Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic caused mayhem amongst the Raiders on both sides of the border, and around the world. Plus the border closed… So, the commodore was forced to call it all off and sailors stayed home.

A very cool route had been planned within the Gulf Islands —

Amazingly, some 30 teams registered for the 2020 Barefoot Raid. They are listed below in the order in which they signed up.

• 1 – Team Not Afraid to Get Wet (NATGW): Heidi Baxter, Tor Baxter and Amy Soper aboard “Alfred” (or ??) - Small boat curious. Dual hull experimenting for an enhanced experience. Okay to get wet and try again. Love making spinnaker sail contraptions on the fly. Shoreline exploring can sometimes take precedence over race rule directions. Especially liked crossing over race tracks to see faster boats on occasion. Hoping to improve. Amy: There ain’t no place…
• 2 – Team Miss Moose: Suzanne Steele & Jeff Hillberry aboard “Miss Moose” (17′ Siren) - We of Team ‘Miss Moose’ (motto: Servate nobis aliquam cenam [Save Us Dinner]) like to think we bring a whole new appreciation to the concept of ‘finalists’ to this wondrous competition of sleek, well-built, and beautiful little wooden boats, none of which describes our own little beauty. Miss Moose, a 17′ Siren, is a sturdy…
• 3 – Team Ballpoint Buccaneers: Quill Goldman & crew aboard “Dick Smiley” (19’ Tad Roberts) - I like sailing. And boats. And I like people who like sailing and boats. I hope you will do boat sailing with me. Deep roots in the Silva Bay Shipyard Raids (2005-2010)… 2015 Race to Alaska full race: 15th to Ketchikan (26 days 2 hours) 2018 results: 2nd place — Ballpoint Buccaneers (Quill, Tim, and Chris) —…
• 4 – Team Cheese Whizzz: Robin Slieker aboard “Cheese” (Tornado 20′) - My boat is a Tornado, the 20 foot, twin trapeze Olympic sailing catamaran. I’ve modified mine slightly by adding wing seats. This is the second Tornado I’ve owned because they’re such great crafts Robin: I’m not a rower, I’m a sailor, as in actually sailing. I was fortunate to experience sailing at a young age…
• 5 – Team Sea Runners: Cora Reese & Scott Veirs aboard “Manuoku” (Wharram Hitia 17′) - The best team – confirmed by web designers 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…
• 6 – Team TriHarder: Eric Tirion aboard “Heijira” (Angus Rowcruiser 18.5′) - Hejira is an Angus Sailing Rowcruiser. Pretty good solo raiding vessel, just needs armament! Amateur Raider! I had SO MUCH FUN on the 2019 raid ….. must do it again!!! 2019 Salish Sea 100 partipant 2019 results: 6th TriHardr (Eric Tirion) – 59 points
• 7 – Team Fib: Randy Wheating aboard “Fib” (Scamp 12′) - Life long West Coast boy recently retired and now splitting my time between Vancouver and Gibsons. Always enjoyed a variety of outdoors activities on the water and in the hills and love spending time with like-minded folks. Leaving ashore my wife, two grown boys, and a terrier named Farley for a week of Raiding! My…
• 8 – Team Sisters: Pamela Mickelwait and Michelle Trautwein (Jersey Skiff 17′) - Gig Harbor Boat Works 17’ Jersey Skiff built in 2015. Built for sailing and rowing. Michelle: I’m the 60-year-old little sister of Pamela Mickelwait and will be her crew and a better companion to her than an experienced sailor. What I’m trying to say is I’m just good company for her and I’m going along…
• 9 – Team ACE: Daniel Ackermann (TriRaid 5.6) - Home-built TriRaid 560S trimaran designed by Klaus Metz. Readied for the R2AK with all safety gear and electronics. Square-topped fully battened main sail, working jib and Code 0. Using Hobie Mirage drive as auxiliary propulsion. Adventurer by nature. Nothing spectacular like climbing Everest or crossing the North Pole solo. Parachutist, Open Water SCUBA, Bush Medic,…
• 10 – Team Bunny Whaler: Cooper Rooks aboard “Bunny Whaler” (Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2) - Bunny Whaler: self bailing, sliding seat rowing, 3x reef full batten main, reefable jib, asymmetrical spinnaker. “Unsinkable” but usually wet. I’m a middle school teacher. I have loved sailing since I bought an El Toro for $50 and a batch of homemade pasta from my neighbor at age 8. I raced lasers in high school,…
• 11 – Team Grasshopper: Nate Rooks aboard “Grasshopper” (paparazzi steed) - Grasshopper was built as a back-of-a-napkin efficiency experiment from leftover parts by Russell Brown. A custom plywood/composite pod rides atop Tornado hulls, braced by leftover carbon mast sections. With an extra-long-shaft 15hp Honda 4-stroke hanging out the aft end of the pod, Grasshopper will do 15 knots at a gallon an hour through just about…
• 12 — Team Luna: Dale and Chris Simonson aboard “Luna” (12′ Scamp) - Three wishes, three little pigs, three billy goats gruff… Third time lucky! Luna made it to the finish line every leg of the last 2 Raids, and can’t wait to start all over again. Obviously, at not quite 12 feet long, she’s too cute to know any better. Chris says: been there, done that, got…
• 13 – Team Yee Haw: Tim Stanton et al. (Hobie 16) - Actually, he describes it as “a wondercraft that is a Hobie 16” and himself thus: “i love boating about as well as kicking back at the seashore” 2018 results: 2nd place aboard Ballpoint Buccaneers  with Quill and Chris — 33 points 2019 results: as crew took 4th place aboard Cheese Balls with Robin Slieker — 35 points
• 14 – Team Redurchin: Rick Corless - A John welsford designed pathfinder built on Gabriola by myself I like sailing and eating food 2018 results: 13th place aboard Red Urchin with Chloe, Adrian, & Natalie – 102 points
• 15 – Team Baum Squad: Mark and Lyle Baumgaertner - A Core Sound 20 MK3 designed by Graham Byrnes of B&B Yacht Designs and built by myself (actually I’m still building it but it will be finished 1April or sooner). The boat is a Cat ketch and Graham designed it specifically for the Everglades Challenge in which it took first in class for the first…
• 16 – Team An Eye For Gold: Tobi “the Dread” Elliot aboard Golden Eye - Golden Eye is a 1975 lapstrake “tent sailboat” built by Greg Foster of Whaler Bay. Her gaff canvas mainsail and jib, and hemp ropes and lines, were made by Shay Foster and still work beautifully today. Her previous owner had her cedar planks and frames recovered in a restoration by the Granville Island Boatyard, and,…
• 17 – Team Y-Knot: Francois Coetzer and Therena Carlin aboard “D’it is what d’it is” (CLC Southwester Dory 18’10”) - “D’ It is wat D’it is ” is a kit boat Southwester Dory build from Chesapeake Light Craft Boats. She is still under construction and will be doing sea trials April 2020. Sail configuration is two balanced lug sails with a Scandanavian style yolk and drag link helm. I have not used either and anybody…
• 18 – Team Hodge: Rob Hodge aboard “Lady Jane” - The Lady Jane is a 1960 built wooden Lightning one design. Returned to the water after 30 years in a barn and a two year refit, she has been modified for dinghy cruising with an eye towards the R2AK. She has had a cabin added and her sail plan has been revised and modernized. Rob…
• 19 – Team Kingsfold: Gill Bahnsen aboard “Kingsfold” (Stevenson Weekender 16′) - S/V Kingsfold is a Stevenson Weekender (16-foot plywood and stringers, gaff-rigged sailboat) built with some carefully considered and researched modifications to make it safer in the unprotected waters of the Race to Alaska. (Details available here: https://kingsfoldsailboat.blogspot.com/2020/01/some-of-my-thinking-behind-my-changes.html) Not only safer, but more accommodating for a couple of guys to cruise in for extended distances. 25…
• 20 – Team Starboardia: Thomas Soucy and ~mystery~ crew aboard “Smurfette” (Hobie 16) - Reigning Barefoot Raid Champ, Smurfette is a 1978 FrankenHobie 16. She is one of many and unique amongst all. Hopefully upgraded with some Raiding specific mods this year… Alternative team names include “Smurfette Riderz” and “Haddock’s Unicorn”… Thomas: I love to sail. the faster the better. Rowing is a chore. Like dishes and laundry it…
• 21 – Team Cats and Dogs: Simon Stiles - Tornado Catamaran, 20ft overall, 10ft beam, 350lbs, hopefully strong and stable. I’m from Ottawa, an architect by training, a retired photographer by trade, and now I just build a big 47ft solar powered catamaran and make videos about it for my YouTube channel Finding Simon.
• 22 – Team Looberns: Lucas Christopher & Mitch Burns (boat TBD) - boat is to be announced….. Returning raider. Entered for the glory. Came back for the fans and paella and the sailing and the general hilarity of it all. 2019 Raid results: 5th place Loobern (Lucas Christopher and Mitch Burns) – 49 points
• 23 – Team Spirit in The Night: Andy Inglis (Windrider 17) - I have a Windrider 17, you know, like Ryan’s. Mine came white, didn’t turn white like his did. Its plastic hull is indestructible (I hope). As a trimaran, it makes a nice platform for cruising, camping, and endless modifications. These beauties are a breeze to sail (see what I did there?) because you have the…
• 24 – Team NISSE (Winter gnome gone wild): Nahum Gazell - It’s a 17ft 1950 One off design by a Vancouver boat builder named A. Spit. I picked it up about 4 years ago and did a major rebuild. Mahogany and cedar ribs and deck over fir frames. Lots of original brass. Ecopoxy skin added during rebuild. Party lights, pirate flag and sea shanties included. “Some…
• 25 – Team Frisch Wind: Francois & Sheena Frisch (Croce-Lofthouse 16′) - We bought the boat today. She’s a CL16, plenty of prep work will need to be done. Recently moved to Saltspring from the North Shore, we are getting back to sailing dinghys after many years of racing keelboats. We met 25 years ago at a sailing school on the Isle of Wight. We’re the most…
• 26 – Team Performance Anxiety: Satchel Douglas - Trying to decide what to take, if it is back from R2Ak in time (sailed by Doug), it will be a first (ex, seascape 18), otherwise a flying dutchman. Loved sailing so much as kid I went to college to design sailboats, had that beaten out of me by capitalism and now I design ferries!…
• 27 – Team Educated Guess: Max Fleischfresser - It is currently a stock Melges 24. For this event we will be using a Maine with a reef point in it. As much as I would like to use our custom pedal drive from the R2AK, we will probably just use SUP paddles as we would like to keep our boat ready for one…
• 28 – Team Kullan and the Pussy Hat: Colleen and Murray Alexander - Kullan (as in, get your “Kool On”) is a sturdy, comfortable, reliable 1970 Monk Trawler which has taken us on many beautiful trips. We love to share her with friends and family. Colleen and Murray live on Gabriola. They love boating in the southern Gulf Islands as well as going up the coast, and they’re…
• 29 – Team Sylvia: Kilian Barker aboard Sylvia - I built my boat with two others at the Silva bay boat school in 2011. Shes a 15′ Paul Gartside (#140 maybe?) lapstrake fun machine. Launch day was the begining for Sylvia and myself. No previous sailing experince at that point, but eager to get into it. Sailed around the harbour a couple times before…
• 30 – Team Over Easy: Ted Sweeny aboard Over Easy - Over Easy is a 1978 Montgomery 17, a 2016 R2AK finisher in different hands and under a different name. When the prior owners loaded this sweet marigold tortoise on a barge in Ketchikan, never wanting to see or smell it again as long as they lived, Ted was a perfect mark – still wrapped in…