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 2 of us sailed her back to Denman. Since then have done Many Day trips and a few Week+ trips Rowing and sailing around Texada and up to Cortez and back. We packed 3 of us on there for two weeks at one point, she accomidated us just fine. I keep Sylvia on a Trailer in my Barn, safe and sound the rest of the time.

Hi! I live on Denman, I like Camping, Snowboarding, Sailing general Adventuring, and tinkering on Projects. I have been sailing on and off since 2011. Done mostly day trips, but a few lengthy trips a week or two up and around the straight. I really enjoy that magic feeling of being out on the water, chatting and playing with the wind. I’m exicited to some a longer trip with the aide of a mothership. Seams like a winning combo!

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 planning to go round Vancouver Island one of these years. We are excited to be joining the 2020 RAID as a support vessel.

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 design fleet racing.

Grew up sailing out of Bainbridge Island from a young age. I continued sailing through high school, college and beyond. I am now working on tugboats for a living and play on the water for fun.

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Results:

• Placed 5th in 2019 R2AK with team Educated Guess.

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! I usually sail big boats, on the pointy end, R2ak twice (once as 2nd loser!), a fair bit of other offshore racing in SF, 3000 offshore delivery miles, TP-52 in seattle for cans. But the joy of small boat sailing is drawing me back to my routs.

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 boring people alive and have nothing to say in this paragraph… that’s what 10 years of parenting will do. Looking forward to having a great time sans kids.

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 years ago, never mind how long precisely, having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” -Herman Melville I am an avid sailor, navigator and adventurer. I have spent most of my life near the sea and revel in its vast complexities and wonder. As soon as I could hammer two pieces of wood together I gained a love for wooden boats and their intrinsic beauty. I have owned and rebuilt a number of sailboats over the years. I only have a small racing background but have loved every minute of it. I look forward to joining this years raid crew. “May the breeze and rum be stiff but the shore and lassies be soft”

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 option to steer “hands free” with foot pedals controlling the rudder. This means that if a snotty Hobie sailor screams past you, you can salute him or her with a beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other.

So, picture this. It’s 2006, you’re about to turn 50, and you’re driving the wife and children from the Outer Banks to Norfolk, VA, through the driving rains of tropical storm Ernesto. You had to give up sailboarding because of the pounding on your knees, briefly owned a Catalina 22, but mostly sailed OPB’s (other people’s boats). As you are slowing down to a crawl on the highway with the wipers hopelessly overwhelmed, your mind drifts back to the sailboat you just rented, and fell in love with, in the Outer Banks. “Honey, we should get one of those boats.” You form the statement like a question, fully expecting the logical, practical response which includes the many, many valid reasons against boat ownership. Just then you pass into the eye of the storm: the wind dies, shafts of sunlight coalesce through the thinning clouds until, for a few brief moments, all is sunshine and calm. “Yes, dear, I think we should.” And with that, she was off the hook for my 50th birthday present. Since then I have been the proud owner of a Windrider 17. Subsequently there have been a few seminal events related to my dinghy adventure aspirations:

1. I was captivated by The Dinghy Cruising Companion by Roger Barnes.
2. Ryan Wegwitz, despite disparaging the Windrider’s (non) pointing abilities, completed the Race to Alaska in that very boat. (I hope we can chat sometime, Ryan.)
3. I got the last kid through college, and could retire, thus freeing up time for Boat Love. I am hoping to get to meet you all on the water.

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.

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• 2019 Raid results: 5th place Loobern (Lucas Christopher and Mitch Burns) – 49 points

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.

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 can be masochistically fun… but I’ll take tight lines over those evil sticks any day. When the sailing is done Hanging 10 on the beach by a fire feels like magic. I was born for this.

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