Courtesy of The Easy Reader

Mayor saves race, but paddlers hit rocks in San Francisco

by Kevin Cody
Published October 1, 2009

California’s hopes for breaking Australian lifeguard Jamie Mitchell’s grip on the Hennessey’s International Paddleboarding Championships were dashed Saturday on the rocks in San Francisco Bay, literally.

Mitchell has won the International Championships every year since its inception in 2002, with the exception of two years he didn’t compete.

The nine-mile San Francisco race started at Aquatic Park near Ghirardelli Square, looped around Angel Island and finished back at the park. Mitchell’s most formidable California challenger was Long Beach lifeguard Tyler Anderson, winner of the Catalina Classic in August, the Hennessey U.S. championship in July, the Rock to Rock in June and just about every other California race this year.
The two’s only previous meeting was at the Molokai Paddleboard Race in July, which Mitchell won for the seventh consecutive year. Anderson dropped out of that race after becoming sick.

Mitchell drafted behind Anderson on the first leg of the San Francisco race, a four-mile leg across the Bay to Angel Island. But after rounding the west end of the jagged island, Mitchell swung wide while Anderson hugged the shore. Anderson’s route was a straighter line over slower moving, shallow water. The current was flushing out of the bay, underneath the nearby Golden Gate Bridge.

Unfortunately, the unfamiliar, shallow water also hid rock outcroppings. Several paddlers cut their hands on submerged rocks, and a rock shattered Anderson’s fin box. Twice, he had to get off his board to straighten his fin, which he could no longer control with his tiller.

Mitchell won easily in 1:31.54, over three minutes faster than second place unlimited paddler Kyle Powers of Malibu. Anderson finished 10th.

Molokai Channel women’s record holder Kanesa Duncan won the women’s division in 1:57:18 on a stock (12-foot) paddleboard. DJ O’Brien of Redondo was second in 2:03:44.

Standup paddlers (SUPs) accounted for nearly half of the 153 entries. James Watson won the SUP unlimited division in 1:15:04. The SUP stock division, which followed a six mile course around Alcatraz Island, was won by Byron Kurt in 1:13:40.

Previous Hennessey International Championships have been held in either the South Bay, Australia or Hawaii. Race director Tim Ritter said he moved this year’s race to San Francisco to encourage more participation from Northern California. But it took a chance encounter at an inaugural ball for President Barack Obama for Ritter to get San Francisco’s permission.
Sensing that from early negotiations that San Francisco officials would not grant a permit for the event, Ritter turned to Redondo Councilman Steve Aspel for help. Aspel relayed Ritter’s concern to Redondo Mayor Mike Gin, who buttonholed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at an inaugural ball hosted by California Senator Diane Feinstein.

“Gavin gave me his number and I gave it to Tim,” Gin recounted at the awards luncheon at McCormick and Kuleto’s restaurant, overlooking the bay and race course.

“San Francisco is not an easy city to get things done in. But after we met in Newsom’s office with his staff, they gave us the key to the city,” Ritter said.

In addition to permission for the race and closing the busy shipping channel for four hours, the city arranged for clear, 75 degree weather, and water temperatures that ranged from 62 in the channel to over 70 at Angel Island. An early morning fog bank rolled, in erasing both Angel and Alcatraz islands from view. But by time the race started the fog had lifted.

Top South Bay finishers in the paddleboard divisions included: Brian Murphy,, second stock 18-29; Michael Murphy, second stock, 30-39; Frank Byrd, third stock 40-49; Miles Pritzkat, fifth stock 50-59; DJ O’Brien, Christina Powers and Kathryn Tubbs, second, fourth and fifth respectively in women’s stock; Scott Rusher, Matt Walls and Tom Horton, eighth, ninth and eleventh respectively in 40-49 unlimited; and Bob Wyler and Gene Boyer, first and second respectively, unlimited 60-plus. ER