4th Annual Santa Cruz Downwind Ryders Cup Paddleboard Race - May 18, 2013

 The Davenport Downwinder is a 14-mile romp down central California wilderness coastline, for serious paddlers only. It will toss you, spank you, and serve up the best runners you’ll ever get. You’ll swear you’re over it and won’t go near it again. But you’ll be back. When you do come back, don’t forget your leash.

Props to Ghostryder Waterman’s Club for hosting a world-class race with local hospitality, all in support of Santa Cruz’s Junior Lifeguards program.  And thanks to all of the event’s sponsors, too. Just to help raise a little more, Joe Bark donated one of his beautiful longboards for a raffle. Isn’t that just like Joe.

There was nearly as much paddling energy in the water as there was wind energy on it. The field really grew this year, from under 70 last year to over 100 this time. And the participation was international. I don’t have the registration information, but I know for sure we had at least one New Zealander and two Frenchmen. And it’s no small deal for anyone to come over from Hawai‘i.

The race goes from Davenport landing, a rather lonely spot north of town. The tiny access road filled with paddleboard-bearing vehicles of all sizes.  Here's ours (thanks to DeeAnn for all the photos):

 (Click photos to enlarge, to return, hit <esc>)

It's great to get to the cove, check in, say hi to friends. Joe Bark's truck is impossible to miss, and it's great to check in with him. He takes one look at my board and comments on my choice of weapon. I remark who Joe made this board for and that it surfs. Joe looks and says, yeah, he sees it.

Kevin Seid came over from O'ahu. I met him at the 2009 Lake Tahoe Classic, where we paddled and joked together much of the first half of that race. Kevin owns and operates Everpaddle out of Haleiwa (http://www.everpaddle.com/).

Next, check conditions, ready the equipment ... and crank up the courage. These are some conditions. Yeeeew!! There are whitecaps everywhere. And this cove is just gorgeous.

My ride this year wasn't my 14-foot Bark CT. My fin touched a rock, and the CT was still draining out.  But I figured my 17'6" could be a fun ride. Joe Bark made it for Tony Hotchkiss as a combo flat water/downwind board. It has just enough rocker to surf, and it really turned on for me during this race.

And speaking of the Bark family, Jack showed up. This is the last I saw of him until I got to the finish line ... about an hour after Jack! What a talent.

I always love shots of the stickyard ...

The prerace meeting:

OK, let's get down to it.

Oh, but check out that scenery:

Paddleboarding isn't really a spectator sport. Only the dedicated come to race starts.

 Joe, mid-warmup.

Outa here...

An impressionistic rendering, no?

I love how hectic the starts are. There's just so much energy and focus. I bumped rails with one or two SUPs on the way out. And there are so many of us going the same way. That moves a lot of water.

 Other paddlecraft went about 15 min. later.

This was my second Davey.  It's surprising that, once 100 paddlers are in the water, everyone spreads out. After the first 15 minutes, I mostly paddled in isolation. Others reported similar experiences.

Some things came together for me technically. More so than I suspected going into the race.

That was a little surprising for me because in this race, my focus wasn’t as much on when I’d arrive at the finish line as in past races. I left the Garmin in the car. Here’s why the shift: I have finally wakened to some simple facts: if all you think about is the finish line, the speed, the results, you miss 14 miles of thrills and only curse the spills. I’m slowly learning that enjoying the present moment is the greatest gift I can give myself. And there’s nothing to focus the mind on the present like barreling down the coast in a 20+ knot wind.

Another advantage to focusing on the moment is not thinking about how long the race is. You can just take it in short segments of a minute or less. The distance is less overwhelming when approached in that way. But more than that, I was able to look for what I could enjoy about this race right now. Like the bump ride that’s going on … and on … and on … (stroke, stroke, stroke) … and on … and on. Or the scenery -- God, what scenery.  Paddlers really spread out in this race, so much of it is just you and the ocean. So it really helps to find the things that make each moment worth the trip.

I did get tossed off once because, after a bump caught me (this thing was standing up like approaching shorebreak), I failed to pitch out my 17-foot, 6-inch paddleboard. The nose dug in, and I flew over the handlebars. So did my water bottles. The board was running away fast. If I hadn’t had my leash, I doubt I would ever have caught it. And it’s a long, sharky swim to the beach. The leash made it possible for me to recover the water bottles without fear of losing sight of the paddleboard. So, fortunately, I recovered quickly, with water bottles. And later, when another wall approached, I got it right. Like I said, focus.

I still felt good enough at the end to finish strong (a relative term). But I was ready to get that recovery drink down, and get back to feeling normal.

I’m not in the finish-in 2-hours (or so) club. I’m coming in at around 3 hours, give or take. So, it was great to get to the beach and see all that talent hanging around to welcome and visit with the rest of us.  

But I did come in on the tail of Phil Curtis. When we got to Steamer Lane, Phil took an inside line, while I stayed outside the kelp. Phil was with two SUPs. I shoulda figured they could see it was clear and joined them. At the end of the day, Phil beat me and my unlimited on his 14-foot (somewhat vintage) Eaton. Phil's clearly the better man!

The race organizers nearly all paddle the race. Here's Zach Wormoudt, who came in way ahead of me on his SUP.

Here are a couple more friends ...

Reno Caldwell, the Redondo Rocket, nailed a podium finish.

Mike Dilloughery greets Jarret Winter. Mike couldn't do this one.

The after-party was just packed, and it seemed to me no one left until the end. I caught up with friends, and left with a hoarse voice, smiling ear-to-ear.

Which is to say: this is as much about those friends we get to check in with as it is about the paddling.