Surfski Knowledge Base

Duncan Howat
Jul 31 #27290

And down wind it came to be. What a fun time that turned out to be. Better wind than I thought. Always better to be lucky than good ,as Reivers says, which didn't help him today, but it did the rest of those who made the run. Got on the water about 10:40, paddled out to John R who was right on time with his trusty boat and crew, bit of a do going straight out, and John positioned him self just right to get the angles needed. # min warning and then Bang, off we went ,no dilly dallying around. Good surfing right from the start.Watched Nicolas, Wilson,Anna, Beau, Julie and Kim, Kirk, get good starts and surf like mad. About 32 min into I look around and am passing Marine Park thinking OK this is pretty good for a old guy but where is Reivers? ( refer to his post, at least John R confirmed his wild story) Well, continued to duke it out with the Ladies, and they got me by 30 sec because of, dare I say it, a better line. I know their not faster than me. A really cool thing John R did was put out on 16 ,when big boats were approaching us that a race was in progress and could they give us a little room. Nicolas will post the times and distances, I believe 45 min was in there and everyone seemed to be at 7.2 to 7.5 miles, except Paul who does the Great Circle route. Fresh Wapato peaches went to everyone except a certain RD. But I have more if you didn't get any. I did a PR for me, which was slow compared to others at 57 min even.

Nicholas Cryder
Jul 31 #27291

Thanks everyone!

It felt like we fulfilled an ancient prophecy and actually had an “unofficial” downwind race in Bellingham in just beautiful conditions! 75º F, solid wind, great turn out, and the weed was not an issue once past the cliffs. I admit being a little nervous about the weed when we paddled out, wow it looked bad… but once John hit the horn and it was on, the weed just kinda disappeared and we're slaying waves. SO GREAT! Huge thanks to everyone who could make it, and of course Duncan for the trailer support, and John who has the coolest little support boat on the bay.

Here are the results from those who have submitted times thus far! But I haven't gotten them from everyone yet. So if you have a time and want it added / corrected, or if you can let me know your fasted KM - hit me up!

We still have tomorrow to race / submit times… so there is time and possible wind to take a shot if you couldn't make it today.

lori & beau whitehead

Jul 31 #27292

Thanks Nicholas for the results. That was super fun. What I learned today: John R and his support boat crew are awesome, and Duncan is a f%#'n wind forecasting savant. I'll never question him again. Ever. And my fastest MILE was 6:52, because, well, 'Merica! Cheers everybody!

Kimberly Reeves
Jul 31 #27293

J and K fastest mile was 7:14
So.Much.Fun!!

Nicholas Cryder
Aug 3 #27307

Hi everyone, meant to announce the winners yesterday, but yeah… life.

The highlighted names are the category winners (If I got something wrong, holler!) and I will email y'all your gift cards (which can be regifted, btw). Also, I'd like to include a new category / prize: Most Improved Paddler, to which I nominate Denise Weeks. Have seen some seriously awesome improvements in form, strength and surfing ability over the last year. All of which pay huge dividends in downwind conditions… and truly inspiring!

Lastly, the Summer Bummer Sale is still cranking, and I put some super fun new hats on sale this AM as well. Some of which are hi-vis colors!