A bar hop for the record books

Friends shatter mark for most bars visited in one day

Nate Hulings

of the Gateway

Ten men. One hundred one bars. Fifteen hours.

That was the feat accomplished last weekend in Seattle by Dan Wachtler, 23, and his friends, who unofficially broke the Guinness World Record for the most bars visited in a day.

Wachtler, a Gig Harbor High School alumnus, recently graduated from the University of Washington.

Jobless and back home, he made the decision to try something epic.

“I just want to go to our 10-year reunion and have a plaque that says, ‘I’m better at drinking than you,’ ” Wachtler said.

Seven of the other team members also graduated from Gig Harbor High School, including Pat Finley, 24, who was the group’s navigator.

Along with Wachtler, Finley spoke with Seattle bar owners to guarantee a smooth record attempt.

The day began at 8 a.m. last Saturday, with Finley sounding his trumpet at Fonte Café and Wine Bar on First Avenue.

The team did the math: In order to break the record of 82, held by Australians, they could only spend 10 minutes at each bar. At least one person also had to order a drink from each bar.

That pace was shattered. The group visited its 82nd bar, Twist, by 6:30 p.m., averaging about seven minutes per establishment. Twist overlooks Elliot Bay, providing a picturesque setting for the historic moment.

“We were the only people in the bar, and it was at sunset,” Wachtler said. “It was perfect.”

Cyclops, a bar in Belltown, was the setting for the record-breaking drink. The pace slowed down after the men broke the record, but the group visited the 101st and final bar about 15 hours after their journey began.

One stipulation was that the team couldn’t use private or personal transportation. That meant a lot of walking and a bus ride.

“We’re pretty good at running around after a couple drinks,” Wachtler said.

Since Australians held the previous record, the drinking team decided to spice up their outfits for a more patriotic look. The team wore T-shirts with “USA” printed on the front. The back proudly claimed the feat they would soon accomplish.

Keeping true to its Northwest roots, the group drank only local beers.

The task now is to compile video, photos and the drinking log and submit it to Guinness to verify the results.

As for the next day?

“We obviously spent (Sunday) more or less recovering,” Wachtler said.

Rules for the record

There were a few stipulations the group had to follow in order to break the Guinness World Record. They included:

Visiting each bar only once

Documenting the entire team physically going into each bar and every drink being consumed both with video and still camera shots

Completing the task in 24 hours or less

Keeping a log book that had to be signed by each bar’s manager or landlord in order to verify they consumed the drink

All transportation had to be done either by foot or public transport. The team walked through Pioneer Square, downtown and Belltown, followed by a bus to Ballard.

Reach Reporter Nate Hulings at 253-853-9243 or by e-mail at nate.hulings@gateline.com.