Olin Bruton (a good friend of Nick’s) is going on an epic sailing journey with two other friends, Caleb Rauch and Carlin Rauch - read about it here: “We are Team Outtaspace, an amalgamation of similar differences setting out to take a small sportboat far out of her comfort zone while racing from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska as part of Race to Alaska. This 750 mile journey through British Columbia's inside passage will test our limits of endurance, ingenuity, and craftsmanship. The rules are simple; no motors onboard, and no outside support of any kind. When the wind dies, the rowing and pedaling begins–a truly self-sufficient journey.

Before even being admitted into the race, the vetting team had to make sure that we were up for the challenge. With rescue potentially days away, they reviewed our vessel, experience, and individual strengths to assure we wouldn’t “end up dead”. That being said, we have our work cut out for us before we reach the starting line. Our vessel S/V Ripley is an Alien 21, the peak of early 80's sportboat design from all the way Down Under. This glorified fiberglass bathtoy will receive updated rigging, much improved safety measures, and a paltry few creature comforts. Holes need to be patched, ball bearings retrieved from under the couch, and spiders evicted.

These unknown elements of the route, without any options for easy escape are what drew us to R2AK. That, and a recent surprise bankruptcy that left 2/3rds of our team unemployed with plenty of time to fill our bodies with fiberglass and heads with delusions. This race, the culture, and characters behind it have transfixed us. We want to add Team Outtaspace to R2AK’s storied history and bring our supporters along for the ride.

Team Outtaspace is also proud to announce that we are partnering with the Nick Would Foundation to celebrate the life of Olin’s dear friend and raise funds to break down barriers to the outdoors through sport, wildland exploration, and artistic development. Nick always sought great adventure and we think he would be stoked to hear about our wild idea, we'll carry him with us the whole way north. Check out the website www.NickWould.com to learn more.”

Here is a link to their GoFundMe! https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-team-outtaspace-race-to-alaska