In the early morning of June 7, four friends set sail from Port Townsend, Washington on a 360-mile race around Puget Sound. They competed not just for glory but also to raise money for Seacology and awareness of the challenges facing the world’s island environments and communities. We’re happy to report that they finished eighth out of more than 50 boats, and crushed their seven-day goal, circling Puget Sound and making it back to Port Townsend in just four! And in the process they raised more than $2,000 to support our work.

Team Gratitude, which includes Seacology Fellow Judah Slavkovsky, organized the fundraiser as part of its competition in the Northwest Maritime Center’s WA360, 360 miles of engineless, unsupported boat racing. This arduous course runs from Port Townsend to Olympia to the Canadian border and back.

The team was sponsored by local business Dockside Mail, which made a generous gift to the campaign.