This is the sort of thing that makes it a delight for any nautically enchanted soul to live near Ballard.

Survival suit races, which generally require each four-person team to don bulky survival suits, swim some distance (150 feet, in this case), and scramble, exhausted, into a life raft. In this picture, Ballard High School teacher John Foster is shown assisting one of his teammates (a student) into the life raft.

Alas, Mr. Foster and his students did not win the competition. Defending champs Trident Seafoods Defenders emerged victorious once again. Knowing one’s way around survival suits and life rafts is not only a matter of professional pride for them; it can be a matter of life and death. So perhaps it’s no surprise that they really know their stuff. Congratulations!