Saturday October 3rd, at Doheny State Beach Park, the crisp morning air held a note of anticipation mingled with excitement.  Promise was ripe.  Event registration began 7:00 am sharp, where boards were checked and given the “Sparky Approved” sticker. Neat rows of SUP vendors created SUP wonderland for those who perused whatever they might desire.

The Open Race started at 10:00 a.m. with 297 competitors, the men began first with their beach start.  The women followed in hot pursuit 5 minutes later. As the crowds lined the beach, binoculars were raised to surveying eyes following their favorites.  Mark Raapahorst held an easy lead holding the others at bay.  44:22 minutes later Raapahorst from Haiku Maui ran across the finish line securing 1st, followed by Dane Deboer at 46:22 and Garrit Barth finishing 3rd at 46:28.  Nikki Gregg from Haleiwa, HI became the first woman to cross the finish line at 55:47, Diane Wenzel  came in 2nd at 57:03, while Sue Sheard from Queensland finished 3rd at 57:46.

The race of the weekend was the The Elite Race. At 1:30 the creme of the crop, the “Elite” would hit the water running. With a five stroke rule to start.  There is a reason that they called it “the Elite”.  Masses lined the beach as far as the eye could see in either direction.  84 Elite men and 24 Elite women.  Testosterone so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ocean conditions lent themselves to challenge SUP competitors skills as they battled surf.  Reminding those watching there is a reason the words, “yard sale, the Boneyard and we need a medic on the beach” were bandied about that afternoon.  The competitors did not disappoint the crowd, their response was electric. After battling surf and rounding 4 laps of the bouys as well as running the gauntlet of the chicane, Jamie Mitchell finished first at 1:07:45 winning the grand prize of 10,000.  Slater Trout of Lahaina, Maui, age 14 finished second with the time of 1:09:35, with Danny Ching finishing 3rd 1:10:26.  Shakira Westdorp was the first woman to cross the finish line for the Elite Women’s with the time of 1:16:00, following in second was Candice Appleby at 1:20:28 and Brandi Baksic hot on her heels with the time of 1:21:14. 
To watch a video of the top elite race wipeouts click here.

The evening closed with a luau and performances by Titus Kinimaka and Ekolu Kalama while Norton Wisdom created art to the music.

Sunday’s events were a duplicate of the previous with the exception of a 10 Mile Distance Race and a SUP Surf Relay Race. The top three winners in the mens division for the Distance SUP were Danny Ching who held a strong lead finishing at 1:33:51, coming in second Robert Rojas at 1:36:18, and finishing third was Thomas Gallagher 1:38:02. All three winners road Ohana Boards. Brandi Baksic from San Clemente, took first in the women’s division at 1:55:12, placing second was Candice Appleby at 2:01:01, and Jenny Kalmbach finishing third at 2:05:07.   32 SUP Surf Relay teams were composed with team La Hui Kai finishing first at 44:26, Team Bark finished second at 44:42 and Team Ohana finished third at 45:32. The awards ceremony ended the day at 3:00 p.m.

The turnout for the weekend’s event was phenomenal!  Numbers more than doubled from the previous year and rumored to be in the thousands. Much thanks to Sparky, Barret and Pat as well as  the many volunteers that helped make this event possible.  Excellent weather prevailed and the camaraderie of fun and good sportsmanship was prevalent showing revealing that SUP is not only a sport to take notice of but also more importantly a lifestyle.