The Real Thing

The Team

Team Real Thing is four good friends and adventure partners hailing from Santa Barbara, California. We are Todd Bryan, Boris Alves, Ben Ellenberger and Emily Althoen, and our next big adventure together is the Race To Alaska. We can't wait!

Todd Bryan

Todd Bryan, a sailor from Santa Barbara, California, lives for adventure outdoors. A software engineer by trade, he escapes the dim lights and bright screens of the workplace to recharge in vibrant and vital places of beauty. Todd is an avid backpacker, having taken recent long trips in California, Alaska, and New Zealand. He is also a kayak tourer, runner, bicyclist, cross-country skier, and - importantly - a dedicated sailor. In recent years he has rebuilt and refit a 28 foot sailboat with his own hands. After the work was all done, he used the boat to cruise extensively among California’s Channel Islands. To Todd, the Race to Alaska is the ultimate sailing challenge, testing one’s sailing skills but also one’s organizational acumen. Preparation, to Todd, is key - and meticulous preparation will see the team safely and quickly through to Ketchikan.

Boris Alves

Boris Alves, AKA the Brazilian, is an adventurer. By day he works at a large technology company as a technical operations manager, which is like emergency response for software applications. He’s quick to assess a situation, identify solutions to keep things running (even when it’s the digital equivalent of duct tape), and then, when the chaos subsides, conduct a root cause analysis to figure out what the heck went wrong. Along with teammates Todd and Ben, Boris took a bush plane to middle-of-nowhere Alaska for 11 days of off-the-grid backpacking in grizzly and glacier territory. He managed to appreciate the beauty around him even when spending days at a time cold and wet. It was a natural extension of his love of mountaineering and rock climbing, which he may just be into for the gear. He’s resourceful. There’s a phrase in Portuguese, “dar um jeito,” which essentially means to “find a way.” Boris embodies the spirit of that phrase. When others see a dead end, Boris finds a way. People thought he was crazy to come to America at age 18, but he found a way to make it work. He bought an old house and, knowing very little about carpentry, wiring, plumbing, or architecture, gutted it, became a student of everything, and found a way to put it all back together into a beautiful functional home – without injury! He’s active, having adopted as hobbies at different phases of his life: scuba diving, soccer, kayaking, running, and cycling. He traces his strength, endurance, and entrepreneurial energy back to his childhood, when he spent summers laboring on his family’s farm. Sometimes, after weeks of harvesting tobacco, beans, onions, and sugar cane, he would be granted a large sack of beans to sell in town. He’s a survivor. He even raised a teenage girl. “If there were ever a major natural disaster or, say, zombie apocalypse, I’m confident Boris could take care of us,” his wife Elizabeth said.

The Race

750 miles of 50 degree water

What is this race? It's a 750 mile wild adventure up the Inside Passage, a sinuous waterborne path and important route from the Lower 48 to British Columbia and Alaska. The race starts in Port Townsend, Washington on June 4th, 2015. Along with our competitors/comrades, we'll leave Washington and voyage north through rocky, narrow passages and cold waters until we reach Ketchikan, Alaska. Race craft must use sails, oars, paddles - or any other form of propulsion one can dream up - because no engine is allowed! Some are calling it the marine equivalent of the Iditarod, and we are proud to be in the first year's cohort of competitors.

The Race to Alaska (R2AK), organized by the Northwest Maritime Center is the first of its kind. It's North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently offers the largest cash prize. It's a true test of human ingenuity and perserverance!

The Project

Our team is "in it to win it", but we have many other goals for this grand trip. We see our competitors more as kindred spirits than as boaters to beat, and we want to help build the camaraderie around this monumental first running of the R2AK. We also want to savor our time in the beauty of British Columbia and Alaska! Finally, we plan to make a spectacular movie of our time in the race and of the stunning country we'll sail through.

What will it take to compete? Well, we're going to need to endure some deprivation: of sleep, of warmth, of comfort. We'll be surviving on backpacker's gruel and coffee, doing our best to keep ourselves and our boat moving forward. And of course, we need a fast boat...

The Boat

We're racing the sailing vessel "Firefly", a Multi Marine L-7 trimaran. She's a 7 meter (23 feet) rocket ship! Our "Firefly" was built of cold-molded plywood and fiberglass in 2004 by Mike Leneman of Marina del Rey, California, from his own design. While only a few L-7s were ever built, they enjoy a fearsome reputation as boats with speed all out of proportion with their diminuitive size.

But, you say: "What if there is no wind to sail by"? We're equipping Firefly with our special pedal drive units, by which one or two of us crew can human-propel the boat. Luckily Firefly is very light and easily driven, and some modest progress is possible while pedaling.

Details & Progress

During the race you can follow our progress here!

Our Sponsors

We can't tackle this race all by ourselves. It takes a strong network of supporters and sponsors!

System Three Resins of Auburn, WA provided us a generous discount on their amazing WR-LPU paint.
Jim Kleban and Dmitry Fedorov deserve a great round of virtual applause for their contributions of time, money, and expertise to the team's effort. They started us on our way.
Our appreciation to Patrick Turner for his amazing photography.
Thanks to Steve Scheftic for granting us a primo spot to prepare our boat, and for his considerable technical help during our refit!
And a very special thanks to the inimitable Mike Leneman of Multi Marine, who designed and built our Firefly, who helped us find her, and who is a boundless font of experience, wisdom, and advice (as well as inspiration).

Team real thing