This year my main focus was the US Surfski Champs in San Francisco so I started my preparation last November. After endless paddling, running and weight training I was very determined to come to California and race. Not just race, I wanted to race well. Last year, I was a little disappointed with my performance (5th place), so this year I set the bar high and my goal was to finish in the top 3 women. We decided to fly out a few days early to allow enough time to get ready, adjust my Stellar SES surf ski and also race at the Wednesday pre-race.
Borys and Beata prepping their skis on Wednesday(photo MaryBeth)
It was great to see many friends from New England, including Borys Markin, Jan Lupinski, Craig Impens, Greg Lesher, (and Marybeth), Jim Hoffman and Tim Dwyer at the registration at Oyster Point, on Wednesday afternoon. The conditions looked great, 4-5 feet swells, pure downwind, we were all pumped and ready to go. My plan was just to feel the water and get comfortable on rough water, try to link as many waves as possible and see if I needed to make any other adjustments before Saturdays’s race and most importantly just have fun.
New England Crew
The plan worked out well. I felt great, I was focusing only on myself and and my boat. Sure, there were a few things I needed to change before Saturday, for example the plug for my drain kept plugging in; the string was too long and my boat was not draining fast enough or at all. It was a small thing but could be a major problem during a race especially in rough conditions. I did manage to win the race Wednesday night. Jan, Craig and Jim Hoffman finished in front of me, Greg and Tim behind me. And Borys…well Borys and Greg Barton decided to do their own tough mudder/kayak race with 3 portages on a different race course. (They made a wrong turn and ended up in a different channel than we did. They also had to carry their boats through mud due to low tide…) After the race we all hung out together and shared our experiences… I heard Jim saying, “wow, I’ve never paddled in conditions like this…” And Greg ” I was not ready for this…”…. but overall we all had a great time. Next day, we had a day off. So Borys and I decided to take advantage of it and visited Muir Woods, The Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma and Napa Valley (which was on my bucket list). I have been many times to San Francisco, but never got a chance to see these world famous “landmarks”.
Big conditions for Wednesday’s Race(photo Mike Martinez, Race Director)
On Friday, we had the demo day in Shorebird Park in Berkeley, where you could try any surfski you like from the main sponsors, Stellar,Ocean Paddle Sports, Huki, and Epic. The weather was great, sunny sky with pretty strong wind, and we went out to do our final training before the big day. We also had our pre-race check in and pre-race meeting at Shorebird Park, which was followed by pasta dinner. Awesome to see so many paddlers in one place, including many Olympic and World Champions and legends! There were paddlers from 14 countries and about 20+ from different states! My field was packed with US Champions, World Champions and Olympians (pretty strong field this year).
There was Michele Eray, from SA who is been living in the States over a year now. She is a super strong girl, also she is the current Surfski World Champion, and finalist in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. There was Teneale Hatton from New Zealand, who came straight from Moscow, where she broke the ICF K1-1000m world record with a time of 3.49! She is also U23 Surfski World Champion, and ICF 5000m World Champion as well and competed in 2012 London Olympic Games. She is a beast! Maggie Hogan, who is on the sprint national team, the marathon team and with many US Champ titles and World Cup medals. Kristine Podolak from Berkley, California, who is a 2x US Champion. She knows the course inside out, the most familiar with the currents and she trains on this course. She could easily paddle it with closed eyes. There was Judy Jensen who is also from California. I raced against Judy a few times and she is very experienced and also knows the course well. There was Sarah Waterman from Hawaii, who is also a strong woman and great paddler always with a huge smile on her face. And there were a few girls who I did not know, Georgia Laird and Sarah Davis from Australia (all Aussie girls are strong, they were born in surfskis) .
Teneale Hatton, World Record Holder K1 1000m, (photo Brett Phibbs)
Race Day-Pumped Up!
We have arrived to Muir Beach around 12pm on Saturday with Renata, (Jan’s wife) Jan, Marybeth, Borys and me. (Thank you for Marybeth and Renata for all the support! They were helping the New England crew with transportation, baggage, or whatever we needed. They were always there for us! The start was scheduled between 2-3pm, based on the best conditions. We ended up with a 3pm start,with the women starting 5 minutes earlier than the men. I was ready and excited but did not feel too nervous.
Beata and Dorian Wolter(11th)(photo MaryBeth)
I don’t think anyone had problem launching from the beach, the swells weren’t that big. Most of the paddlers (including me) were more concerned paddling underneath Golden Gate Bridge. And then at 3pm we were off ! I heard the men cheering for us from behind, which was pretty nice of them. My game plan was based on Joe Glickman’s advise. SoI decided to stay close to Kristen Podolak and Maggie Hogan, save as much energy as possible until the Angel Island’s turning buoy and empty my tank to finish line.
After the start, Teneale and Michele sprinted out and leading the pack. Teneale stayed closed to shore since she was going for the hot spot which was $500. We all knew there is no way any of us can beat her….so the rest of the field took an inner line. Michele was on the front, then Maggie, Kristen Podolak, Georgia Laird and me. The first 5K was a little challenging with side waves but nothing unbearable. I was using the tail wash of Georgia, keeping my eyes on Kristine and Maggie. I felt pretty good, my HR was in the good range, So I wasn’t over exerting myself earlier on. Before Point Bonita, I felt someone pulling up on my right. I was relieved when I saw it was Sean Rice! After we passed Point Bonita, everyone stayed in the same position, and a couple more men pulled up.
I recognized Dorian Walters, Carter Johnson, and then suddenly the Big-O, Oscar Chalupsky was right next to me. I was thinking, perfect timing! Free paddling clinic with Oscar, one on one, just when I needed the most. Right before Golden Gate Bridge the water was pretty confusing. So much current, waves from every direction, felt like we are in a washing machine. Michele and Maggie were a little ahead while Kristen, Georgia, Carter, Oscar, and me were together aiming to the right pillar of Golden Gate Bridge. At the pre-race meeting we were all warned that this is one of the world’s busiest shipping channel, so make sure you take extra precautions. This is the reason I decided to stay with Kristen because she knew the currents well, (it was incoming tide) and I was 100% sure she will take the best line as possible. At that point we were still in the washing machine, paddling out to the middle of shipping channel.
I was continuously waiting for the green light from Oscar or Carter for finally turning downwind…and praying at the same time that there are no ships coming in, then Kristen suddenly tipped over. I stopped for a second to see if she needed help but Carter Johnson yelled at me “Go! Go! Go! I will help her! ” so I picked up my pace again. (However Kristen bounced right back into her boat without any help) at this point, it was time to turn downwind!!! I lost Georgia from my sight, but I could see Maggie about 300 yards ahead of me with Oscar. I was pretty alone right before the bridge where the most challenging part of the course was suppose to be…well since it was incoming tide, the swells were pretty small so there was not much to worry about, so I looked up at the bridge and took a moment the take all in. The most iconic bridge in the USA and I got to paddle underneath it! How cool is that!
Right after I passed the bridge suddenly I saw a dorsal fin appearing on my left…My shark experience in NY popped in my head right a way…and the fact that there are thousands of seals in SF bay…..Just grrrrrreat! Then two more on my right and the left one came up again and swam underneath my boat. They were dolphins! Pheewwww, I’m good! At this point I could only see Maggie and Oscar, I had no idea how far Kristen was behind me, or where Georgia, Teneale, and Michele were. So I started to pick up my pace. I stayed on the same line as Maggie and Oscar, pretty close to Alcatraz Island. After passing Alcatraz I started pulling to the left and aimed toward Angel Island’s mandatory turning buoy. Suddenly, so many people got there at the same time, it was pretty crowded, about 8-10 skis. Not sure who they were, where they came from, short or long course racers, but I lost Maggie from my sight. The last 6km of the race was the best part of the race, nice downwind with 3-4 feet swells, and my plan was to give it all I had. This is it! Do or die! My pace was super fast, (avg. 3 min for a km) and I was able to link the waves and surf.
Beata(photo MaryBeth)
In a few minutes from Angel Island I saw Michele tangled up with another paddler. I thought they crashed into each other and they’re helping each other getting back in their boats. (I learned later, that Michele had problem with her rudder and a fellow paddler was helping her). From Angel Island the only thing we all must do is to pass between the old pier. There were 5 openings within the 3 mile old pier and we had to pass between either of them in order to get to the finish line, but if you missed the last one which was about 1 mile out in the bay you were pretty much done, you missed the finish line. My plan was to pass between the last one but I got a little bit off to the left from the course from Angel Island. As soon as I realized the pier is already on my far right I took a pretty sharp right to make sure I don’t miss the last one, and I took whatever was next. The finish line was a straight line between a red buoy and the shore. After crossing the line in my Stellar SES I was exhausted but happy with my performance. I did the best I could do! I executed my plan well, however, I had no idea which place I finished! I saw Maggie in the bay, so she must finished right in front of me, but I had not seen anyone else. When I got to the shore Borys was waiting for me and telling me how proud he was of me! I came in 3rd with a time of 1hr 55min! Teneale won the title, with a time of 1hr 52min, (3 minutes ahead of me), then Maggie took 2nd with a time of 1hr 54min (1min ahead of me), 4th was Kristen Podolak, 5th was Michele Eray. After the race, we all greeted each other and shared our experiences and attended the award ceremony, which was followed by dinner. Wow! What an amazing day! I couldn’t be any happier! After dinner, most of the paddlers continued the celebration and had a 2nd dinner at our hotel’s restaurant. (Of course with moderation, since most of us had to race the next day!)
Top 5 Women, Teneale Hatton(1st), Maggie Hogan(2), Beata(3), Kristine (4), Michele(5)
Beata and Borys
Doubles Race
The double’s race start was scheduled between 1-2pm on Sunday, again based on the best conditions. It allowed us enough time to get some sleep and recover. The course was shorter, 11 miles. The start was from Fort Baker, heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, then turn around the safety boat by Point Diablo, down to Angel Island turning buoy, from there straight line to Berkeley. Borys and I raced together at the Surfski World Championship last year in Portugal, where we took 8th place. This time we switched seats, he was sitting in the front and I took the 2nd seat. Coming to the race, we were excited, wanted to do well! Our plan was to start out fast about 5 minutes to make sure we were in a good position, and from there keep the pace a little lower and from Angel Island and then empty the tank until the finish line.The conditions were pretty similar to Saturday’s except there was not much current at that time, so no need to head out in the middle of the bay. We both felt good, worked together good, and our plan work out well. We were able to link the waves, using the waves and surf. Before crossing the finish line, which was a little further down in the bay for the doubles, we heard our New England friends cheering for us from the shore! We crossed the finished line first, and winning the Mixed title, 2nd place was Sarah Waterman/Patrick Hemmens and 3rd place was Judy and Dave Jensen. After the race and award ceremony we headed to SF Airport to catch our flight to Newark, NJ not leaving much time to celebrate. Wooowww, what a fantastic weekend in California. Getting the results I wanted really maked me happy and makes me want to train even harder. Next race is Lighthouse to Lighthouse Race, in CT which is the East Coast Championship as well! I hope to see everyone there! I will be hosting a free paddling clinic for women only. All skill levels are welcome, so make sure you bring your daughters, sisters and wives along with you! 🙂
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