Monterey Bay has a submarine canyon that reaches depths of several miles in spots. This canyon is home to a huge variety of sea creatures including several that you wouldn't neccesarily want to encounter with nothing but a piece of foam and fibreglass between you and it. This past weekend, a group of athletes left Santa Cruz to paddle 28 miles across the bay and over the canyon to Monterey. One of the paddlers was Gunnar Roll, who along with 2 partners, did the race as a relay and documented their crossing from their chase boat. Conditions ranged from perfect to horrendous. According to Gunnar, the first 15 miles were beautiful. Then a fog bank moved in and the conditions went south. A northwest swell combined with an opposing wind to create washing machine conditions. Water temps were in the low 50's. For the final few miles, the fog lifted ...

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This year's Rock 2 Rock was supposed to have one more paddler. That paddler was Fred Sardisco who unfortunately suffered a bout of food poisoning the evening before going over to the island. Fred however, still made the trip to Catalina and although he wasn't able to paddle this year, was nice enough to shoot some photos of the other competitors and share them with us. Thanks Fred!






















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from the Press-Telegram

PADDLEBOARDING: The 24-year-old Long Beach native wins Rock 2 Rock event. By Matt Lopez, Correspondent

Tyler Anderson had to catch his breath before he could soak it all in.

The 24-year-old Long Beach native had just pushed by the competition to take first place in Sunday's Rock 2 Rock paddleboard event in a time of 3 hours and 48 minutes.

The meet began early Sunday morning at the Catalina Isthmus. Participants made the 22-mile trek to Abalone Cove in Palos Verdes, where it was Anderson who crossed the finish line first.

"It feels great to see my training pay off," Anderson said. "I felt really good this morning, both mentally and physically, so I hoped I'd have a good performance today."

Anderson is no stranger to paddleboarding, but this was his first Rock 2 Rock event.

Last year's winner, Kyle ...

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Santa Cruz, Calif. (June 13, 2009) – With a light fog greeting them at dawn, the record number of racers packing New Brighton Beach at the 8th Annual Surftech Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race presented by CLIF Bar had little idea what was in store for them on the 12 mile course. Competitors discussed various course strategies while loading up on nutrition bars, gels and hydration provided by Jay Race Presenting Sponsor CLIF Bar. In 2008, Jay Race champion Chad Carvin of Laguna Hills, broke the course record in a time of 1:51:58. Would we see another course record set on this day? With Chad not able to come defend his title, would this be the year a local takes top honors once again? All questions would soon be answered.

    While having a strong showing in the race was clearly at the forefront of everyone’s mind, the presence of ...

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13TH ANNUAL EAST COAST PADDLEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS

PRESENTED BY MADDog SurfBoards, Leslie Rules, Bark Ocean AND THE East Coast Paddle Board Assocation

On July 18th a new paddleboard and SUP champion will be crowned for the east coast in Ponce Inlet, Florida. registration starts DAY OF RACE 7:30 AM with the race starting sharply at 9 AM -

Race distance is 6.5 miles

location 4469 S. ATLANTIC AVE, Ponce Inlet, Florida

cost is $25.00 Donation

all participaNTS will receive a race T-shirt and A participation trophy

race course is approximately 6.5 miles south to north and back, with the turnaround just north at Sun Glow Pier - FLAT GLASS ...

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Taken from the mercurynews.com

Neal Kearney, The Froth Pit: Watermen making a comeback with 27.5-mile Bay Crossing paddleboard race

 

var requestedWidth = 0; if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10 In California prior to World War II, surfers were commonly referred to as "watermen." According to surf historian Carin Crawford, these watermen were people who maintained a "multidimensional relationship with the ocean." They "had an intimate knowledge of tides, currents, and weather patterns because their ...

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Santa Cruz, Calif. (June 2, 2009) – Mark your race calendar for June 13, 2009 when the 8th Annual Surftech Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race presented by CLIF BAR will hit the water. Paddleboarders and stand up paddlers from up and down the coast of California and as far away as Florida and Hawaii will converge on New Brighton Beach in Santa Cruz, California to compete for the coveted “Jay Race” title.

The “Jay Race” is widely recognized as one of the top paddleboard races in North America. The best paddlers in the country come here to brave the chilly waters of the Monterey Bay. They come to test their paddling skills against a field of top competitors and to enjoy the unique setting that only the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz can provide. “The level of competition for the 12 mile race seems to increase every year,” ...

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Please note: The date of the 6 mile Carnelian Bay to Tahoe City Dam, "Jam to the Dam" race has been changed from
July 11th to the 12th.





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Hobie Team Paddler – Byron Kurt bringing home the stock SUP title

Doheny State Beach, Dana Point - Saturday May 30th 
 
With over 140 paddlers hitting the water, the 2009 Hobie / Hennessey's Waterman's challenge
delivered some of the best paddle racing so far this year. Offering a $3500 pro race as well as a 4
mile fun race, paddle boarders and stand up paddlers from across the experience spectrum made
a showing. For the hard core it was all about the race, while for others it was their first
introduction to the racing experience.
 
As in years past, Mother Nature couldn’t resist playing her part as well, offering up some
abnormally stiff winds and choppy conditions that really defined the race as a true “Waterman’s
Challenge”.  The overall 8 mile title was ...

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Luke Turgeon

June 1st, 2009

GOLD Coast waterman Jamie Mitchell is on track to claim his eighth straight paddleboard world title after storming to victory in the Honolua Ocean Paddle Race.

Mitchell completed the 8km open ocean race from Snapper Rocks to Currumbin in 51 minutes and 48 seconds at the weekend, completing an impressive `training run' before the 51.5km Molokai to Oahu world championships in Hawaii on July 26.

"It is a good event because it puts you in a race situation and you don't get that with training," said 32-year-old lifeguard Mitchell, pictured powering to victory on Saturday.

"It is usually a good indication of how our training has been leading into (the Molokai).

"The Honolua is only 40-50 minutes and the Molokai is anywhere between five to six hours, so it isn't as big but it is definitely good to see ...

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