Port Townsend, WA– First time rowing together, Team Imua comprised of Greg Spooner and Thiago Silva took first place of the Seventy48, a self-supported, human-powered boat race between Tacoma, WA and Port Townsend, WA. The team completed the 70-mile race course in just under 11 hours after starting at 7:00 pm from Tacoma’s Foss Waterway and ending at the city dock in Port Townsend in their open water rowing double. They crossed the finish line at 5:49 am securing a prize purse of $5450 and being the first Backward Facing Class finisher.
Tacoma based teams took second and third place just minutes behind Team Imua. Second place Team Blister in the Moon finished at 5:56 am in their open water quadruple rowing scull and two minutes later Team Wave Forager’s Ken Deem in a single rowing Maas 24 was third overall and first solo finisher.
“It was an eight-mile sprint to overtake them and put the nail in the coffin of the win,” said Greg Spooner. “We could see the quad the entire race which really made it a dogfight. They would take a really wide course and catch a current shooting ahead, we’d catch up and take lead.”
Spooner and Silva have both raced across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They both have thousands of open water rowing miles. Spooner came in third place in the inaugural SEVENTY48 race last year. Back again with a victory, he called this race one of the finest ever.
Seventy48 is put on by the Northwest Maritime Center, a Port Townsend based non-profit that works to engage and educate people of all ages in maritime experiences. More information about Seventy48 can be found at www.Seventy48.com
Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rada22prcmbnwv6/AADvCZqYM75_ZVrWy4qiGJIga?dl=0
