Once again, the Pacific Paddle Games in Dana Point, California has proven itself as one of the premiere paddle board racing events of the year. The level of competition seems to somehow elevate every year and the feeling of family among the competitors seems to follow suit. It really is addicting to be around such a big group of really happy people.
Day one of the event consisted of the Open Technical races, as well as the first round of Pro Technical races. The technical race puts racers on a course of a dozen or so tight corners traveling nearly three miles. The open divisions are for anyone and are broken down into age, gender, and board size groups. For those in the top of the game, the Pro divisions are where the money can be won.
Lexi Alston, April Zilg, Bullet Obra, and Martin Letourneur make up the team of pros representing Hobie and all four comfortably advanced through their first heats on Saturday. Lexi and April into the women’s final, and Bullet and Martin into the men’s semifinal on Sunday.
Sunday is when things get a little more serious. The distance race is first thing in the morning, and there were a total of 395 paddlers on the water to compete on the six mile course. Starts were staggered to allow the pro and open divisions some space. Team Hobie held strong and all finished well in the top half of their respective groups. The results of the distance race combined with the technical make up the overall ranking and determine the big payouts.
Most SUP races are not two events combined, so the competitors are often done after their distance race. Not today! After a couple hours of rest, and an awards ceremony to crown the open division distance champs, the pros were back on the water for their technical races.
Bullet and Martin both had great starts in the very important semifinal races. Getting to the first bouy towards the front of the pack is not only an amazing feat in itself, it is critical to staying towards the front through the rest of the race. Last year Bullet lost out in an early round by one position and was determined to not let that happen again. That’s all that was on his mind as he pushed himself to his limit and into the lead pack for this race. He would stay in the top half of his group, and advance into the prestigious PPG final.
Martin raced a bit tighter race, sitting at about 8-10th for most of the race that only allows 10 to advance. The back half were chasing hard and never gave him a break. Fortunately the waves were in his favor and he was able to get a few rides towards the end and finish his race well in front of the cut off. He’d be meeting Bullet in a final that many of the worlds best failed to advance to.
With the six mile distance race, and 2.4 miles of technical racing done for the day, the men were due for a little break while the Pro Juniors and Pro Women’s finals got under way. The breaks in the various racing disciplines were helpful to allow both the racers and spectators some time to refuel or pick up some new gear from the various vendors on site. The Hobie Demo Team manning our demo tent was on it all weekend getting people on the water to try the various boards. The full 2018 product line was there to be used, as well as some previous years models and used boards for sale. It was great to see both new potential paddlers looking for a new sport, as well as paddlers looking to upgrade, or expand their SUP quiver. You can never have enough boards.
The four person Hobie Pro Team all finished strong in the finals. April put enough points on the board with her 6th place technical final to claim a top ten spot overall at 9th for the weekend. Lexi finished the women’s final in 13th, giving her 12th overall in a field of over 30 professionals. Bullet and Martin finished with 20th, and 23rd respectively for the overall out of a field of nearly 70.
I think they will all take a well deserved break from the intensive training programs and take a deep breath. It’s been a great week having the team come in from around the world but now they all go back home. Martin is visiting from France, Bullet from Hawaii, and April is here from North Carolina. This race was in Lexi’s backyard, and next time, the team will converge on April’s beach in North Carolina for the Carolina Cup in April of 2018. I guess they can’t rest too long.
Of course everyone is a competitor and wants to win, but the main reason we’re all at these events is because we love the ocean and spending time in it no matter what that may be. If you have to end a weekend, it’s best done tired and salty.
For more information about the race, visit ppg.supthemag.com
