← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams
Crew: Dameon Colbry, Ken Deem, Leigh Dorsey, Clare Dorsey, and Chuck Dorsey
Hometown: Belfast, ME & Tacoma, WA
Vessel: Savo-inspired custom expedition quad Rowboat
Class: The Muscle Group
Get to know Team Toad’s Wild Ride
First thing first. Why race in WA360?
Ken wants to finish this incredible race he started solo in the 2021 WA360 (DNF) and the rest of the crew from Maine are up for any adventure in the Pacific NW.
Ken and Dameon chased each other up the inside passage in solo rowboats during R2AK 2023 and forged a friendship that led them to conspire on WA360 2025. Chuck volunteered to drive the 32 ft quad rowboat from Maine to Washington which is all Leigh needed to bust in with a counter offer to include Ken in our crew. This feels like a unique opportunity to blend three past R2AK teams into one and see how fast a rowboat can complete the WA360.
What’s your connection to these waters?
Ken lives in Tacoma and rows quite a bit in the South Sound, around Vashon Island and The Narrows. Since 2014 he has been doing races with Sound Rowers, Northwest Maritime, and Tacoma Rowing. From time-to-time, he joins friends for a swim along Ruston and Owen Beach. Dameon rowed the Seventy48 and R2AK, Leigh and Clare rowed R2AK.
Superpowers. Each crew member gets one. What are they and why?
Ken – Can fix anything with enough earwax
Dameon – There are less stoic rocks
Leigh – Hollow leg for food storage
Clare – Incapable of relenting
Chuck – Can fall asleep anytime, anywhere
Defend your vessel choice for WA360. What makes it so cool and worthy?
The seed for this race was Ken’s plan to build a double rower and enlist Dameon. However, Leigh and Dameon already have a quad sliding seat boat that Dameon built a few years ago with R2AK in mind but never used due to COVID, and we were lucky to add Ken to our crew. A larger boat and crew brings advantages in a long distance race such as stability, extra bodies to do tasks, ability to let one rower rest while still making decent speed, and a coxswain looking forward to steer.
Leigh, Dameon, and Clare have five R2AK races between them in the Finnish-style boat called a Savo. They really enjoy this style of boat and successfully used them for a variety of trips so they wanted to use that design with additional features. Dameon stretched out the hull to accommodate four rowers, a coxswain, and added flotation/storage. The boat has proven itself to be very seaworthy and a joy to row in rough conditions on the Northeast coast. The WA360 course looks like an ideal place to test out the vessel and bring along some amazing rowers and friends to complete the journey.
The boat length is 32’ 9” with a 52” beam. The boat was heavily influenced by the Savo boats that are popular in Finland for racing on lakes. The original Savo is built for racing and has an open hull design. We essentially stretched the hull out to 10 meters, added lots of flotation and storage while trying to keep the build as light as possible. Ruud did all the CAD design work in Finland while Dameon built the boat in Maine.
What are your adventure qualifications for WA360? What makes you (y’all) cool and capable?
Ken Deem – a.k.a. “Wave Forager”
2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 Seventy48 finisher in single rowboat (Maas 24)
2021 WA360 (DNF) in single rowboat (Maas 24)
2022 R2AK (Stage 1) in single rowboat (Lost Heron)
2023 R2AK finisher in single rowboat (Lost Heron)
Dameon Colbry
2018 – Rowed Maine coast border to border
2019 R2AK in double rowboat on Team Backwards AF
2022 Seventy48 in double rowboat on Team The Gits
2023 R2AK in single rowboat on Team of One
Leigh Dorsey
2018 – Rowed Maine coast border to border
2019 R2AK in double rowboat on Team Backwards AF
2022 R2AK in double rowboat on Team Don’t Tell Mom
Clare Dorsey
2022 R2AK in double rowboat on Team Don’t Tell Mom
Chuck Dorsey
1994 – Rode Splash Mountain. Twice
What is going to break?
The rudder, our circadian rhythm, and promises to never row long distance again.