TRADER Sailing: More than just another race team

Trader Sailing finishing the Transpac 2019 © Ryzone Media

TRADER Sailing is more than just another sailing team. One month out from their training session in Honolulu, the team took a break from boat work and work-outs to explain what makes this team unique.

The blended team of military veterans and young offshore women are racing for opportunity: the opportunity to heal, to develop, and to prove themselves on one of the most enduring bluewater race courses in the world: Transpac.

Air Force veteran Ken Williams explains his opportunity: "The TRADER Sailing program is a lot more than just racing, it's more than bringing military members together, it's more than another way to honor veterans and their service, or community outreach. For me, the TRADER Sailing program [is] a bit of a lifesaver." After retiring from the military due to injury, Williams has found strength through TRADER Sailing, contributing as a key player on the maintenance team and core crew member during regular sailing operations.

For the young women joining the team from The Magenta Project, the Transpac campaign with TRADER Sailing is a step towards the higher levels of performance. It is a chance to step aboard a powerful boat for true ocean miles. Beyond developing sailing skill, the team is an opportunity to exchange perspectives with people that University of Rhode Island sailor Megan Gimple says she would not interact with much in her day-to-day college life: "It's stimulating to meet people that aren't like yourself because everyone has a different perspective of the world."

As Core Crew member Fred Jameson, a retired Marine, simply puts it, "Transpac is a blue ocean that is BIG Ocean." It's a big ocean out there; TRADER Sailing is striving to make the most of every mile.