Cheekee Monkee | F-45RC

Kim Alfreds

“Cheekee Monkee is a carbon fibre F-45RC. Built and completed in 2018, she hit BC waters in 2019. After plenty of adventures (and a few misadventures), we finally completed our first full racing season this year. At the 2025 SOAR Regatta, we got to experience Cheekee Monkee in her element, flying downwind in 40 knots of breeze and hitting 27 knots of boat speed!

During the 2024 PNW Offshore, we managed to snap our bowsprit off two hours into the race. Jury-rigged a fix, added a bucket for a sprit cover, and kept sailing on.

The break sidelined us for the rest of 2024/ early 2025 season. We are back and thrilled to join the 50th anniversary PNW Offshore. Ready for more miles and plenty of Monkee mischief!”

Free Bowl of Soup | Club Swan 42

Eric Hopper, Doug Schenk, Matt Hopper

 “‘Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this, I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you though.’- Movie Caddyshack, Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield)

An obvious (at least to us) pick for a boat name... Team Soup is about having fun and sailing fast; we believe they go hand-in-hand and not forget to maintain good karma. Time is flying—this will be our fourth Offshore with the new-to-us, Club Swan 42 Free Bowl of Soup, and our thirteenth overall. We’re excited about the continued growth and use of ORC ratings and scoring, along with the great mix of long-time racers and newcomers joining us for this epic 50th edition!

P.S. Huge thanks to our Race Title sponsor, Schooner Creek Boat Works, for their support and for keeping us in racing shape, and to Platinum Sponsor, Goslings Rum, for...well making and sharing great rum! #FreeBowlofSoupRacing”

True Love | Spencer 1330

Steve Smolinske

“True Love was owned by my In-Laws in the late eighties and early 90s, she had two prior owners before my wife, and I purchased her in 2014. At that time the boat was on the hard, in extreme disrepair and being sent to auction by the bank. We purchased her and did a total refit, saving only the hull, a few winches and the pulpits.

She is a very capable go anywhere anytime blue water cruiser with some racing bones to her. A portion of our crew has been sailing together for 15 years two of which did their first Oregon Offshore Race (OOR) in the mid-eighties. I have competed in something like 6-7 OOR with True Love and my prior Catalina 38 Peregrine.

This year our crew consists of Dan Symonds, Randy Doull, Mark Ward, Dave Ferguson, Sheridan Ferguson and April Armstrong. We will be competing in Swiftsure and the Pacific Cup.”

Pathfinder | J/120

Jim Calnon

“J/120 hull number 47’s previous owners were racers based in Darien, Connecticut and completed the Newport-Bermuda in 2000.   They went on to win first in the J/120 North Americans in 2004, but decided it was time to retire from racing in 2019 and sold her.  Number 47 made her way from Mamaroneck, New York to Portland, Oregon on a truck that summer and was renamed Pathfinder. 

After arriving in Portland, she spent the first three months of her new life at Schooner Creek Boat Works, getting new standing rigging, rudder bearings, engine mounts, bottom paint, and many other overdue maintenance projects.  Now in Portland, she has completed five PNW Offshore races, four Swiftsure races, and two Anacortes Race Weeks.  After an unfortunate incident on the course this summer, she is out of action for repairs but we expect to be ready for action around December 1.  Pathfinder is planning on racing the remaining Sailing on Sunday races, then prepping and racing in the 2026 Offshore and Swiftsure.”

Presto | Chris White Voyager 48

Joe Dazey

“After 40 years, Joe and Sue Dazey retired from salmon trolling in 2014 and bought Presto, a Chris White Voyager 48 catamaran, in Stuart, FL in 2015. They sailed and raced in Chesapeake Bay winning the Cape Charles Cup in 2016 and 2017. They participated in the Salty Dawg Rally to the Caribbean in 2017 and 2018. More recently, Presto won the multihulls division in 2025 Foulweather Bluff Race.

After passing through the Panama Canal in 2019, they cruised the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Presto left Ensenada July 3rd and arrived in Sitka seventeen days later. They’ve since made numerous trips to SE Alaska, raced in three PNWO, three Round the County, a bunch of local Puget Sound races, and did the 2024 Pacific Cup winning the multihull division. Next up are 2025 Round the County, 2026 PNWO, and 2026 Pacific Cup.

In addition to Joe and Sue, the crew will consist of Dawn Fulton, Eric Hansen, and 10-year-old Fenris Hansen.”

Hana Mari | Wylie 43

Ged McLean

“Hana Mari was built by PNW Offshore Race title sponsor Schooner Creek Boat Works in 1999. Ged McLean bought the boat from Kevin Flanagan in 2012, moved it to Victoria BC Canada, and has been racing and cruising in the Pacific Northwest ever since.

With a cold molded hull skillfully crafted by Steve Rander and his team, Hana Mari is fairly light for its size, extremely stiff, and handles the gnarliest conditions with neither a creak nor a groan - just lots of acceleration and big smiles from the crew. In general, the windier it gets the better she does! Hana Mari has become a regular contender in the long distance racing scene on the Salish Sea having completed four Van Isle 360s, nine Swiftsures, and six Round the County races since the boat was moved to Canada. Of course, the PNW Offshore Race is a big part of this. 

This will be Hana Mari's fourth PNW Offshore Race with Ged at the helm - Hana Mari has won her division twice and will once again be trying hard to get home to Victoria faster than anyone else. See you in Ilwaco!”

Soufflé | Cal 34 Mk1

Phil Lewis

“My boat, Soufflé, a 1969 Cal 34 Mk1, and I have been together since early 1997. I quickly erased the name she came with and then struggled to find a new one—until one evening, while my French wife cooked duck breast with blackberry sauce and I watched Julia Child with our young sons. Julia announced she was making a soufflé, explaining it came from the French word souffle, meaning “breath of air.” I ran to the kitchen and told my wife I’d found the boat’s name. It checked every box: French, playful, food-related, easy to say, a play on words, unique—and simple. 

Soufflé’s first Offshore race was in 2013.  That year Soufflé set the record for the slowest last-place finish (71 hours, 55 minutes), then in 2014 for the fastest last-place finish.  Since then,  Soufflé’s  Offshore crew has stayed pretty steady over the years with most having raced on her for years.    

We are not really racers, and my wife and I mostly cruise the river—anchoring, reading, swimming, and enjoying sunsets, cocktails, and dinners.

The 2026 race will be Soufflé’s twelfth—and likely my last. I've said this for years, but kept changing my mind after arriving in Victoria.  I would have quit after the 2024 race, with its 30 knot headwinds, but I wanted to make it to the 50th running of the race.  And, here we are!”

Margaret II | J/120

David Shepherdson

“Margaret II is competing in the PNWO for the second time since my wife Karen and I purchased her in 2021 when we moved from Portland to Bellingham.  Before that we competed in the 2019 Oregon Offshore in our first boat, an Ericson 33 also named after my sailing mother, Margaret.  We won our Division that year and have been trying to repeat that feat ever since with no luck so far!  We have a seasoned crew, some of which have competed in all our PNW/Oregon Offshore races and for one crew member this will be his 9th race (shout out to Rich Ackerman). 

Margaret II competes in most of the North Sound races including the Swiftsure, Round the County, Race Week and PITCH plus the Bellingham Bay weekday and Long Distance Races.  This year we took part in the Van Isle 360.  The PNW Offshore is a special race, we love to come down to the Columbia River to meet our friends from the Portland sailing community and race back home.  This year, the 50th will be particularly memorable.  We are hoping for a good turn out of J120's, in 2024 there were 4, let's meet or exceed that for the 50th.”

Flo | Catalina 310

Max Denton

“Flo and crew are back for our second Offshore! Last year I participated in my first ever sailboat race and coastal passage by racing Flo in the PNWO Cruising Class. It was an honor to learn from the PNWO community as I studied for the journey and prepared Flo. Snatching third place in the cruising class was a cool bonus, but the real satisfaction was in graduating from lake/river/bay sailing to a safe and successful lap up and down the coast.

Since last year we have continued our learning of racing with the Portland Yacht Club Mauni Elliot Regatta, SYSCO Twilight Series, and Sailing-on-Sundays. We’ve got a lot to learn to sail fast, but have loved adding weekly racing to our time out on Flo. I’m excited to bring Flo, along with crew Clark, Viktor, and Ian back out for the challenge, beauty, and excitement of the Offshore!”

Penelope | C&C 99

Ben Emery & Naja Di Pilla

“We brought Penelope (our first sailboat) in 2020, fortuitously putting in our offer just before the pandemic hit and demand for boats went sky high.

Penelope hasn’t missed a PNWO since, racing in the last five as well as a few Swiftsures and the 2025 Van Isle 360. We’re excited to be back again for the 50th Offshore with a mix of long-standing crew and newer crew who will be doing the race for the first time. This year we’ll also be using the PNWO as a warm up (well, if “PNWO” and “warm” can really be used in the same sentence) for the 2026 Pacific Cup.

Scouring the internet for profile pictures of us, we’ve been forced to the conclusion that we’re becalmed 13% of the time, our sails are embarrassingly out of trim 37% of the time, we’re too far away from the rest of the fleet 56% of the time and the remaining 44% of the time our bowman is taking the opportunity to chat to sailors on the nearby boats. Putting out a request for the rest of the fleet to take some better pics of us during this race… ideally when our kite is up and from ~20 NM behind.

See you in Victoria for oysters and Caesars….”

Aja | Erickson 35

Rich Elstrom

“Aja has competed in 16 Pacific Northwest Offshore races and four Swiftsure races. One crew member has competed in all of those races, and most of the rest of the crew have competed in at least several. We hope to have a few other Astoria Yacht Club boats competing in this year's Offshore race.”

Lodos | J/111

Tolga Cezik

"Lodos is a J/111 sailed by a crew of friends who race locally in the PNW and have campaigned two generations of Lodos (first a J/109, now the J/111) in offshore events including Van Isle 360, Pacific Cup, California Offshore and Transpac. We’re here to race hard, have fun, and enjoy the passage north. This will be our first PNWO."

Scatteraction | Reichel/Pugh 55

Mark Cloutier

“Scatteraction, a Reichel/Pugh 55, was built in New Zealand in 2007. She raced on the East Coast as Rima II and then was moved to the Pacific Northwest as Crossfire and then Zvi.

Mark Cloutier, a longtime sailor in the Vancouver area, decided to get back into racing on the West Coast and purchased Zvi. He brought her to Vancouver, B.C., and renamed her Scatteraction. We put a Corinthian crew together with world-class sailors for the 2025-2026 season and have been getting to know the boat and gel as a crew.

Our future plan is to move her back to the east coast to compete in the 2027 season and cap it off with the Newport Bermuda race - Bermuda is Mark's home yacht club.”

Absolutely | Farr 39 ML

Charlie Macaulay

“The Absolutely Team will be back for the NW Offshore in 2026 to redeem themselves after being forced to retire from the 2025 race due to a gear failure.  After getting the boom repaired, the A-Team made up for lost time by winning their class at Race Week, finishing second at PSSC, and winning at SYC’s Grand Prix Regatta to finish up the 2025 season. 

Absolutely is a Farr 39 ML retrofit with a Bieker keel, wheel steering by the previous owner, and flying Ballard Sails.  We purchased Absolutely in 2015 and have raced her extensively and somewhat successfully in the Pacific Northwest.  The boat is tweaky, requiring constant attention, but very fun to sail in most conditions.  Built in 1996 for IMS racing, we think she still has a lot of life left in her. 

The A-Team consists mostly of family and long-time friends.  Core crew includes Charlie Macaulay, daughters Leigh Donovan and Shelagh Hansen, sons-in-law Kali Donovan and Doug Hansen, Brian Larson, Mario Lakey, and Caroline Lemmens.  Last year’s NW Offshore crew also included David Rogers and Ben Towery.  Other frequent crew members in recent years include Enzo Dougherty, Miles Williams, Lena Captain, Lisa Couret, and Paula Bersie.”

Selkie | Club Swan 42

David De Lanoy

“Team Selkie is formerly Team Fortuna. Team Selkie recently obtained a Club Swan 42 which we are very excited about. We will start competing in 2026 but for now, here is a brief history with our prior boat....

Team Fortuna has competed in the PNW Offshore race from 2018 to 2022 with a class win in 2022. Outside of the PNW Offshore Race, Team Fortuna has competed in four Swiftsure (Cape Flattery) races with one division win in 2013. In addition, we competed in two Van Isle 360 events (2019 and 2023) obtaining one stage victory.”

Elbows Up | Soverel 33

AJ Hesford

"The salty crew of young & old has sailed the PNW for combined decades: Swiftsure, Southern Straits, Round the County, Van Isle 360 plus Vic Maui & Pacific Cup, but never the PNW Offshore!  Will I eat my words?  At the 2025 Awards BBQ at RVYC, I pointed at the blank space on the trophy where the winner of the 50th race will go and said, "Elbows Up! would look some good there!!"  

I only just got the boat in May 2025 and am doing "work-ups" this fall & winter to get up to speed.  Still need to get an ORC rating.  Looking forward to a great race in 2026"