St Simons Island SUP
Challenge
This race came as a bit of a shock really, I had no idea
about it, had done no training and had only been in the USA for around 1 week.
I was searching for local paddle groups in Jacksonville (JAX) and came across a
group with a link saying come win some cash… I clicked the link and the race
was today….. In 3 hours’ time and in the next state up, Georgia. I figured that
I had missed the opportunity as the cut of date for entries said the 14th
of October; I decided I’d call the number on the site and just check.
Fortunately I was able to enter and sign up over the phone and do a mad dash
about the house to get ready and jump in the car. I had no idea if I needed a
passport to get into another state of how long the journey would take me, I had
a quick glimpse on Google maps and saw which roads I wanted and I got underway.
It took me just under
2 hours traveling and I got to the beach in time for registration and the
briefing. St Simons was a fairly large island and the sea state looked,
interesting. There must have been sand bars and rips were the river met the
ocean and there were overfalls just down to the right of the beach. The water
didn’t look overly inviting but I was focused and ready for anything, I was
however fairly glad I had been surfing on the 14’ Astro the last few days prior
to the race and had got used to where to stand going in and out of the surf
zone.
The elite race itself was 7.5 miles total, with the wind
direction it looked like a 3.5 mile downwinder with a nice 3.5 mile slog back.
For the most part this was correct. The weather was good, slight cloud cover
but hot, although I heard a lot of people saying they were cold, apparently its
winter here, CRAZY, much hotter than back home. As I hadn’t planned on doing
any races out here I didn’t have a hydration pack, gloves, or a decent race
paddle but I wasn’t too bothered as it wasn’t too far a distance although the
heat and no hydration was going to prove difficult. I stood at the water’s edge
inflatable and adjustable alloy paddle in hand surrounded by races boards and
carbon paddles, there were only 2 other Starboard’s in the line-up something
that was a bit unusual when racing. I knew I had to put in a good account of
myself and fly the flag not only for the UK but for Starboard as well.
I know I normally get a fairly bad start and I was determined
to get a good start this time, and for the most part I think I started well,
headed out to the first mark I was shocked, there were only a few people in
front of me as we all turned the mark and head down wind the surfing I had done
the last few days started to pay off, I caught some good bumps and the
stability of the board came into its own, I heard some splashes as a few people
fell off turning side on to the swell, I dug deep and tried to catch as many of
the bumps as possible and get away from the pack, as we headed towards the main
overfalls there were only two people in front of me, I kept hoping that they
would fall off as it was clear I wasn’t closing the gap between us. I cut close
to the shore to avoid the worst of the waves and risked clipping the sand bar,
as we headed past the pier the wind died off slightly and was more of a head wind
and the sea calmed as we entered to section of the river. The 2 board in front
of me now started to slowly but surely pull away, where the Astro kept a good
speed in the chop and swell the effectiveness in the flat calm waters just
wasn’t as good as the solid counterparts. I soon got over taken by another and
I couldn’t match his speed, I tried not to let it bother me thinking as soon as
we headed back into the head wind I could catch back up. Nearing the end of
that leg and seeing the navigation marker at the 3.5 mile stage, John a guy on
a Starboard All-Star was hot on my tail, I could tell he wasn’t enjoying the
head wind but after losing 3rd place I was determined not to slip
into 5th. We were neck and neck all the way back to the pier and
then the rougher water kicked in. This was my main chance to catch 3rd
place, I remember thinking anything could happen he could fall in or just be
fatigued, I didn’t seem to close the gap much but it didn’t look possible to
catch him, by this point I was severely missing my carbon paddle and hydration
pack, although the board was doing me proud in the chop.
I maintained my
placing and finished 1st 14’ and 4th overall. I was
stoked with my result and happy to have been able to get some racing in. I’d
like to thank all the organisers of the St Simons Island SUP Challenge,
Starboard UK for the use of the board while out here and their continued
support and Tony Hall of JAX beach surf shop for sorting me out with a good
deal on the adjustable paddle as well as some cool info on where to sup. Until
the next race, Whoop Whoop!!!
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