OVERNIGHT SUCCESS

Seventy 48 breaks records with successful sea race

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The waters of Puget Sound were packed with paddlers aplenty this past weekend as they raced 70 miles from Tacoma to Port Townsend for the fourth  annual rendition of the Seventy 48 nautical contest, a motor- and sail-free event.

A record 116 teams signed up for the race, with the contestants categorized into four classes; “Standing Up,” “By Yourself,” “Facing Forward,” and “Facing Backward.”

The race started at 7 p.m. June 10 in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay, with racers having 48 hours to arrive at the finish line in Port Townsend.

In contrast to last year’s low finish rate, 89 of the 116 participating teams crossed the finish line in Port Townsend, with Team Imua taking the top spot and setting a new race record of 9 hours and 35 minutes.

Additionally, Team Wave Forager set the new solo record of 9 hours and
39 minutes in the water competition.

Team Imua took the top spot for “Facing Backward” class; Team Wave Forager came in first for the “By Yourself” category; the top finisher for the “Facing Forward” class was Team Boat (11 hours, 6 minutes); and the first-place finisher for “Standing Up” class Team KrugerSEA (14 hours,
12 minutes).