The 3rd Annual Causeway-to-Causeway paddle race was held this past October 17th on the Indian River in colder (for Florida anyway), 20 knot wind conditions that made for a GREAT down-winder but knuckle slogger face-wind going back. We were FLYING down-range (it was my fastest 11 miles yet--about 1 hour 15 minutes give or take). Actual surfable waves heading down the first leg of the trip. It was a real thrill paddling with these athletes and I look forward to it again next year. The whole experience of racing (from the training to the thrill of the actual race itself in difficult conditions) is worth trying out for any paddler.

This race takes place at a the causeway by Cocoa Village, goes to the Pineda Causeway 11 miles down, then a turn around and back to the starting point. There were some sponsored SUP and paddleboard pro's there. I came in 2nd in kayaks and 6th overall out of 51 competitors. Pretty much every paddle craft you can think of participated. It definitely highlighted the differences in hull speeds of different craft for me. For anyone that doubts it, SUP's are a LOT slower than kayaks (there were large 18 footers there) and kayaks (if they are K1 racers) seem to be slower than SurfSki's. I was on my Cobra Viper (had the boat a total of 2 weeks before the race, so I was certainly pleased with my standing as it is a very different boat than my Hurricane Tracer). Ocean Rowers also were very fast. I was amazed how fast a prone paddle board is -- dude was hard core and fast. I spent some time (a very short time) drafting the Surf ski and ocean rowers in the lead but then decided to break out left and center river to catch some of the bigger swells. Almost worked as a strategy as more than once I was almost on top of them. I like my Viper and will be writing a review of it once I have had it a little longer. Certainly I get that it comes down to the engine on the craft to a significant extent as well (i.e., the paddler and his condition!).


Probably the most interesting part of this is a discussion of the different speed capabilities of the various craft, but for kicks here are the race results by division/paddle craft class and times (hours:seconds:minutes format) just to highlight the point.:

-Kayak-

Anita Allen 3:57:34
Tom Buddington 4:10:41
Mabel Maggrinos 4:18:44
Andre Fiedler 5:20:36

-OC1-

Ken Sullivan 3:56:53

-Surfski-

Tristan Fiedler 3:45:30


*OVERALL PLACINGS Top finishers by name, craft, time (hour:minute:second format):


Tristan Fiedler - 3:45:30, Surfski

Ken Sullivan - 3:56:53, OC‐1

Anita Allen - 3:57:34, kayak

Jeff Noell - 4:01:54, prone/unlimited

Andy Engle  and Jim McCrady - 4:03:26, surfboat

Tom Buddington - 4:10:41, kayak

Mabel Maggrinos - 4:18:44, kayak

P Atherholt - 4:18:46, prone/unlimited

Team SOBE - 4:18:48, SUP
Iain McFarland, Girard Middleton, Beth Winkler

Gary Wise
4:21:38
SUP/unlimited

Greg Schmidt
4:29:06
prone/unlimited

Chip Bock
4:36:23
SUP/unlimited

Graham Parker
4:36:37
prone/unlimited

John Sedely
4:37:55
prone/stock

Jose Bolivar
4:40:27
surfboat

David Miller
4:40:56
SUP/14'

Mathew McDonald
5:00:00
SUP/12'6" & under

Eric Shamas
5:02:01
prone/stockprone/stock

Chris Taylor
5:04:29
SUP/14'

Michael Westenberger
5:11:28
SUP/14'

Sean Hughes
5:11:48
SUP/12'6" & under

Jason Colclough
5:14:48
SUP/14'

Travis Roach
5:16:30
SUP/12'6" & under

Wes Hewson
5:19:00
SUP/unlimited

Ross Carter
5:19:24
SUP/14'

Andre Fiedler
5:20:36
kayak

Frank Dillenburg
5:27:08
SUP/12'6" & under

Gary Foster
5:37:50
SUP/12'6" & under

Abe Uccello
5:54:40
prone/unlimited

Cynthia Aguilar
6:03:06
prone/stock

John Beausang
11+ miles
SUP/12'6" & under

Justin Cook
11+ miles
SUP/12'6" & under

Christain Davis
11+ miles
SUP/12'6" & under


(**Sorry no pics -- no one brought there cameras that day!)