Ski to Sea 2023

A blue 50 was spray-painted in the snow to mark the 50th anniversary of Whatcom County's biggest event. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Mary Margaret Stoll writes team name Maine-iacs on teammate Joshua Sacks' arm before the race. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Brian Gregg, left, of Boomer's Drive-In, hands off to Calvin Collander to begin the downhill ski leg. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Cole Herdman of All Hat No Cattle climbs the hill with his skis in the second leg of the race. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Teagan Yutrzenka of The Canoe is How Long begins the running leg of the race after her teammate finished the second leg in 43:07.3. The team is currently in second place. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Max Kirshenblatt of team Few Fighters begins the running leg after grabbing the timing chip from teammate Rory Corrigan. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Kathleen Hall and Marisa Bamesberger of Emergency Respone Team tape their canoe to keep water out during the fifth leg. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Becky Brunk, right, hugs teammate Deb Gordon of Oldies But New-Bees after Brunk finished the downhill ski leg in 50:42:9. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Anne Morrison of Alaska All-Stars celebrates as she begins the running leg of the race. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Mohamed Hassan of Dreamboats runs with a baby doll on his chest. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Members of Nacho Average Team play Catan at Riverside Park in Everson as they wait for the handoff from the team's road biker. The road bike leg is 41 miles while the canoe leg is 18.5 miles. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Canoeists read the Cascadia Daily News' pullout section, which included preview coverage of the race, at Riverside Park as they wait for the handoff. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

I Believe's Amir Freund and his teammates wear T-shirts with Rob Lawrance's last selfie printed on them in memory of their friend and teammate who died during the 2022 race. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Amir Freund holds one of the photo collages for Rob Lawrance's memorial. Freund, who did the road bike leg last year, is doing the cyclocross leg this year using Lawrance's bike in his memory. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Canoeists on team Chelseas FC struggle to get moving down the Nooksack River. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Matt Seguin of Bank of the Pacific flies through the road bike leg. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Runners make their way toward the handoff area while runners who already finished trudge back to their cars. The third leg is 8 miles and has an elevation drop of 2,200 feet. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Patti Clay of Natural Zesty Enterprise approaches the road bike handoff area as Mike Dunmire of Everett Firefighters Association trails behind. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Cory Brunhaver of Dawson Construction, a three-man team, runs down Mount Baker Highway after completing both ski legs back-to-back. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Birch Equipment's Jack Shuckra receives the cyclocross handoff from his teammates Bob Woodman and Glenn Bond. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Evil Bike Company's Derek Buse and Henry TePaske paddle through the Nooksack River. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Ian Fay of Evil Bike Company flies off Marine Drive toward Little Squalicum Park during the cyclocross leg. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Evil Bike Company's Aaron Small runs his kayak to the water for the last leg of the race. (Ron Judd/Cascadia Daily News)

Canoeists of Greatest American Heroes hand off the timing chip to cyclocross racer John Pitton, right, after battling the Nooksack River for 18.5 miles. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Vendovi's Scott Decker hugs canoe teammate George McLeod after finishing the fifth leg. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Cyclocrosser Olga Magun of Sheroes weaves through the trees. (Eric Trent/Cascadia Daily News)

Mason Rathkamp of Surfrider Mavericks bikes into Little Squalicum Park. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Team Birch Equipment won Ski to Sea for the second year in a row in 2023. Kayaker Jeff Hilburn, middle, took the team to victory. (Julia Lerner/Cascadia Daily News)

Jeff Hilburn of Birch Equipment rings the bell at the finish line after finishing the sea kayak leg. Birch Equipment finished the race in 5:54:43.3, about five minutes faster than last year. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Volunteers Eleonore Doyle, 3, Patrick Doyle, Meg Reeve and Joanna Doyle cheer on a biker. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Jonas Ecker rings the bell as his team Beavers Tree Service finishes third overall. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Canoeists wait at Riverside Park in Everson. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Jamie Klein of Inn at Lynden runs to the finish line to ring the bell. His team came in fourth with a time of 6:15:04.0. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Jamie Klein of Inn at Lynden reaches for the bells at the finish line. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Dean Bumstead of Peoples Bank gets situated in the kayak for the final leg. (Ron Judd/Cascadia Daily News)

Beau Whitehead of Bellingham Firefighters Whatcom Open Team runs to the finish line as the Bellingham Firefighters Pipes and Drums play behind him. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

A kayaker paddles through the bay in the final leg of the race. Paddlers hug the shore during the last segments of the race to battle wind. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Sea kayaks cover the grass at Zuanich Point Park. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

James Plaut of Pavlov’s Dawgs carries his kayak. (Ron Judd/Cascadia Daily News)

Mike Beckman of Vandammage high-fives spectators as he runs toward the finish line. Vandammage came in 16th place with a time of 7:00:49.2. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Heather Nelson of BNP Realtors high-fives onlookers after finishing the sea kayak leg. She was the first woman to cross the finish line. The Whatcom County women's division team came in 18th place with a time of 7:04:03.6. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Megan Northey of Sheroes passes Michael Meyer of Monkeywrench Gang to take the lead and hit land first. Sheroes, a competitive women's team, finished with a time of 7:12:57.5. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Megan Northey of Sheroes rings the bell at the finish line. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)

Zoe Libner of Team Fly and Die balances against wind and waves as she slows down to the finish line. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

People gather on the rocks in Fairhaven to watch the sea kayakers paddle in to land. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Kyle Hager of Dad Bods falls out of his kayak as he lands at the finish line. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

People gathered May 28 at the Fairhaven Festival as Ski to Sea racers paddled in to the finish line. “Fairhaven Festival is the biggest one-day event that the Fairhaven Association puts on — we expect 10-15,000 people that day,” said Heather Carter, Fairhaven Association executive director, in last week’s Business Matters column. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Ski to Sea 2023

May 28, 2023 at 9:54 a.m.