Team Salmon Hat

Team members: Kristina Cizas, Bill Cirino, Josh Van Natta, Jason Speich
Hometown: Seattle, WA, USA
Race vessel: 1984 S2 7.9
LOA: 25′
Human propulsion: Row
Connect: facebook, instagram

Team Salmon Hat is a study in what happens when “general smarts” lose a lopsided fight with a lunch date. After Bill Cirino failed to talk his wife, Kristina Cizas, out of the race, the project evolved into a four-person effort in Type 2 fun. They recruited Josh, a boatbuilder who’s actually sailed around Vancouver Island, and Jason, a coworker who was “suckered in” during a Lake Union Duck Dodge and effectively held hostage ever since.

Their platform is an S2 7.9, a trailerable daggerboard boat they’ve spent the past couple of years “colonizing” in a backyard. They’ve stripped a defunct engine, reinforced the transom, and added a diesel heater for a “little bit of luxury” when Juneuary hits the Inside Passage. For propulsion, they’ve bypassed the mechanical complexity of pedal drives for the “fundamentally simple” brutality of 15-foot oars. (good luck, ya’ll.) The rowing setup is a mix of engineering and accidental genius: the aft station features lead-counterweighted sweeps, while the bow station utilizes a rolling boat fender as a seat. The most permanent solution is a temporary fix.

The team name is a peace offering to the local orcas, who in the 1980s took to wearing dead salmon as headwear. We believe that it’s a fashion-forward attempt to court favor with apex predators.

---

First things first, why Race to Alaska?
What better way to not enjoy a trip up the inside passage than sailing round-the-clock to finish a race we’ve no chance of winning? So yea, for the personal challenge, the experience of a lifetime with good friends, and glory, of course.

What’s the biggest unknown for you right now?
How are we going to find the time to get everything done before it’s time to go? Can we do better with sleep management than we did in WA360?

Friendship Survival Rate
110%

Duct Tape Fixes (Linear Feet)
42