Team Salish Seasters

04/22/2026

New opportunity: join in our race as a funder!

If that speaks to you, every bit of support means the world to us. If not, your love and well-wishes are all thats needed!

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04/16/2026

In this edition of “Know Your Seaster,” we catch up with our newest teammate, Anna. Anna is from Portland, OR and joined the team in March.

Q: What’s your sailing background?
A: A few years back I had a Nordic ski buddy who had circumnavigated for 14 years. All winter he told me these wild stories and it cracked open this world I’d never known about.

When i finally got around to learning, I thought I just wanted to get good enough to hop on boats as crew and see the world one bit at a time. Like, section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

But everyone said racing would make me a better sailor. I originally had no interest but I took the advice to heart and badgered my favorite skipper until a spot opened up on his boat. The first time I raced it was 20 knots and gusty and loud and adrenaline-filled and I was HOOKED.

I’ve been sailing for two years as of this month. I’ve done some boat deliveries (Port Angeles to Portland) and some cruising in the Caribbean and Desolation Sound. Mostly I’ve buoy racing on the Columbia River here in Portland, OR.

Q: What kind of professional/recreational background do you bring?
A: I’m a data analyst at Nike for my day job. The best application of that seems to be an unrelenting desire to put everything into a spreadsheet. My undergrad degree was in environmental science, driven by an infatuation with the natural world. That’s something I definitely share with my team and probably most R2AK racers.

I’m relatively new to adventuring, especially compared to the rest of my team. I’ve dabbled in backpacking, skiing, mountaineering, horseback riding, paddle things, and search and rescue. I’m always saying, “there’s only so many hours in a week!” I wish I could do everything all the time.

Q: Why do you want to do the Race to Alaska?
A: I originally wrote an answer and it got all long and deep and I decided to save it for some other time. Basically, R2AK is filled with the kind of maniac I want to be. There’s a compass inside me that points towards the things I admire in this life, I’ve never gone wrong following it.

Q: What’s the best part so far?
A: The team, hands down. I did not expect a lot of cohesion, especially since I joined the team late and am from out of town. But, we’ve gelled very quickly and been a huge joy. Everyone is so kind to each other. We support each other’s decisions. We’re silly and playful but also diligent and focused. These are people I can be myself around. And a version of myself that I really love. It’s rad.

Q: Has anything surprised you?
A: That I have a lot of knowledge and experience to share. I’m used to being the rookie on all of my teams. Getting into a new context has highlighted some of the places that I have a specific background. Like with buoy racing, you get very comfortable crossing really close to other boats without flinching.

Q: Anything you’re nervous about?
A: Mundane things that don’t really need airtime. Will my new friends still like me after I p**p in front of them? Will my houseplants be ok while I’m gone? Will I survive the comedown after the race ends? What on earth am I going to do to top this?

04/14/2026

Welcome back to “Know Your Seaster!” In this edition we’re catching up with Audrey.

Q: What’s your sailing background?
A: I grew up sailing with my family on the coast of Maine; we had a Rhodes 19 centerboard sailboat and would usually sail to an island in Casco Bay for lunch. My sister and I would climb around the island on the rocky shoreline trying not to fall in the water, then we’d cruise back to the South Freeport harbor on a downwind run just in time for seafood dinner. Sweet, uncomplicated summer days – I remember sailing being some of the most peaceful days of my life back then. I didn’t sail during my college/grad school days (too far from the ocean, a big mistake!) but when I was finishing up my PhD I bought a Morgan 41 sailboat to live on in Anacortes’ Skyline Harbor. I wrote my dissertation aboard that boat and had fun learning to sail a much larger vessel than our little Rhodes.

I sold that boat when my husband and I moved to Anchorage, AK, but we had this dream to sail across the Pacific with our daughter, so in 2019 we bought a Cascade 42, named her Unbelievable, and spent a couple years outfitting her for long distance cruising. We left Bellingham, WA in August 2022 and made it to Australia in November 2024, with many stops in the South Pacific and a cyclone season detour to New Zealand along the way. We shipped Unbelievable back to Mexico in early 2025 and spent last spring sailing her up the west coast of the US, which were definitely some of the hardest-fought ocean miles we did on our whole journey. Hoping to get Unbelievable up to Alaska sometime in the next few years, so the Race to Alaska will be a preview of all that amazing country.

Q: What kind of professional/recreational background do you bring?
A: I’m a wildlife biologist by training, so I’ve spent a lot of my life planning and coordinating remote fieldwork, much of it in the Arctic. Some of the skills gained from that sort of expedition-style research definitely transfer to things like long-distance, unsupported sailing. During our Pacific sailing adventures, planning for passages (where we’d be out of sight of land for anywhere from 4-30 days) is also an experience that helps me be comfortable with thinking through what could happen during R2AK. I’ve done some longer mountain climbing expeditions (Rainier, Pico Orizaba in Mexico, a few peaks in the Alaska range) that also require that sort of forward thinking: imagining the worst but hoping for the best.

Q: Why do you want to do the Race to Alaska?
A: Ummm, this one was harder than I expected to answer. Simple answer – why would I NOT want to do this? Longer answer – I sailed across the Pacific with my husband, who was always the default captain. It’s been hard for me to assess what I learned from the experience as an individual, not just part of the overall sailing team. Prepping for this race and actually doing the race gives me a better sense of what I gained personally from our family sailing adventures, aside from the obvious (incredible memories). In addition, I love a good challenge, especially one that tests me physically and mentally, and I feel like R2AK is exactly that on so many levels.

Q: What’s the best part so far?
A: Sailing with 3 other badass women who bring different skills and experiences to the table and are an absolute barrel of fun besides! I love how we are building a team where everyone has certain strengths to contribute and yet we’re all determined to learn all.the.things so we remain equal partners in the R2AK adventure.

Q: Has anything surprised you?
A: Re: the previous question – how quickly we HAVE become a team! And how right it feels that we are in this together. I had no idea it would happen so easily and so fast.

Q: Anything you’re nervous about?
A: A little nervous about that team spirit, and of course our safety, after a week or more of little sleep. We have a decent sleep schedule worked out, and I think if we are able to stick to that we’ll be fine…but I know from my family’s Pacific adventures that chronic lack of sleep really wreaks havoc with team dynamics, personal satisfaction, and memory. So I’m hopeful we’ll all be able to sleep perfectly well right off the bat and arrive in Ketchikan totally stoked and ready to party. But also realistic that we might be a little crazed and sleep-deprived when we get there. I’m also nervous about encountering barge traffic up narrow passages at night. And about hitting a whale. Let’s just not think about that.

Q: What are you going to want to eat when you finally get to Ketchikan?
A: Salad. And French fries. With salt and ketchup. Oh, and ice cream, lots of it ☺

04/11/2026

Welcome to another edition of “Know Your Seaster!” Today we are diving in with Anya.

Q: What’s your sailing background?
A: A love for water and boats inevitably landed me in my own sailboat in 2020. A few friends and I got together to shake off the Covid blues by purchasing a 24ft, swing keel, monohull we dubbed Kula, which means “community” in Sanskrit. Half the group knew how to sail, the other half didn’t, including myself. Together we fixed Kula up; ripping out some sweet, s**g carpeting that inexplicably lined nearly the entirety of the interior, modified the oversized wing table over the keel hold, gave her a fresh coat of bottom paint and painted her namesake on her transom. My friends were great teachers and I learned a lot over the few years we had Kula, like how to deal with a troublesome outboard, how to step a mast and what to do when you lose a rudder. But we did fun stuff too, like grabbing crab pots under sail, learning points of sail by dodging anchored boats in Fairhaven and discovering freediving spots by beaching her onshore, swing keel and all that.

Q: What kind of professional/recreational background do you bring?
A: For me, just add water. Sports? I was a college rower and raced surf skis and outrigger canoes. Career? Fish Biologist. Hobbies? SCUBA diving, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting.

Q: Why do you want to do the Race to Alaska?
A: Interestingly, I’ve noticed this is a question that has a more introspective answer than I anticipated. On the surface, I could say the decision was a might bit impulsive; I was awed by the excitement and adventure of watching my friend race WA360 and wanted to be a part of the next challenging adventure. It was a spark, just something I had to do. And then you start to wonder, why is it that I have to do it? So, it is interesting to recognize all these little pieces in your life that start to put together the “why” and realize how much of the race reflects what is already there. For example, grade school Anya once answered the question, “If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?” and her answer was …[continued in comments!]

04/09/2026

Welcome to the first edition of “Know Your Seaster” where we dive deeper with our crew! First up is Captain Mel!

Q: What’s your sailing background?
A: I learned to sail in 2021 on a J24 and quickly fell in love with the sailing. I then graduated to exploring the San Juan Islands in a co-owned Telstar trimaran 28, which was amazing for covering ground, but I found myself missing the heeling and carving feel of a monohull. With the trimaran in the past, I am the owner of Wild Card, Santa Cruz 27 and I’ve raced in local races including the WA360, but nothing quite like the Race to Alaska.

Q: What kind of professional/recreational background do you bring?
A: I love all things water - from sailing, sea kayaking and diving to whitewater kayaking and rafting. I’m the proud owner of three boats: Wild Card, a Santa Cruz 27; La Boheme, my sea kayak; and Tiny Dancer, my sporty 13-foot whitewater cataraft. Professionally, I’ve spent the past 10 years working in social justice, and I currently support solar energy adoption by underserved communities. I bring a mix of hands-on adventure experience and problem-solving skills to the team - both on and off the water.

Q: Why do you want to do the Race to Alaska?
A: I honestly can say that I just really really want to do it, and it’s hard to say specifically why! It’s the challenge, the difficulty, the learning, the boat maintenance the logistical problem solving, the camaraderie and community – I suppose. When I first learned about the Race to Alaska I just knew it was something I wanted to do!

Q: What’s the best part so far?
A: The training has been an absolute hoot – filled with laughs, strategy sessions and great company. We’ve also had some learning lessons and some intensity out there, and we continually push the boundaries of our comfort levels. I also love problem solving and a good logistics puzzle and I really get into the planning and logistics.

Q: Has anything surprised you?
A: I’m kinda good at boat projects!

Q: Anything you’re nervous about?
A: Big, downwind following seas at night with no sleep.

Q: If you could add one thing to the race to make it easier what would it be?
A: A flux capacitor.

04/06/2026

We took these tulips on our overnight shakedown and they survived. Honestly, we’re as surprised as you are! We think this bodes well for our journey to Ketchikan - donations accepted.

04/06/2026

Race to Alaska overnight shakedown success! In an 18-hour, overnight sail with a wide range of sailing conditions, we put ourselves, our boat and new and old systems to the test. From newly installed traveler and chart plotter, to PFD re-arming kits, pedal drive, organizational systems, and tulip vase - we are one step closer to making it happen and the stoke is high!

04/03/2026

We’re (almost) ready for a shakedown!

Captain Mel has been working tirelessly to get Wild Card in ship-shape ahead of our upcoming overnight practice weekend.

Send your finest breezes our way!

03/24/2026

Another training weekend on the books! Seasters Audrey, Anna, and Mel headed out Saturday into some sunshine and low-but-building wind, dialing in some low-wind sailing techniques and getting the new chartplotter set up.

Sunday, Seasters Anya, Anna, and Mel got out into some bigger winds to practice reefing both main and jib and working as a team to de-power/re-power with the gusts.

Lots of work left to do, but excited for what lays ahead!

03/04/2026

Spring training, boat projects … so many things. So little time.

02/26/2026

Hello friends! We're looking for someone to sail a Santa Cruz 27 from Ketchikan to Bellingham, post Race To Alaska. Perks include beautiful scenery, good times, 5hp motor, leftover race beer. Must bring your own snacks, friends and sunny disposition. Wind not guaranteed.