ANASAZI RACING is James Burwick, Somira Sao and their three small children Tormentina, Raivo Max, and Pearl (ages 5, 3, & 1). They are a family of five, making long distance ocean passages on a 40′ performance sailboat.
JAMES BUWICK is a professional climber, sailor, & independent marine consultant with a vast foundation of experience in extreme environments. He has sailed 30,000 miles solo around the world, was an alpine mountain guide for 32 years (6000+ meter peaks), trained & worked search & rescue dogs (cadavers/explosives), did avalanche rescue & recovery, and developed handicap adaptive sports programs in Colorado and Norway.
SOMIRA SAO was born in a Khmer Rouge work camp during the Pol Pot regime. She escaped & immigrated with her parents to the United States at age 4 as a Cambodian refugee. She worked in Cambodia with AUSAID & Australian Red Cross to document their landmine survivors program. Somira has sailed long ocean passages, mountain biked dusty dirt roads, and floated remote rivers with her kids in tow. She is a freelance writer, professional photographer, & working mother of three with a mobile office.
TORMENTINA and RAIVO were both born in Jackson, Wyoming & are world travelers. Tormentina has been to 20 different countries and Raivo to 12. They have sailed over 19,000 ocean miles; descended Argentina’s Rio Santa Cruz (400km from the Patagonian ice cap to the sea); cycle toured Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, the Atacama Desert, & Southern Iceland; and horse-packed through the rainforests of the Cocahomó River Valley in Chile.
The kids have spent the first years of their lives surrounded by a tribe of world class athletes – alpinists, rock climbers, skiers, base jumpers, high-liners & pro sailors. They have never lived regularly in a house. Their gypsy homes have been expedition tents, cargo vans, cargo trailers, hotel rooms, converted garages, and now a carbon-fibre composite racing boat.
PEARL was born in Auckland, New Zealand on December 20, 2012. In the womb, she made passages through the Southern Ocean, Australian Bight, Bass Strait, and the Tasman Sea. She moved onto the boat when she was less than a day old.