Mardi Gras Race #6 is in the books!
The hearty racers that braved the call for a doom and gloom forecast were treated to a break in the moisture and a light puff of wind that gently pushed the paddlers back to the finish line.
The long-term forecast went from a 100% chance of rain that went from a drizzle to a slight mist by the time the watercraft arrived at the starting line. Much like the forecast, our attendance went from 30 racers down to 16 participants in total.
Amongst the group of paddlers were several that created some exciting leader changes which made for some incredibly close winners. Two of the long course paddlers that smoked the pack would be Sebastian Kauffman and Albert Szilvasy who dueled for the first place position, with the young whippersnapper Sebastian taking the prize at 1:00:23 over Albert’s 1:00:34. Well done gentlemen, well done.
The long course also hosted some exciting outrigger canoe action. Two of our long-time and dear friends John Dye and Amy Byers broke out the two-person outrigger canoe for the long course, however, the two paddlers were followed for the majority of the race by Yohei Rosen in his one-person outrigger canoe with his persistence paying off after rounding the final buoy, Yohei finished with a 2-second lead to finish the six miles in 1:02:57 over John and Amy’s 1:02:59.
With all of this fast and furious racing, everyone worked up quite the appetite, which was perfect since our menu was bursting with all sorts of cajun goodness in celebration of our Winter Race Series #6, Mardi Gras!
What Mardi Gras event would not be complete without a hearty seafood sausage chicken gumbo, beignets, walnut cornbread along with red beans and rice! Our skilled Chef Cuisinier Cort Larned whipped up the scrumptious gumbo upstairs in his pied-a-terre.
For a special dessert, one of our faithful River Town Racer’s young daughters brought her entrepreneurial spirit along with a healthy smattering of Girl Scout Cookies that she had adorned on a Jimmy Lewis foil board.
As the Winter slowly turns to Spring, our race series draws to an end in March, with our legendary St. Patty’s Day Race. Each year the team at 101 Surf Sports strives to bring family-friendly as well as safe events that are perfect for first-time racers. If you have ever wanted to have a good time on the water and make new friends who share common interests, you should certainly look into joining us for one of our race series events. Sign up now