← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams
Crew: Cait Miller, John Miller, Laura Newton, Thomas Plumb, and Elaina Loveless
Hometown: Boise, ID
Vessel: Rannoch R45
Class: The Muscle Group
Get to know Team Tough Shells
First thing first. Why race in WA360?
Because.. why not? Well, truthfully, three of our team members rowed across the Pacific from California to Hawaii in June of 2024. We still have our boat, and most of us live close to Washington so we figured it would be a fun adventure to do this summer.
What’s your connection to these waters?
Cait lived in Port Townsend for a few years and fell in love with the area. Laura and Tom just moved to Tacoma and are excited to start exploring. We all believe the PNW is a truly special place, and we are excited for the opportunity to take part in this adventure.
Superpowers. Each crew member gets one. What are they and why?
Cait – Trash Master – compacting boat trash into the smallest space possible.
Elaina – Selfie Queen. She always has the perfect angle.
Laura – Boat Barista – she manages to make instant coffee taste delicious.
John – Energizer Bunny – he’s the youngest and basically our boat’s motor.
Tom – Team Dad – he’s always driving us places, fixing our equipment, and feeding us.
Defend your vessel choice for WA360. What makes it so cool and worthy?
Our rowboat is a solid ocean-going vessel. She carried Cait, Laura, and Elaina safely from California to Hawaii. She survived a capsize and many knockdowns.
What are your adventure qualifications for WA360? What makes you (y’all) cool and capable?
The Tough Shells have three ocean rowers on their team! Cait, Elaina, and Laura rowed from California to Hawaii in June of 2024. Cait & Elaina were collegiate rowers, and Cait also rowed across the Atlantic in 2015.
On top of that, everyone on the team loves outdoor adventure. Climbing, sailing, hiking, biking, skiing, you name it, we’ve probably done it! We also have an Army Veteran and two engineers on board.
What is going to break?
Most likely our autopilot.