Team members: Debra Wehrman, Don Wehrman
Hometown: Everett, WA, USA
Race vessel: 1979 MacGregor Venture 23
LOA: 23′
Human propulsion: Pedal (prop)
Connect: facebook, instagram
Most people work their whole lives to retire in comfort, but not Debra and Don Wehrman of Team Just To Sea; after 40 years of sailing and living together, they’re looking to try some new things: “We want to see if paying a lot of money to do it the hard way would add another dimension to our boating.” Whatever keeps the love alive, Debra and Don, we won’t kink shame.
These two shipmates-for-life have been adventuring together since before many of their fellow competitors were even a twinkle in their mothers’ ovaries. They’ve built multiple sailboats and owned several others—culminating in the MacGregor Venture Newport 23 they purchased in 2019 for the sole purpose of racing to Alaska. They’ve honed their skills taking leaves of absence from their jobs as engineer and nurse, in favor of sailing the Intercoastal Waterway, Hawaiian Islands, San Juans, and Inside Passage by chart and compass—and sometimes with the small child they created as crew.
After a star-crossed attempt at WA360 in 2021, Team Just To Sea is back with a redesigned pedal drive, and a determination to reach Ketchikan in transcendent, extradimensional bliss.
We tried to sit down with Debra and Don over a bowl of sea stories to talk about repeatedly quitting your jobs, sailing the Pacific, and what the glaciers looked like in the 70s, but apparently they were too busy fishing keys out of a bowl to chat with the likes of us.
Welcome to Race To Alaska, Team Just To Sea—after four years, we hope you finally get to finish.