Full Race– Port Townsend to Ketchikan
Team name: Barefoot Wooden Boats
Team members: Quill Goldman, Mitch Burns and Jesse Bartlett
Vessel: custom design by Tad Roberts (build in process)
If you believe the research, neural-plasticity is when your brain actually allocates proportionally more of its neural capacity to whatever you concentrate on. If you practice the piano, or even think about practicing the piano, over time more and more of your brain is activated when you play the piano. You get better at the piano because more of your brain actually shapes itself to be suited to the task. Cool right?
If we did a brain scan of Barefoot Wooden Boats we’re pretty sure they would have no brain left for playing the piano. Their entire brain would be consumed by Race to Alaska. These Canadian boat builders and voyagers were born in these islands, live in these islands, and have been dreaming about this race for years before we nailed a stack of bills to that tree in Ketchikan (have you seen the video?).
On top of all of that mumbo jumbo brain science, Team Barefoot Wooden Boats likely has the most relevant course experience of anyone entered so far. These are the guys who started the Shipyard School Raids a few years back- small boat stage races that ranged all over the southern portion of the R2AK course. They even won a fair number of them. In their own words “Since the last raid I’ve been polishing my trophy wondering if I’ll ever get a chance to compete for it again.”
Quill is actually super nice guy, but consider that gauntlet thrown. Boom.