Team Norn to be Wild

Team members: Ruby Zaveri, Madison Pickett, Sophie Rudolph, Rachel Bradley
Hometown: Seattle, WA, USA
Race vessel: Santa Cruz 27
LOA: 27′
Human propulsion: Pedal (Prop)
Connect: website, instagram

Team Norn to Be Wild takes its name from Steppenwolf’s classic 1968 hit Born to Be Wild.

Which famously opens with: “Get your motor runnin’.”

A bold thematic choice for a Race to Alaska team, given the whole no-engines thing. It’s unclear whether this is a layered commentary on combustion-era freedom versus human-powered adventure or if, during the first team pizza night, someone cleverly realized Norn rhymes with Born, and that was good enough.

Either way, the motor stays on the dock. The legs will be busy.

Ruby, Sophie, Madi, and Rachel built this campaign around a shared interest listed plainly on their application: suffering. The graceful kind. The laughing-through-it kind. The kind that pairs well with fjords and whales.

The open transom was created during a drunken night with a Sawzall. Ruby drives the program. Sophie wrangles electrons and solar. Rachel keeps the boat tight and pointed north. Madi is building a forward-facing pedal drive to avoid the backward-pedaling goblin aesthetic. 

Also this:

In her real life, Rachel is employed by Northwest Maritime and is the Race to Alaska social media specialist. This year, she decided to experience the race from the pointy end. Since she won’t be turning the knobs this year, we feel it’s only fair to add some higher stakes.

Get to Ketchikan, or you’re fired.

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What’s the one piece of advice you’re absolutely going to ignore?
“Please never do something like that again,” -Sophie’s mom after WA360.

What’s going to break first—and what’s your plan when it does?
Madi’s bladder and the duct tape on Ruby’s pants. More duct tape is the plan (although we haven’t quite figured out how that will fix Madi’s bladder).

Luck/Skill Ratio
40:60

Confidence Level
66%