Triak for Orkila

A personal campaign sponsored by Matthew White
January 18, 2012 - January 18, 2013

Triaking the Inside Passage: 2012

Located on the north side of Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands and nestled into a spectacular cove facing the Canadian Gulf Islands is YMCA Camp Orkila. It has been serving the Pacific Northwest for over 100 years and was founded in 1906.

I first experienced Camp Orkila in the early 1980’s as a camper when I was 8 years old. I spent my summers kayaking, camping, and sleeping under the stars. Camp Orkila is home to many lifelong friendships and first crushes and was where, for the first time in my life, I experienced true happiness.

My summers as a camper soon turned into summers as a counselor and before long I was out on my own, traveling and guiding my own expeditions using the leadership skills I acquired at camp. Camp Orkila has been the most influential and magical place I have ever experienced.

I was having a conversation with my girlfriend Skye, when I started to revisit what a special place this camp is to me, to my fellow campers, and the current Orkila crew. I knew that some day I wanted to give back to the camp that allowed me to be me. I also knew the next adventure on my list would be to sea kayak the Inside Passage; which is considered to be most scenic and challenging kayaking trip of its kind in North America.

We decided to fuse these two ideas together and this is how our fundraiser and trip came about. We plan to take this journey to an exciting new level by being the first adventure enthusiasts to cover the entire 1300-mile journey using Triaks. A Triak is an innovative craft, which combines the excitement of sea kayaking and sailing into one amazing sport.

Our goal is to raise a 100K endowment for Camp Orkila, which will serve the community for years to come. We will be maintaining a blog that will document our journey and help monitor our fundraising efforts. In addition, we are planning a multi-media presentation of our expedition upon our return so we can continue to share our experiences with other outdoor lovers.

Starting in Olympia, Washington we will pass through spectacular vistas along our whole journey as we head north towards Skagway, Alaska. We will sail and kayak through the south Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and Canadian Gulf Islands, past Vancouver Island, and onward up through Glacier Bay.

We are excited to embark on this Triak adventure while supporting a very special camp!

Matthew White & Skye Marchesi

Donations Received

David Campbell donated  01/07/2013 Hi Matt and Skye, here's a little more for the kids at Orkila. My company's matching program starts on March 1st so, hopefully we'll get some more then. Cheers

Elaine Shiozawa donated  07/12/2012

Anonymous donated  06/22/2012 Keep going.....life is too short

vanduyn ridgway donated  06/18/2012

Allison Nisbet donated  05/31/2012 Blessings & safe passage from Virginia! On behalf of my father Syd Wire, who passed on March 25th, and was a seaman and a marine.

Anonymous donated  05/30/2012 Go Matt and Skye!

Shelter Sendoff Shelter Sendoff donated  05/25/2012

Rob Ferullo donated  05/15/2012 Good luck, Matt & Skye! We have been following your journey. Hopefully we will see you again in Maui at Kai. Safe travels! Rob & Jo Anne from Boston

Katharine Hughes donated  05/10/2012 Good luck, this is an amazing cause!

Matthew Smolinski donated  05/07/2012 Good luck

Mark Kelly donated  05/03/2012 Great idea! Enjoy the ride

Jolie Curammeng donated  04/26/2012

Anduin Foundation donated  04/26/2012

Eric Manley donated  04/11/2012 Good Luck!

Meg Katz donated  04/11/2012

Paul & Carol Stone donated  04/11/2012

Ann Hursey donated  04/11/2012

Jay White donated  04/11/2012

Julie Goldenberg Hay donated  04/09/2012 Enjoy this amazing adventure you two!! Love, Julie and Sokha

Peter Johnson donated  04/08/2012

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