St Patricks Stand Up Paddleboard Racing Marin County Race 1 Results and Story

The 101 Surf Sports Stand Up Paddleboard Racing scene kicked off with a St. Patrick's day bang!

With inclement weather deluging the Bay Area for the better part of the week it looked like cancellation was in the cards. After doing some test runs during the week the team decided that even in the pouring rain a fun course could be set up and using the goegraphy of the canal to make it work. With that the decision was made – go for it no matter what.

Thankfully however the weather gods smiled upon us and the day of the race dawned with rain free skies, peekaboo sunshine, and near windless conditions. The forecast had shown for more rain and even thunder and lightning and as such it was only the heartiest of paddlers that showed up for the challenge. Perhaps it was the promise of tasty pizza from event sponsor San Rafael's very own Extreme Pizza. Or maybe it was the ice cold brew served up courtesy of the generosity of Larkspur's Marin Brewing Company. If that wasn't the tipping point for many it was surely the generous prizes donated from Everpaddle Stand Up Paddling that saw the paddlers ignoring the forecast and deciding to go big.  

Two courses were set up on the day. First up was the 2 mile short course that kept the paddlers in the relatively placid confines of the San Rafael Canal.

For those with a bigger appetite the 5.7 mile around the island course was the call.

As the starting gun sounded it was go time and the fleet powered off the line with a strong 2 knot ebb tide at their back. With GPS speeds hitting 7.8 mph it was a sleigh ride down the canal. Smart paddlers however knew that leaving a little extra in the gas tank would be the call as the turning mark would set that tide square on the bow making for a tougher trip home.

On the two mile course it was Jeff Miller (pictured above) powering the 12'6 Jimmy Lewis Slice to a nice lead at the turn. A super impressive paddle however was being turned in by Jono Tunney (pictured below) who had the 12ft Liquid Shredder trailing Miller by a scant 20 second delta at the turn.

Ian Moody was also in it but hot on his tail was top junior paddler Shane Rathle. Rathle had his Everpaddle dozen six flying through the butter flat water trying his best to hunt down the veteran paddlers. Rathle (pictured at right) however was being pressed at every turn by Michael Hersey who was showing impressive speed on the new Boga Tsunami raceboard. It was a tight pack throughout the race but Miller was not to be denied posting a new short course record by just 5 seconds with a time of 28 minutes and 57 seconds. Rathle took home the win for the Juniors.

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It was a day for course records to fall and once again over on the long course they were dropping like flies. First up was the stellar paddle turned in by Ken Altman. Altman lead out the fleet as they rode the express train ebb tide out to the islands. As they got to the islands it was Altman out front on the 14ft Bark with Jean Rathle and Kevin Seid team racing their 12'6"s to do whatever they could to reel him in. As they turned the island the weather showed its hand. A choppy section of water awaited them on the windward side as did a freshening 5mph North East wind. On top of that the current was now pushing against the fleet as they made the final stretch for home. As they crossed the line it was Altman 28 seconds better than the trailing 12'6's.

With the finish line in sight team racing time was over and it was every man for himself as Rathle and Seid battled stroke for stroke to the finish line. With the contingent of spectators urging them on it was Rathle getting the better of Seid by a one second difference! Fred Anderson was his usual self putting up a solid third place finish. (Pictured below Altman bringing it home with Seid at Left and Rathle at right). Altman was richly rewarded for his win with the ultimate in SUP Deck Bags from Everpaddle.

Normally we put Anderson in the master's class but lately his paddling has been too strong so we scored him in the open fleet. The fleet was stoked to welcome Prone paddleboarder Bryan Thomas who put up a solid 1 hour 15 minute and 1 second time to claim a new record by over 2 minutes for the prone class whose previous record stood at 1 hour and 17 minutes. We'd be stoked to see more prone guys on the line and bring on some OC's too.

Joe Delaney paddled too and followed the shop mantra of "Go Big" opting to tackle the long course for his first paddle race ever. Delaney's 1 hours and 16 minute time showed he is a threat to be reckoned with in the future.

The 101 Surf Sports team will be setting up for their second race this May 5th with a Cinco De Mayo themed event.

Special thanks to all the paddlers who braved the elements to tackle what was no doubt an adventurous paddle. Extra Special thanks once again to event sponsors Extreme Pizza San Rafael, Marin Brewing Company, and Everpaddle Stand Up Paddleboards.

Pictured Below Back Row L-R Jean Rathle, Fred Anderson, Jeff Miller, Kevin Seid. Front Row L-R Shane Rathle and Ken Altman.

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Here is the GPS Data from the record setting run put in by Jean Rathle