Colorado student team has boat in today’s Seventy48 race

PORT TOWNSEND — Platte Canyon High School in rural Bailey, Colo., doesn’t have a wood shop program. The town is landlocked and doesn’t have a lake. But the school has a yacht club.

And now the club has a boat that will debut in the second annual Northwest Maritime Center’s Seventy48 (70 miles, 48 hours) human-powered-only race from Tacoma to Port Townsend which begins at 7 p.m. today.

Special education teacher Kip Otteson and science teacher Steve Hanford had the idea of participating in this year’s Race to Alaska, which starts Monday — another race sponsored by the maritime center in Port Townsend.

Their spouses said no, so they rethought the idea.

“We considered doing a project with kids,” said Otteson from his car Wednesday, on the road to Tacoma with boat parts and students.

“We both like boats, like to build stuff, and wanted to get kids involved in something meaningful that they could do with their hands. They tend to be on their phones all of the time.”

So, at 8,000 feet above sea level, the popular teachers hatched a big plan. They had the idea of building a boat and competing in the Seventy48 race from Tacoma to Port Townsend with a co-ed crew of 13 students and five adults.

“We pitched it to the kids and they were interested,” Otteson said. “I knew it would take a lot of work but it was something we could do.”

The group formed the Platte Canyon High School (PCHS) Yacht Club, and with donations of money and lumber, began building their entry in October: a 40-foot Selway-Fisher Dragon Canoe, basically a trimaran canoe with paddles built from scratch in the school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lab.

The vessel — made of plywood, epoxy and fiberglass tape — has three sections: a center that’s 40 feet long, and two outriggers that are 24 feet long. Oars, measuring 27 feet, will propel it through the water, mostly at night, from the Thea Foss Waterway to Port Townsend Bay.

Because the teachers formed a club, students were allowed to work with power tools, something not typically allowed during traditional classroom time.

Otteson said having a co-ed crew building the boat was unusual.

“I wanted the students to build it all,” he said. “They are all so capable. The girls are really the wheelhouse, they are the middle section. They are the strongest part of the boat. They are the hardest working athletes we have and are cool and OK with any problems that arise.”

He said he chose students who were both resourceful and tough.

“We’ve grown through this together.”

The craft’s maiden voyage helped get the kinks ironed out and offered the opportunity for the individuals to work as a team.

“During spring break we drove the craft and crew to Dana Point in California,” Otteson said. “It was the first time in the water. An outrigger club helped us get the boat set up and worked to get the length of the paddles right.

“We learned how to work as a team there. It was our first time together.”

He said the crew had valuable experience paddling into swells and did a 40-mile paddle at night to see what it would be like.

“The kids got a lot from that experience,” he said. “The water was freezing, but it was a great training run. The outrigger club followed us and gave us suggestions on paddling form.”

With all the kinks worked out, Otteson and Hanford had one last problem to solve.

“The biggest concern the group had was how the kids would go to the bathroom,” Otteson said. “We worked it out using jars and special devices and defined break schedules.”

Otteson is confident they’ll be ready for the race. He said parents, siblings and a cheering squad from Colorado will be rooting for their team.

In addition to the two teachers, Team PCHS Yacht Club includes Bryce Kunkel, Melody Hanford, Kai Otteson, Jonathan Hannigan, Eleigha Hamari, Amy Bezzant, Lisa Bezzant, Sheri Bezzant, Samuel Hatz, Chris Long, Roslyn Beckfield, Sydney Mammoser, Tim Long, Josh Lee Rummelhart, David Czeiszperger and Gavin Geiger.

Teams competing in the race will check-in today in Tacoma and leave from the Dock Street Marina after a “pre-funk” from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

To follow the progress of the teams, go to seventy48.com/follow-the-race or to City Dock where they will land Saturday.

For more on each of the teams, see seventy48.com/category/2019-teams.

If all goes well, the PCHS Yacht Club has plans to try the proving ground portion of the Race to Alaska next year. That’s 40 nautical miles from Port Townsend to Victoria, B.C.

After Seventy48, it should be child’s play.

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Jefferson County Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.