U.S. Surfski Championships by Wesley Echols

Many months ago when the United States Surf Ski Championship announced a course change due to the Americas Cup Sailiing Races, I knew I was going. I looked online to see if I could find any video of the course that would enable me to access the conditions and I came across a clip of a few OC1 paddlers doing part of the course. So based on the new location that moved the course well inside San Francisco Bay and the video clip, I thought I could easily do the course with little if any pre-race anxiety. It would be FUN!!

Chris Chappell at Hot Spot. Photo Pressure Drop

Years ago while at a national sales meeting in San Francisco I paddled with New England legend Mike McNulty, Kenney Howell and Vineet launching from Crissy Point. We paddled over to Alcatraz and then up to the Bridge twice as I recall on the same three hour paddle. That paddle I enjoyed thoroughly but I knew I did not want to go under the bridge and out in the that BiG ocean. The thought of launching through the surf at last year’s race and having a panic attack thinking about the regular race course is not my idea of fun. Don’t get me wrong, I am no slouch in rough water and I have never had a panic attack. My rough water skills are as good if not better than the talented guys I paddle with on a regular basis. What is different is my risk tolerance is probably about average compared to some of the guys I race with. So I have the skill set but I just can’t get my head wrapped around the big water under that bridge. On this same trip, I took two bay cruises and one ferry ride with my wife that went under the bridge to get an idea of the water. When I saw that green can just beyond the bridge leaned almost horizontal to water with a massive current, I knew then, I probably would never do the long course. The short course probably.

As I have said many times to fellow paddlers, we are all products of the type water we train in. We have virtually nothing like the waters beyond the bridge here in New England. However, with the 2013 course change I knew I could go out and have a blast with no worries about conditions.

I asked Chris if he wanted to go and to my surprise he said yes. So we immediately got as much info from Helen Workman, booked our flights and hotel, secured our boats, paid our registration fee, and looked forward to making this a vacation paddle. While I secured Stellar skis for us to paddle, I was not going to be representing Stellar in an official capacity since that was supposedly already covered months ago when I inquired about it. However, a week before the race, I was asked to represent Stellar since the other representatives could not make it. I had assumed that all the logistics/transportation were in place, however this was not the case. Despite all the problems, Chris and I made the best of it and this allowed us to have more interaction with many paddlers that we would not have had otherwise. So in the end we were all in boats racing, not in the boats we trained in, but nevertheless, it was a great experience to race, demo boats, and meet different paddlers from all over the USA and the world.

Chris and Wesley

Borys Markin

Logistics

So when Chris and I showed up Wednesday at 3pm at the Bair Island Aquatic Center (BIAC) only minutes from our Sofitel hotel, in Redwood City, we immediately went to find our boats. The trailer of Stellar boats was there but we needed to get them to the starting point at Coyote Point for the lead up race at 6pm. That same day, I found out that our other boats were not going to make it to San Fran so my boat (new SEI) and Borys Markin’s SES Ultra, were no shows. Reid Hyle’s SES that was at the boat house proved to be inoperable. So by the time Chris and I got to BIAC, I was scrambling to make sure everyone had boats to paddle.

Fortunately, once I arrived at the BIAC, Helen greeted me with a warm hug and glowing smile. It was so great to finally meet Helen after all these years. I told her that Chris, myself, and Reid needed transportation to the race at 6. She immediately called Theo Michel and he said he had one spot.

Theo arrived later than expected due the traffic but during this period, we asked everyone who showed up at the BIAC, “Are you Theo”? Are you Theo”? Where in the world is Theo? Does he really exist? Not sure at this point and still needing transport, we enlisted Paul Martin who could take one ski. Then we scrounged around the boat yard for two pieces of wood and tied them on our rental Nissan Path Finder for make shift racks. Then Theo showed thankfully. So a big thanks to Theo, who took one ski and Paul, took the other one. Chris, in all the chaos decided not to do the Wednesday’s race. Boat/Logistics: Mission Accomplished. Well for today anyway.

The Coyote Point race had turnout of over 50 paddlers and encompassed a large part of Saturday’s race course so I was excited to get on the water. But before that I needed to secure four more skis. Fortunately, Patrick and Deanne Hemmens of Ocean Paddle Sports were there, so I asked them if they had any skis and they had one XT available for Beata to use on Saturday. And we secured the Blue Fin for Chris the next day. So a big thanks to Patrick and Deanne who were very responsive to our plight. So 2 skis down and 2 to go. While Reid paddled the SES on Wednesday, he still needed a ski for Saturday. So for the second time, Carter Johnson graciously offered Reid the Mako Elite for use Saturday. Now, I needed a ski! Right after I talked with the Hemmens, I found Jude from Huki. Jude came through for me again.

Patrick,DeAnne, Wesley

DeAnne, 2nd Place Women, 1st to Hot Spot

DeAnne, 2nd Woman, 1st to Hot Spot

In 2009, I was in the planning stages of my Surfski Basic’s DVD, and Jude agreed to fund part of the cost for me to develop it. So indirectly, Jude was responsible for this site, because I needed a platform to sell the DVD once I got it made, hence the beginnings of SurfskiRacing.com. Without Jude’s help, my wife was not going to agree to the cost of making a professional grade DVD. By the way, I have sold almost 250 copies worldwide.

Wesley, Jude Demo Day

So meeting Jude personally to thank him for this, was one of my priorities of the trip and was one of the highlights. Not sure Jude quite new what to make of me. I was buzzing around like my high school mascot, the Starkville Yellow Jackets compared to the easy going Jude.

I also needed one more ski, so Jude said he had an S1R that was available. I was excited to be paddling an S1R since I had not paddled the 2012 revision. During Demo Day, I got to paddle all of the new Huki’s and Jude explained to me the differences in them which was very helpful. Previously I had owned four S1R’s, one S1X, and one S1X special. With most of the boat stuff out of the way, I could now paddle the race, finally. I also must thank Chris because without his help, I could have never done all the logistics and securing boats for our east coast friends, Borys, Beata, Jan, Reid and ourselves.

Coyote Point Race-Wednesday

The race got started later than scheduled. Not sure if we were ultimately waiting on Oscar to show so he and another paddler could paddle the double. But shortly after he arrived, Kenny gave the lengthy course description before Carter interjected with the two sentence version that was helpful. While waiting, I got to reintroduce myself TtoSean Rice, whom I had met years ago at the Majors Cup. I congratulated him on his ICF win and he lit up like a Christmas tree. I realized at that moment, some of the guys are my son’s age, meaning I am getting older. Once on the water, with the boats lined up, I positioned myself in the back. The first quarter mile to the turn boat was in beam chop with winds 15-20 mph. After the turn downwind, I settled in and after a few miles the adrenaline wore off. At one point, I said to myself, I doing it. Here I am, having a blast. The other thing I realized is that boats get spread out more in true downwind than in our races. You could be even with someone on a different line who is quarter mile away from and never know it. The conditions that day were easier than Saturday’s race although the wind was blowing significantly more and the waves required no finesse, just climb over the top of a wave, and point the boat, and off you go. This was unlike Saturday where the runs were much harder to predict and not that clean. I realized on Saturday, that I needed more time in this type of downwind to become proficient. This water both on Wednesday and Saturday was moving much faster than what little downwind we get in New England. This requires more skill and better steering in your ski to be able to optimize the runs.

Helen keeping us on track!

Dorian,Reid,Michael,Patrick,Jasper at Coyote Point Race

?,Sean Rice, Cory Hill at Coyote Point Race

Coyote Point 13 mile Race Wednesday

So after few miles of downwind, I was settling in, thinking after I reached the San Mateo Bridge, I had only a few miles to go. Wrong. The course I thought was advertised as 9 miles as I read somewhere. At about mile 9, Jude pulls up to my right and I asked him how long is the course? He said 12 miles. So we paddle together for another mile along with Diego (OC1) paddler until I made a push. Theo said later he was behind me most of the way but could not catch me in the two plus miles of flat water in the channel leading to the BIAC finish line. With about a mile left, I thought, boy it is getting dark, I am glad I only have a mile to go. The course ended up being 13 miles which was fine. I ended up finishing 28 of 50 so I was pleased with that. Reid Hyle ended up 4^th so he had a good race along with Dorian Wolter who placed 3^rd. The races can be tricky as Tom Norton, the 2^nd place finisher on Wednesday, and 5^th place finisher on Saturday told me, because you never know how much effort is truly being exerted before the big race on Saturday. I was satisfied with my effort based on being up for since 3:30 am east coast time, heart average of 150, and all the boat logistics prior to the race. It was a big boost for me to do most of the course so I felt good about Saturday’s race.

Race Day-Saturday

Chris and I checked the forecast many times and rechecked it before we made the drive to the start. As best we could tell the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. After making sure our boats were properly set up, me in the S1R, and Chris in a Blue Fin, Reid in a Mako Elite, Beata in an XT, Borys in a 30lb SES vice a 22lb SES, and Jan in an SEL, we all milled around waiting for the start. Chris and I found a spot on the little hill beside Tom Norton, 5^th place finisher. I asked him how well he thought he would do. He said “stay with Jasper for as long as possible then see what happens”. We also had some East Coast supporters welcome us: Helen and Mike Parkinson from New Jersey and Mark and Nicky Smith form South Carolina. Mark wanted to see all the happenings since he and Mark McKenzie own Elite Ocean Sport carrying Vajda boats. After the race Mark was a welcome site for me helping me carry my boat to the trailer.

Friends from East Coast to cheer us on. MIke and Helen Parkinson, Mark and Nicky Smith

The race was scheduled to go off between 2 and 4. These guys like their downwind and will delay a start to ensure they get it. Finally at 3ish, Dave Jensen gave the skippers meeting and wanted us to be lined up if possible by 4:20. Chris and I had been there since 11:30 so we were ready to get the show on the road. We positioned ourselves in the back of the pack of 125 skis. Ideally I would have been further up but not to worry, I just wanted to paddle hard and see how I fared as did Chris. I also did not want to expend too much energy in the first mile. So once I got to the open water, I saw some familiar faces from Wednesday’s race, Greg Greene, Andy Howell, Diego, and Cory Lancaster. I tried to stay with Greg for as long as I could but at mile 3 he dropped me. At about mile 4, Andy was doing a great job of finding some runs. The wind was not blowing as hard as Wednesday but the waves were harder to catch and not as straight forward. I was now realizing that if you regularly paddled in these type conditions, more skill is certainly involved to get faster. Unlike our conditions, we never get this much downwind in one stretch ever. Normally we may get a stretch of 1-5 miles but the water is never moving as fast as it was both Wednesday and Saturday. Both days were moderate days so it was fun to be out there. I told my paddling counterparts, they all should have come out, because every regular racer in New England would have been enjoying the conditions. At several points I had to tell myself, this is a race, because I was enjoying playing in this much downwind. I did string a few runs together and if done properly, you can get 40 yards ahead on that one run if you caught it and your buddy did not. So multiply that 4 or 5 times in a 15 mile race and that is 2-4 minutes. I also realized that steering is more necessary than the conditions we race in. My Huki S1R had pin point steering so bobbing and weaving is good stuff when your ski is so maneuverable.

Put In at Race

Sean Rice Champion on way to start.

Carter warming up

Chris just before Start

Fenn Hot Spot

The waves got bigger and a little more confused a mile before the San Mateo Bridge. The prescribed course was to go under the center span of the bridge and not cut the course short. So I was concentrating very hard at this point, though I looked around at other paddlers near me and thought, I am not doing so badly. So once under the Bridge, the conditions flatten out considerably, similar to Wednesday. Here is where I made up some time. I was catching some smaller runners and thought this feels more like Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island or even the Sakonnet River (a 3x10mile channel connecting Rhode Island Sound with Mt Hope Bay) where I live. Conditions felt familiar so let the familiar grind began. I was able to catch quite few paddlers before we got to the 13 mile orange racing buoy signaling to start bearing right to get out of the bay into the small flat water channel to finish the race. We still had 3.5 miles to go. However, just before I approached the racing buoy, I saw Beata and just after it, I pulled up beside her and said hop on let’s go, lets go. I have been racing Beata for two years now and have watched her grow from an excellent flat water paddler to an extremely competent ocean racer. She placed 10^th in the ICF World Championships a month ago. She hopped on and we upped the pace as we have done in our New England Races. We reeled in a large pack of paddlers as we approached the flat waters of the channel. Here is where I rode wash for next 1.5 mile until the finish of the race. Joel Leker was the person I was wash riding. We were literally two feet from each other, so we made introductions. With a half mile to go, Beata made a big surge, and dropped us to fend for ourselves. Judy Jensen was in our group as well sprinting to the finish. Joel finished a few seconds ahead of me to finish a very exciting flat water leg of the race. Just after we finished, Joel said, “I thought you would be bigger”, I laughed and responded, “my wife sometimes refers to me as a Bantam Rooster”. Bantam Roosters are a breed of chickens, famous for their small stature yet fast, aggressive, “puffed up” disposition, as defined by Wikipedia. We congratulated each other on the race. Later at the post race party, Joel, who I was now standing beside, repeated almost in amazement, “I thought you would be bigger”.

Borys and Beata at finish

Joel Leker at Finish

I paddled over to Beata as Borys was waiting on her to finish her race. Chris finished his race as well in a familiar flat water style. He too was able to catch paddlers in the flat section powering up the Blue Fin well past hull speed and maintaining that pace over distance. Chris I believe was the only paddler to be in the 20 inch plus ski (Blue Fin, V8, Eze, S18S). Chris was all smiles as we paddled back to BIAC with ex New Englander, Cory Lancaster, whose race could have gone better. However, this allowed Chris and I a chance to catch up with Cory. Cory for a couple of years was atop the leader board in our New England races often by a large margin. He would be paddling a 40lb Mako which was even more impressive.

So Chris and I had a great time in San Fran despite all the boat problems. I got to meet some people I wanted to meet, Jude, Helen, Cory, Mike McNulty, Rob Hartman, Greg Greene, and many others. It also was nice to have paddlers compliment our site. At demo day I got to paddle the Fenn and Huki boats that had wanted to do for some time. In the future, I hope the race organizers would consider, using this course every other year or at least every third year to encourage more participation from a wider variety of paddlers. I think more locals did this race than ever before, and I know more New England paddlers would make the trip if this was the course. I realize there were fewer Elite paddlers but I think even the Elite paddlers enjoyed this course as well. Just food for thought.