Team Yes!

Team members: Aaron Bandstra, Jill Burns, Phil Burns, Tracy Dahlstedt, Jeremy Noet
Hometown: Bellingham, WA, USA
Race vessel: Hobie 33
LOA: 33′
Human propulsion: Pedal (Prop)
Connect: instagram

“Yes!” is less of a name and more of a collective personality flaw. It’s what manifests when you live long enough across the alley from people who don’t know how to say “that’s a terrible idea.” Their history is a series of accidental kidnappings: someone mentions a boat over a beer, and by dawn, they’re all elbow-deep in a decade-long wooden hull restoration that defies logic. 

This 750-mile detour started when Tracy, a kayaker who got a little too invested in the R2AK tracker, decided watching dots move across a screen wasn’t enough. She brought it to a group that fully understood what the race entails and, in keeping with precedent, received an immediate yes. At no point does anyone appear to have suggested slowing down.

They’ve travelled this road before—boats, fishing seasons, long projects that require more patience than planning. The system holds. So far.

They’re heading to Ketchikan the same way they’ve done everything else: together, committed early, details to follow. It’s worked repeatedly.

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First things first, why Race to Alaska?
Each of us wants to do this, but couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do it alone. We need each other. We want to be a team of good friends within a greater community of boaters who love this kind of grand endeavor. We see this as the penultimate Northwest experience, and we’re all Pacific Northwesterners, born and raised in Alaska, BC, Skagit, Seattle, Oregon. For us, this is beyond adventure; we will be traversing sacred waters. We’re at the perfect time in our lives to truly appreciate that.

What part of this race keeps you up at night?
Wondering if we’ll be able to adhere to our sleep shift rotation. Yup, there’s irony there.

Also Hecate Straight.

Duct Tape Fixes (Linear Feet)
33

Friendship Survival Rate
100%