in the marine industry and lives part time on a 70 year old 46’ wooden sailboat. We are excited to be sailing a PNW classic for this race.
Superpowers. Each crew member gets one. What are they and why?
Rachel’s: To have never been totally immersed, unless intentionally… knocks on wood.
Levi: Everytime I’ve fallen in, I’ve always gotten out. Also, I’m super at being prepared for every situation. I look ahead and read charts and weather.
Defend your vessel choice for WA360. What makes it so cool and worthy?
Snowgoose is a 1975 Booth fiberglass Thunderbird designed by Ben Seaborn in 1958. What makes her great is that she’s not as rotten as an unkempt plywood T-bird. We’ve just spent the past 4 months rebuilding her from the inside out, and the outside in. We’ve taken her from dank and mossy to illustrious and shiny! We don’t actually know much of the history of this boat, but we now know every inch of her, so it’s time to create our own history with her. She’s a PNW classic and it’s her time to shine!
What are your adventure qualifications for WA360? What makes you (y’all) cool and capable?
We have multiple sailing credentials between us.
(ASA Offshore racing, Offshore Safety at Sea Certification, First Aid, & an MMC application in process.)
What is going to break?
The most expensive thing we repaired during the refit. And the boat hook is likely to be lost (again).