Our final 4th race was held at Crissy this past Saturday. For a change, the weather was hot and gorgeous (no fog, just sunshine and clear skies). The beach was packed with families and dogs. Heat wave in San Francisco at Crissy Field, watch out for babies everywhere! The 505 World Championship Sailboat Race was also going on. Here they are entering the water about the same time as our start. Their race did not start until noon, so they didn't mind all of us SUPpers paddling about while they launched into the bay. All provided a stellar backdrop for our Naish SUP Recreational Race Finals. We had lots of new attendess...and over 20 racers for our final event! Jesse prepares the start line. Ready, Get Set, GO!
This week's course was 2 counter clockwise laps around Anita Rock and 2 buoys down by the St. Francis Yacht Club. Here are our top 3 Racers coming paddling to the last mark before the finish, Anita Rock.
For the final stretch, there was tension in the air. Jean, Joe, and Darcy were all very close together. They rounded the Anita Rock mark in near unison, then power paddled to the small swell on the inside near shore. When they were almost to shore, Joe had the lead and seemed to have it all wrapped up. But then Joe fell in! He popped up on his board so quickly, we don't think he even got wet. He madly paddled in, adrenaline pumping to help him sprint to shore.
Joe ran so fast past the finish line, I could not catch his picture. He got his very first first place finish for this 4th and final race of the 4 week series. Congratulations Joe! Here he is below, pictured with Jean. The two of them were the only top 3 finishers to attend every race in the series. These are true waterman. Thanks for the extra devotion, Jean and Joe! They seemed to have some serious fun at these races.
Jean also ran into a 2nd place finish for Saturday to secure his win over Darcy. With such a stellar and consistent performance, Jean finished 1st place overall. Congrats to Jean for wining the series!
Darcy Doyle coming in 3rd for Saturday and for the series. Joe copied his paddle stroke technique, and ended up winning this past Saturday. Thanks for the race tips last week Darcy! New attendee Vijay took 4th place. Where did this guy come from? He is good! And yes, another Naish paddler on my favorite board, the 11'4. He came in 4th despite having his thruster fins on. Oops! Jonathan's first SUP race, and he finished 5th out of over 20 racers. Pretty impressive. He said it was a great workout. I think he'll be coming back for more. Group shots at the end of the race. Thank you cheer leading squad! They helped motivate everyone to really run to the finish line. Thank you to our Race Committee Chair Jesse Stewart. You rock Jesse!
Jesse (pictured below with me)
The top 3 men and women from our race series are invited to compete in Naish SUP Championships in San Diego on Sept 13. There they will get a chance to win a 14' Naish Glide and a trip to Maui to compete in another SUP race! There is also an Open Race Class in San Diego, so all SUP paddlers are welcome to compete.
Crissy Naish & Boardsports Recreational Race Series Final Rusults, August 2009
Men's Division 1st Place - Jean Rathle (pictured below left) 2nd Place - Joe Miller (pictured below right) 3rd Place - Darcy Doyle (pictured below middle) Women' Division 1st Place - Karen VanPutten, pictured below with her daughter
2nd Place - Susan Barber (our local SUP champ, go Susan!)
3rd Place - Shana Kaplan (new attendee and makes top 3!) We also could not help creating a junior race series. Shane Rathle did some serious paddling to win the juniors. Congrats Shane on going the full course on the final day!
We'll be announcing some more recreational races soon. This was too much fun not to keep it going. Thank you to Naish for promoting the 15 city national race series. Good luck to everyone going to San Diego for the big final!
Jesse prepares the start line.
Jean also ran into a 2nd place finish for Saturday to secure his win over Darcy. With such a stellar and consistent performance, Jean finished 1st place overall. Congrats to Jean for wining the series!
Darcy Doyle coming in 3rd for Saturday and for the series. Joe copied his paddle stroke technique, and ended up winning this past Saturday. Thanks for the race tips last week Darcy!
New attendee Vijay took 4th place. Where did this guy come from? He is good! And yes, another Naish paddler on my favorite board, the 11'4. He came in 4th despite having his thruster fins on. Oops!
Group shots at the end of the race.
Thank you cheer leading squad! They helped motivate everyone to really run to the finish line.
2nd Place - Susan Barber (our local SUP champ, go Susan!)
3rd Place - Shana Kaplan (new attendee and makes top 3!)
We also could not help creating a junior race series. Shane Rathle did some serious paddling to win the juniors. Congrats Shane on going the full course on the final day!