Team Desert Drifters

Team members: Bailey Kohnen, Patrick Kohnen, Clara Kohnen
Hometown: Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Race vessel: Corsair Sprint 750
LOA: 24′
Human propulsion: Pedal (Prop)
Connect: instagram

Tumbleweeds and saguaros. The classic pipeline to the Inside Passage.

Long ago, and for a race that has come and passed, they applied to R2AK and got told no. Not a soft no. A real one. As in: come back when this makes more sense. You, the reading public, don’t usually hear about those teams because they wind up turning tail, getting mad, and heading off to some other kick ass adventure race. Instead of arguing, The Drifters went out, did the WA360, got worked over by conditions, sleep deprivation, and impending limits/doom, and came back agreeing with the people who turned them down in the first place. 

Now they’re back: Bailey, Clara, and their dad Patrick. Bailey runs point—the most experienced, the heavy-weather driver. Clara brings the competitive switch that flips hard once other boats appear. Patrick is the dad. So, mowing the lawn?

Their boat, Raven, is small, quick, and comes with a pedal-drive system inherited from another team. It works. It also doesn’t, occasionally. But they say they know how to fix it mid-race, so fans: bring them some duct tape to The Ruckus.

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First things first, why Race to Alaska?
We have been fans of the R2AK since the start. It’s the coolest race with the coolest people in the coolest place on earth. Who wouldn’t want to be there?

What’s going to break first—and what’s your plan when it does?
It’s never what you expect, but my guess is our pedal drives. They are tough but exposed, making them vulnerable to logs. Luckily, they are simple and easy to repair underway, and we have two, which adds some redundancy if one fails.

Duct Tape Fixes (Linear Feet)
10

Confidence Level
71.38821%