Our first Raid love story, these two met as teenagers on the final Shipyard Raid, in competing Sea Scout boats. Having done this course already, in a longboat and a skin on frame umiak, these two are back as husband and wife, ready to take on the fleet.

Chloë: I grew up around boats, and now I live on a boat. When not on the water, I enjoy mountain biking, going on adventures, spending time in the sun, and good food. I’m a veteran of the 2007 and 2009 Raids, and I’m excited to be back again this year, this time racing with Blaine rather than against him!

Blaine: Ever since my first Shipyard Raid, my relationship with water has continued to grow. I’ve been a dragon boat racer, kayaker, whitewater rafter, and Salish Sea cruiser. I met my wife on the mother-ship Temujin nine years ago on the last Shipyard School Raid. Along with boating, the mountains are where I spend the other half of my life. I also like doughnuts.

Our Raid boat is “Barracuda” (kindly loaned to us by Quill Goldman), a beautiful 18-foot Mower Dory built by the Silva Bay Shipyard School in 2005-2006. Its sails are made of dragon wings, and the hull is of the lightest chicken-of-the-sea bones. It is held together with unicorn spit, and blessed by the mermaids. We were lucky enough to race against Barracuda in the past, and are excited to train and get her ready for this year’s Raid.

They are the winners of the 2018 Barefoot Raid!

Tor and Heidi have been sailing together since 1989 on Rainbow Chaser a Tbird. Tor grew up drifting down the Seymour River then exploring about Deep Cove and the Arm. Heidi also spent time making and drifting in rafts on the Cowichan river, later fish guiding for 7 summers near Stuart Island. Both spent vacations on wind, ice & power boats, exploring rivers & coasts East, West, North & South.

Imagine gazing into the depths amongst the upwelling florescent jellyfish of a back eddy or leaning against the wind. It is more fun sailing even if it means getting cold or having a soggy sandwich for lunch. After being R2AK tracker fans, they are trying to figure out new rigging and are super-excited to be in the Raid.

Raced in R2AK 2016 with my good friend Brian Croll as Team Nordica. We had a blast sailing in my little Nordica 16 but the doldrums of that year took their toll on us. We retired from the race just south of Cape Caution, it was a tough decision but the right one. Not finishing the race was something I thought about everyday after. R2AK 2017 came but this time I entered solo and finished in a Craigslist Bomber Windrider 17. R2AK  The Barefoot Raid excites the hell out of me, it’s a hall pass to go goof around in boats. The camaraderie of fellow racers and the challenges of dealing with situations like when your sailing and something taps your shoulder and you realize its your shroud that came undone, you know…that stuff.

She’s a 2002 Windrider 17, I’m not proud of how she looks or that she is plastic but when you sail up onto a log at dusk off of Banks Island you appreciate roto-molded hulls. Propulsion comes from sweep oars and an old CCM rowing machine sliding seat. Custom made aluminum ribbed floor for storage, fully wired including solar. My Mom made her a boom tent that’s held up to 40 knots. It’s common to find her tape deck in the Main Salon playing Iron Maiden at Happy Hour. She is fun to sail but does not point to wind, like never.

 

Cooper: I’m a party animal with a quiet side. I like short walks on long beaches.

Jenine: I like sailing a lot. Race dinghies. Offshore racing. Pacific crossing. I own a marine canvas shop, I love boats and surfing and scooters and running.

Bunny Whaler is like a Toyota pickup, not especially good looking, but pretty capable. Apparently it can’t sink… we tried in Dixon Entrance. It made it to Ketchikan, slowly in 2016 (R2AK). Jenine calls it “a classy bathtub with sails.”

Ron enjoyed the first two Shipyard Raids with Ben joining him to win the 2006 Shipyard Raid in Mother Merry – based on his Merry Wherrys. Imagine a French design, built by a German, painted Irish Green – did we mention it has Swedish oars? The Ilur has a great rough water cruising reputation and should be just the ticket for these northern waters.

Ron has been paddling and sailing for nearly fifty years in western waters and is not about to stop now! Having just sold Just Enuf, a 19’ power catamaran, he looks forward to a active summer enjoying his new Ilur. Ben has been enjoying small watercraft – canoes, kayaks, rowing shells, daysailors – for an equal time and really enjoys camp cruising in small boats. Both of us are looking forward to windy northern Salish Sea sailing – we are tired of just rowing fast!

Ilur is a 14’ sail/oar boat designed by Francois Vivier. Two Ilurs have been to Ile of Sein, at the extreme west of France, one of the worst places to go with tremendous tides and the difficult sea conditions. Ilur is deep and wide with a generous freeboard for good seakeeping ability – in the “sail and oar” spirit.

Heather and Dan have been sailing small wooden boats up and down the coast since 2003 and have been dinghy sailors since 1969. As participants in stages 1 and 2 of the 2015 R2AK, Heather and dan decided they had better ways  to spend the next 2-3 weeks of their summer than bashing into gale force headwinds, and sensibly turned around and went downwind instead.

Built in 1971, theirs is a 16 foot, wooden Mirror dinghy. She was originally built by Bells in England and shipped to Boston where she was sailed, but then eventually wrecked on a breakwater. She was advertised for free in Wooden Boat and Dan rescued her and restored her. Since then we have re-framed and reskinned Mirror Mirror. She is lightweight, at only 200 lbs with plenty of sail area at 70 sq. ft,  plus a full spinnaker.

I have been involved with boats since I was seventeen years old when I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, where I served for 6 1/2 years as a Boatswain’s Mate. Now that was a long time ago and ever since then I have been in love with boats for the last forty plus years. In 2011 I launched a 15 foot Devlin Egret sail and oar skiff, fashioned more like a dory with a shallow vee bottom. Anyway, I have been dreaming of taking my egret on an adventure and this years Raid just turned out to be the year for me to realize a small boat adventure.

My boat is a Devlin Egret which is a 15′ Stitch and Glue Hence the name (“Pieced Together Sailer”) Dory/Skiff rigged with a 75 SF Spritsail. I spent countless hours building her to a standard only I can really appreciate. She is set up for Sailing, Rowing, and she even has an outboard well which I added as an after thought and have since determined an un-necessary feature for such a small boat.

Quill Goldman grew up on B.C’s coast, and is a graduate of the Silva Bay Shipyard School, class 99/2000. Co-builder and co-skipper of the winning boat of the first Shipyard School Raid, Quill went on to compete in all of these early events. After ringing the bell in Ketchikan as the “final winner” in 2015, Quill determined to return Raiding to the Salish Sea. After cooking up a course and a set of rules designed specifically to favour his own boat, he set out to lure unsuspecting participants into this rigged spectacle. As the current holder of the Raiding trophy, Quill’s will be the boat to beat if you want to take this prize home.

Mitch Burns is a shy, reserved soul, inclined to deep introspection. When asked to describe himself his carefully worded reply is that he “Enjoys long sails along the beach”

Tim Stanton says : I love playing on water ,salty is one of my favorite flavours. It is an honour to be a stroker/movable ballast aboard such a craft among these people , I look forward to getting salty with you all.

“The Dick Smiley was the final winner of the first R2AK. Designed by Tad Roberts for Barefoot Wooden Boats. This was also the only purpose built boat to complete that years course. With a Kevlar set in Ecopoxy on ply bottom, and lapstrake topsides, the Dick Smiley is a modern classic that turns heads, mostly for its lack of a transom. This boat sports dyneema rigging, and Mylar sails on a carbon mast, and has carbon fibre appendages sprouting from its trunnel fastened, lapstrake hull.”

Scott is an oceanographer-father based in Seattle who learned to sail on the reservoirs of Colorado. He’s cruised Puget Sound and the San Juans aboard a Wharram Tiki 21 with occasional forays into the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound.

Cora is his favorite child and is always better than her brother at everything. She has strengths in everything and her weaknesses include nothing. She made this entire site by herself with no help from anyone, including Scott.

Scott built Manuoku (a modified Hitia 17) with Thomas Nielsen for the 2015 Race to Alaska in part to continue exploring the crab claw sailing rig and pedal-powered boats. After getting beaten up by the Qualicum winds of Nainaimo, Manuoku had a great voyage as far north as Telegraph Cove. Of all the R2AK adventures on that trip, though, the most ecstatic moments were the short, competitive sub-races that developed by luck occasionally between a few small boats with like-minded sailing friends. We’re ready for more of that kind of joy.

Jeff Hillbury, of the internationally renowned Travelling Hillburys, hails from Denman Island. Having explored nearly every hillside in B.C., Jeff has now turned his attention to some of the wetter parts of this country. After outliving his old Atkin double ender, Jeff has a new vessel.

Jeff: “I moved to Granite Bay on Quadra Island at the age of 12, built a Sabot in a woodworking shop and sailed all over the Kanish Bay area as a kid. When I met my previous wife, we bought and lived aboard a 36’ Atkin (“Cleone”) with Comox as home port, and raised two kids aboard to the age of 6. I’ve always been a cruiser. I entered the Shark spit regatta three times, and am proud to say, never came in last. Suffice to say that my racing skills are lacking, but I’m an expert at keeping the water on the outside of the boat. I also have a guitar, and am not afraid to use it.”

Suzanne: “I don’t have a lot of experience sailing but I crewed on Miss Moose from Banff to Lake Winnipeg in 2015: an eight week, 2200 km. trip. I grew up in Vancouver and have always wanted to see the waters of my coast.”

She’s a 17’ “Siren” fitted with a drop keel. Not a classic design. “Miss Moose” is the boat that Suzanne Steele and I chose to navigate the entire North Saskatchewan river from the Saskatchewan glacier in the Columbia ice fields in Banff National Park, to Lake Winnipeg Manitoba. A journey of approx. 2200 Km. Don’t be put off by the outboard,. Notwithstanding a dash to make last call in Edmonton, she was rowed/sailed until well into Manitoba. We’re super exited about the Raid.  Miss Moose brought us through prairie storms, class 2+ rapids and literally wore the bottom off of her pushing across gravel bars. We’d love to show her a more sublime cruising experience.