Team members: Benjamin Garman, James Person, Bryan Wieser, Paul Singer
Hometown: Federal Way, WA, USA
Race vessel: 1976 Catalina 27 Tall Rig
LOA: 27′
Human propulsion: Pedal & Paddle
Connect: spotify
Ben Garman successfully quit Wind Spirit for several years before suffering a complete relapse.
When the Catalina 27 got back on the market at “I’m tired of owning a boat” prices, he bought it back, recruited James into the partnership, and resumed a restoration project involving new rigging, new stanchions, rudder work, bottom work, and approximately 200 square feet of suspiciously affordable peel-and-stick decking. By the time Team Boomerang discovered Race to Alaska, they had already been accidentally preparing for it for years.
The original recruiting strategy was straightforward: ask experienced sailors to race to Alaska. They scoffed. So Ben adjusted course and asked his best friends instead. Thus the ‘fellowship of bros’ heads north.
Their human-powered system arrived through the traditional R2AK supply chain: inherited from someone who got it from someone who got it from someone who intended to race but didn’t. It is currently being rebuilt. Somebody tell us what all this ‘rebuilding’ is about.
Team Boomerang’s official physical descriptions, used for Search and Rescue purposes, include Charmingly Handsome, Classically Handsome, and Devilishly Handsome. The fourth entry simply reads “Grey Hair.”
Thanks, old man. That’s actually the kind of facts we were looking for.
The Race to Alaska Podcast
Episode 18: Team Boomerang, Team Against Limits Sailing, Team Hull Yeah
→ Listen on Spotify
→ Listen on YouTube
→ Listen on Apple Podcasts
What’s the one piece of advice you’re absolutely going to ignore?
That we should eat bad/freeze-dried/bland/boring food.
What’s the story behind your boat?
I have owned the boat for 16-20 years depending on how you do the math. Bought it, lived on it and sailed it like I stole it. sold it for a failed California odyssey. Found out it was for sale again and bought it again with the intention of it being a partnership and be used for fun again. Fixed her all up during Covid out of necessity and boredom. Now it’s all dialed in and ready for the big journey.
Luck/Skill Ratio
80:19
Friendship Survival Rate
59%