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Sailing for Freedom, Racing for Opportunity

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Friends, Colleagues, & Veteran Sailors: 

My name is Doug Pasnik. I am a retired Marine and the Skipper of the Andrews 70 Sailing Yacht TRADER.

I run a military veteran outreach sailing program in Honolulu, Hawaii. My goal is to serve the military veteran community by providing soldiers, sailors, and adventurers an opportunity to thrive in the challenge of offshore blue-water sailboat racing. I am also looking to serve young leaders who can benefit from the shared lessons of our high-performance sailing crew.

WHAT IS TRADER SAILING?

Through this outreach program, I have developed a team of capable sailors composed largely of highly accomplished former and current military members. Over the past four years, our team has shared the camaraderie of the sailing experience with hundreds of other veterans and supporters, who have benefitted from the leadership lessons that our team imparts during our interactive sailing events. We have happily seen individuals flourish as they take part in the challenging sailing experience we provide as Team TRADER.

SUCCESS DURING THE 2019 TRANSPAC

In 2019 I led a team of eight amateur military veteran sailors to compete in the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race (TRANSPAC). As one of the classic open-ocean sailing races, TRANSPAC is a prestigious and challenging adventure taking place over a 2,225 nautical mile course from Long Beach, CA to Honolulu, HI. Our team had a phenomenal experience during this past race, significantly increasing the depth of our capabilities, and demonstrating our ability to ‘make mission’ in the realm of offshore sailboat racing.

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2021 TRANSPAC

Once again, I have set an ambitious goal to compete in TRANSPAC 2021 - this time with a crew composed both of military veterans and rising female offshore racers. We know that this offshore experience builds self-efficacy, self-determination, and resilience in those who participate, and our team is working to enable this character-building experience for crew who will become our future leaders.

WHAT HAVE WE GOT SO FAR?

With team recruiting complete, we are continuing on our ‘roadmap-to-race’ with boat maintenance currently underway. We will soon begin working as a team, honing our skills through offshore training around the Hawaiian Islands. Following that preparation comes the adventure of sailing the boat from Hawaii to California in June.
And, of course, the finale will be our participation in the TRANSPAC race in July 2021.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ADVENTURE & STAY UPDATED!

We invite you to follow our adventure on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and as our onboard reporter (OBR) shares videos and updates from across the Pacific. We intend to share our experience with you virtually with the hope of inspiring other young adventurers to also pursue their passion. Those who followed our team during TRANSPAC last year couldn’t wait to receive the email updates detailing the adventures of TRADER on the ‘big-blue.’

HOW CAN YOU HELP US GET TO THE DIAMOND HEAD BUOY THIS JULY?

TRADER Sailing is a self-funded program. With the exception of occasional small donations from grateful participants, we are reliant on this fundraising effort to enable this experience for the crew of Team TRADER. As you can imagine, getting to the starting line of a 2,000+ nautical mile race is no small feat!

If you are interested in helping Team TRADER to get to the starting line and you are able to donate, your gift will be directed entirely toward covering the costs of enabling individual participation, upgrading necessary safety equipment, enhancing our sail suite, covering race entry fees, and offsetting logistics and travel for the race.

WHY YOUR HELP MATTERS

Although our reach is small, our efforts have touched individual lives in very significant ways. We have a crew who would tell you that our small sailing operation has changed or even saved their life. With that knowledge I am empowered to continue with this mission and, as with my former military service, consider it a privilege to now serve my community in this way.

My team and I are humbly grateful for any support you can provide to help enable Team TRADER to compete and ‘make mission’ through a successful TRANSPAC race in 2021.

Team TRADER thanks you for your support!

Semper Fi, Doug

www.tradersailing.com/ 
www.facebook.com/SYTRADER/
www.twitter.com/TRADERSailing
www.instagram.com/tradersailing/

Organizer

Doug Pasnik
Organizer
Kaneohe, HI

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