Seventy Miles in Under 48 Hours. One Melonseed. Zero Regrets.
A mariner's account of completing the Seventy48 — and what happened in the dark off Oak Bay
The Maury Dory
When Greg set out last September to buy a boat and start his rowing journey, he had one goal on the horizon: finish the Seventy48, a 70-mile human-powered race from Tacoma to Port Townsend with a 48-hour clock running down.
He finished last weekend in just under 36 hours.
“This boat is amazing, and perfect for me,” he told us afterward. His boat? A 16.5′ Melonseed named the Maury Dory. He picked it up last year, and spent the winter training in the waters around Vashon Island in every kind of weather the South Sound had to offer. His final tune-up row, two weeks before the race: a full circumnavigation of Vashon and Maury Islands in 10 hours.
He started Friday night confident in himself, but perhaps more confident in his boat.
That confidence would earn its keep by Saturday night
The Night Things Got Real
Friday night and into Saturday, the Melonseed was a pleasure, holding a comfortable 4.5 mph pace across the miles. Then came Oak Bay.
Approaching the cut between 9 and 10 pm Saturday, Greg rowed headlong into a small craft advisory he hadn’t known was in effect. Winds from the west, later estimated at 25 knots or better. Waves breaking above head height. More than two hours of hard rowing to cover just over a mile.
“It was pretty hairy,” he told us. Even in the moments when he had to stop rowing to manage something one-handed, the boat spun sideways into the waves and held.
It held.
“I’m convinced that had I been in a coastal rower, or any of the other dories or wherries I considered buying, I would not have stayed upright.”
What We Build For
Greg is the first to own his mistake. “I made a horrible rookie error by not checking the forecast.” But a boat can’t control what its rower doesn’t know. What it can do is perform when it matters most.
Thirty-six hours after the starting horn, Greg crossed the finish line in Port Townsend.
We build our boats for moments exactly like that one. Welcome to the other side, Greg. The adventures are just getting started.
Interested in your own rowing adventure? Learn more about the 16.5′ Melonseed →