Jesse just put up this nice summary of the event:
"Windy, Windy, Windy….The words that described the biggest challenge to all of the determined competitors at the 1st stop in this 3 race series.
Twenty-seven competitors took to the water 10am last Sunday morning in front of Coconuts to take on an impressive 3-mile course which consisted of a 1 ½ mile leg with a 20mph tail wind that made it seem as if all riders had jet engines in their boards. The horn blew and a flurry of carbon and wood began churning the waters as the riders took off. The pack stayed extremely close for the first half but it became apparent that the same 20mph tail wind would soon start to pick off paddlers as they rounded the Red Bull buoy positioned at the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club.
Leading the pack for the men was Roray Kam, Packet Casey and Mike Gebhardt. Following close behind were Patrick Little, Thad Foote and Liquid’s own Jim Dasilva. It was an all out battle for positioning once these guys rounded the buoy and stared to take on Mother nature. “If you stopped paddling you just started to move backwards.” (Jim Dasilva) Some decided to take the wind on full force by paddling directly in the center of the canal, others strategically planned to paddle close to the seawall attempting to find some refuge. The lead pack was paddling so hard that you could visibly see the paddles bending in their hands. Packet having a strong lead decided to go down the wrong canal which cost him precious seconds with local Watermen Roray Kam and Mike Gebhardt very close behind. It was this mistake of course deception that allowed Roray Kam to take home the 1st place title with an impressive time of 34:36.
Of the twenty-seven paddlers six girls came out to show that this sport is completely unbiased. This was proven by local Amanda Wilson that beat out several guys by a landslide. While these girls were showing the boys how it was done I had the pleasure of sitting on my butt in one of the chase boats that was following Diane Scully. Nearing the end of the course Diane told us that earlier that morning she ran a 5K! Needless to say myself and the several other guys in the boat felt pretty little at that point. I’m glad everybody finished in strong form. I hope this means that you will be ready for the next race on May 17th.
This event could never have happened without all of our sponsors and all of you guys that competed. THANK YOU to everybody that helped us make this the first, but definitely not the last, Liquid Surf and Sail SUP race.
I have attached the poster for the next race at the Miami Yacht Club. You can also stay updated on all of our events by checking out our events page. Or just give me a ring at the shop 954-523-7778.
Check out all of the photos and an excellent write up by Rick Iossi here:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=40169
Big thank you to all of our sponsors: Hobie, Dunkelvolk, Tikibeach, Coconuts, Dakine, Ark, C4 boards, Werner paddles,
The Results:
1
Roray Kam
34:36
2
Packet Casey
34:40
3
Mike Gebhardt
35:36
4
Patrick Little
36:02
5
Thad Foote
36:18
6
Jim Dasilva
36:26
7
Jimmy Levine
36:32
8
Sean Collins
36:53
9
Trevor Usher
36:57
10
Ken Sullivan
37:10
11
Jake Portwood
37:31
12
Steven Bean
38:15
13
Andy Engle
38:54
14
Luke Goetz
39:17
15
Rick Deroxtra
39:25
16
Stewart Murray
40:32
17
Robert Davis
40:40
18
Amanda Wilson
42:10
19
Evan Bell
45:37
20
Bobby Little
45:47
21
Neil Hutchinson
46:07
22
Nicole Macias
51:35
23
JulianLucero
55:23
24
Blanca Granda
56:58
25
Bonnie Nabors
57:57
26
Laura Iossi
1:05:42
27
Diane Scully
1:08:11
Jesse Cors
Liquid Surf and Sail
2000 S. Federal Highway
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33316
Ph:954-523-7778
www.LiquidSurfandSail.com"
Still more photos to come, just have to finish the processing and put them up!