Stage 1: Port Townsend to Victoria
Team name: Team Mastgate
Team captain: Tom Luque
Race vessel: 19′ West Wight Potter
website: http://www.mastgates.com/
While we might like Team Mastgate’s entry into the R2AK, our insurance guy LOVES them.
Why?
While more than a few teams are madly cobbling together high concept experiments whose main materials seem to be doorskin, JB Weld and positive thinking, Team Mastgates not only proven their wisdom by entering all 19 feet of the “big” West Wright Potter, they have the reasonable idea to limit their involvement to the first stage and their business is producing a product that makes reefing easier. That’s right, while the entire sailing world is obsessed with eeking out more speed by riding on foils, hard winged sails, or replacing spinnakers with kites, Team Mastgate’s entire existence revolves around figuring out how to make it easier to go slower. Underwriter’s wet dream.
Welcome to the R2AK Team Mastgate- it’s refreshing to have someone in the race at that other end of the sanity bell curve.