Submitted by Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission
Tacoma’s waterfront will have a different look on Monday night. That’s when 123 teams on paddleboards, catamarans, kayaks and other vessels begin the first-ever SEVENTY48 sea race: travel 70 miles in 48 hours, from Tacoma to Port Townsend.
And it’s all human powered—no motors, no sails, no support. Teams are coming from Hawaii, the UK and the Western U.S.
Dean Burke, Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission executive director, is one of nearly 190 athletes who will paddle or row from Tacoma to Port Townsend in the first-ever SEVENTY48 sea race, starting Monday, June 11.
Dean Burke, executive director of Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission, is thrilled to join the fray on his stand-up paddleboard. He’s equally awed at the significance of bringing this event to the Thea Foss Waterway.
“SEVENTY48 celebrates our community’s renewed connection with the sea,” Burke said. “This waterway was the EPA’s first superfund site, and through the community’s effort we’re bringing 190 people out here for a race. It’s epic.”
The public is invited to participate in SEVENTY48 in a number of ways:
The SEVENTY48 Pre-Funk
June 10, 3-7 p.m., at Social Bar and Grill on the Thea Foss Waterway, Tacoma
Natalia Cohen, record-breaking ocean rower, will be a guest speaker at the SEVENTY48 sea race pre-funk on Sunday, June 10, 3-7 p.m. in Tacoma. (photo credit Natalia Cohen)
• Presentation by Natalia Cohen, one of six women to row across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Cairns, Australia, setting a world record as the first female team to finish that route unsupported
• Presentation by Karl Kruger, the first athlete to complete the 750-mile Race to Alaska on a stand-up paddleboard
• Music, food and Human-Powered Pale Ale, specially co-brewed by Harmon Brewing Company and Port Townsend Brewing Company
The SEVENTY48 Sendoff Party
June 11, 4:30 p.m., at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma
• Food, music and appearances by Cohen and Kruger
The SEVENTY48 Race
June 11, 5:30 p.m., outside the Museum of Glass, on the Thea Foss Waterway
• Tacoma’s waterfront parks and restaurants offer excellent viewpoints for spectators.
• Follow the live stream of the finish line on the SEVENTY48 home page.
SEVENTY48 is the precursor to Race to Alaska, an unsupported sea race that spans 750 miles from Point Townsend to Ketchikan. Race to Alaska begins the day after SEVENTY48 participants dock in Port Townsend.