Off to Washington state for another adventure race!

Training row in Belfast Bay. From bow to stroke: Abby Lown, Jim Bahoosh, Dameon Colbry, Leigh Dorsey.

Tomorrow, Dameon and I will take a car ride, followed by a bus ride, followed by a plane flight to get to Tacoma, where we’ll be (re)united with Team Toad’s Wild Ride! My dad Chuck is already somewhere in South Dakota, towing our 32-foot expedition rowboat across the country. The Washington 360 race starts Saturday, June 28th at 11am Pacific time.

More than one person has asked us “Isn’t there enough coast to row right here in Maine?”

Fair question.

The answer is yes, of course there is! We live in one of the best places on earth for the sort of long-distance adventure rowing that we like to do. The sort of rowing that’s driven by the desire to push boundaries and explore new places, always with a beautiful, uninhabited wild island campsite to enjoy at the end of the day.

But, we were drawn to the Pacific Northwest by the siren song of Race to Alaska back in 2019, and it sank its claws deep into our souls. The race experience is a heady brew of comradery with other human-powered adventurers, the support and love of friends and followers who come along with us in our hearts and minds, and of course the natural beauty and wildlife that surrounds us every minute of the journey.

Though I’ve now rowed from Washington to Alaska twice, I still approach the WA360 with trepidation. We have an ambitious and exhausting pace in mind. We have never rowed together as a full crew. Not to mention that every time I have to stop and pee into a quart container in the boat, I’ll be three feet from my dad sitting in the coxswain’s seat in front of me and two feet from Dameon behind me…

Oh well. Modesty is over-rated.

Despite my worries, I’m able to embrace the challenge with a hopeful heart because of the deep trust I have in my teammates. I know we’ll all do our best every second of the way, and there’s nothing more I could ask than that.