Good Times At Summer Of Fun Sprint Paddle Race Number 1

 The Summer of fun Sprint Race series kicked off in fine fashion this past Thursday evening with Surfski, Stand Up Paddleboards, and even some SUPSquatch action.

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We’d run some Sprints before so had a good Idea of how much fun they can be for everyone. Low stress and short 1 minute long races that made for some excellent spectator viewing as well. With an after race social potluck we are sure to have hit on a new event format that promises tons more fun down the road. (Pictured below the finish line gallery cheering on Kai Morley as he sets the juniors surfski course record!)

The evening started with racers arriving when they felt ready. With no fixed start time it made for a super easy, pressure free experience for the racers. We simply open a 1 hour window that allowed the racers to decide when they were ready to race. We then sent them down course, sometimes solo, and sometimes in groups, and sometimes on the same board. In fact, the highlight of the night was watching an entire Morley family of 4 racing together. Next time we'll get them on the SUPSquatch for a record run that could stand the test of time. (pictured below Jim Robison shows how to cut the width in half on the 23" wide Starboard 17'6 Unlimited - you tip it!)

The event cost $10 and that includes the use of our gear and the after party! And we are not talking about just any gear. Here is the list of boards we broke out for the event;

· 14 x 23 Starboard Carbon All Star

· 14 x 27 SIC Carbon FX

· 14 x 26 SIC Carbon X14 Pro

· 17’6 x 23 Starboard Sprint

· 14 x 24 SIC X-Pro Lite

· Epic V7 Surfski with Epic Carbon Wing paddle.

· Quickblade Trifecta 86 and 96, Quickblade V-Drive 81,91,101 and the full size run of Werner Grand Prix Paddles.

Racers also brought their own boards but then did a round robin on our gear. This made for some interesting comparisons as folks looked at their times and how the various gear was performing.

Most racers ran the course 4-5 times and were pretty well spent after that. It’s a really different physical challenge to paddle hard for 90 seconds, and then do it again, and then do it again…..

We look forward to running a lot more of these family fun events all year long in both of our locations. While we will be adding dates here is a list of already scheduled races. There is no need to sign up ahead of time – just show up and get your paddle on.

Note on the times below that conditions had a significant 8-12mph tail wind with a 1.2 knot current assisting. The earlier times enjoyed more wind as it died down as the night went on.Still no one caught Trevor Tunnington's record time so eat your Wheaties and we'll se you at the next one.

Next Summer Of Fun Sprint Races

Thursday June 15 San Rafael

Thursday July 13th San Rafael

Thursday August 13th San Rafael

Thursday September 14th San Rafael

Sprint Paddle Race Times from 5-18-17

Rob Sinclaire      SIC 14x26             1:24

Kim Charlesworth            Starboard 17x23                1:23

David Hook         Starboard 14x27                1:26

Janet Walp          Starboard 12'6x25            1:33

Jim Robison        Starboard 14x27                1:22

Sean Morley       Epic V10               :55 (Overall Course Record)

Danny Harris       Bluefin 14x26     1:21

Gina Morley       SIC FX 14x27       1:38

Pete Gauvin       Maliko 14x24      1:12

Bill Allred             Starboard 14x25                1:16

Kim Charlesworth            Starboard 14x23                1:28

Rob Sinclaire      Starboard 17'6x23            1:18

David Hook         SIC 14x24             1:26

Danny Harris       Bluefin 14x26     1:24

Janet Walp          Starboard 12'6x25            1:23

Jim Robison        Starboard 14x27                1:23

Morley Family    Quiver  2:23 (Course Record - Family Individual)

Rob Sinclaire      SIC 14x26             1:31

Bill Allred             Starboard 14x25                1:19

Pete Gauvin       Maliko 14x24      1:11

Danny Harris       Starboard 17'6x23            1:21

Janet Walp          Starboard 12'6x25            1:37

Pete Gauvin       Maliko 14x24      1:15

Rob Sinclaire      Starrboard 14x23              1:35

Susan Starbird   SIC 14x24             1:55

Kim Charlesworth            Missed it              1:34

Bill Allred & David Hook  Men's SUPSquatch       1:42

Rob Sinclaire      SIC 14x24             1:26

Janet Walp          Starboard 14x23                1:30

Kai Morley          Epic V71:50

Pete Gauvin       Maliko 14x24      1:11

Danny Harris       Starboard 14x23                1:22

Rob Sinclaire      SIC 14x26             1:33

Susan Starbird   Bluefin 14x26     1:50

Pete Gauvin       Maliko 14x24      1:24

Bill Allred             Allstar 14x25       1:19

Janet Walp          Allstar 14x23       1:34

Jim Robison        Allstar 14x23       1:26

Kim Charlesworth    Epic V7     1:36

Pete & Romy      Maliko 14x24      1:26

Susan Starbird   Bluefin 14x26     2:01

Danny Harris      SIC 14x24             1:25

Current Paddle Sprint Course Records Click Here