Racing Against the Forecast During the Turkey Day Race!
The day started with grey clouds with a hint of a rainbow on the horizon here in San Rafael and finally, the skies opened up with a slice of sunshine and the drizzle disappeared as the racers edged their way towards the starting line. Today was our Winter Race Series event #2 and our intrepid paddlers made their way to 101 Surf Sports from far and wide without any fear of the potentially wet conditions. 
In attendance was the usual cast of characters as well as a couple long lost friends who joined us for yet another amazing event. Special thanks to Jamie Willin for making an appearance and charging hard on his super-fast Infinity Blackfish, he has been a loyal customer since day one and we were so stoked to see him again!
Our other group of loyal friends and fellow racers are the River Town Racers from Petaluma who made up half of our attendance today and we can’t thank them enough for doing every single race that we host. The RTR crew is a junior paddling program that has an extremely impressive lineup of very talented paddlers. They embody all of the amazing characteristics of the water person culture that makes our community feel like a family that we are so fortunate to be a part of because of the camaraderie and good-natured vibes that are always consistently positive.
If you have never participated in any of our events you are missing out on some seriously good times and awesome competitors. Our races are family-friendly and perfect for first time racers due to our commitment to safety in addition to providing the most insane post-race lunches! Our chef of the day was our dear friend Kurt who wrangled the lunch for a group of 30 hungry paddlers who eagerly awaited the piping hot chili, kimchi, grilled onions, pumpkin pie and, our favorite staple item; race day hot links!
Each of our races are always low-key and maintain a grassroots vibe and that often translates into our staff and paddlers donning some hilarious costumes, and yes, we even do a costume contest at each event. We can’t thank everyone enough for showing up in costume today.
If you are a stand up paddler, kayaker or maybe into outrigger canoes, prone boards or surfskis, we’ve got you covered for an action-packed event that offers a two-mile short course as well as a six-mile course that makes its way into San Pablo Bay that heads around the Marin Islands and offers a panoramic view of the North Bay skyline. Our next Upcoming race will be our Elves and Grinches race on December 16th, so mark your calendar, put together a fun costume and sign up for what will be yet another fantastic event.