Records shattered in Steinlager Catalina Challenge - Apr 3

[Results]
[Mudbrook Paddles Article] by Al Ching
read more for article by Chris O'Kieffe

What a weekend for the eighth running of the Catalina Challenge. On my last post I forecasted 15 knot winds out of the north west for race day, Many, if not all, were calling Bull $#@!. The escort boats had great runs out to the island with tail winds and flat seas. Saturday was HOT and calm. Not what you want for a long California paddle. When we awoke Sunday morning it was calm in Avalon, however you could see the upper clouds moving. There would be wind outside the shadow of the island. With quite a buzz around Avalon as paddlers prepared for the start and conditions looking to be great you had to ask yourself, Would this be the year that we finally have the conditions we hope and pray for?

8:30 AM. It is the first heat of paddlers, No paddles just hands. Two hardcore teams of paddle-boarders will start out the 2005 Catalina Challenge. The race starts like no other I have ever seen, I pull the racers to the start, they shake hands and I send them off. No running start, no jockeying for position, it was beautiful. The first few minutes kept them side by side, talking a bit, I wondered if they were going to race or keep this pace. Then it happened, It was not going to be race against the other team, It would be against the clock, The team of Nathan Shore, George Loren and Chad Feiler started to pull away. Past the shadow of the island they were getting some really good runs, the winds were at their backs and the bumps were running, How fast can the first team to do the relay on a paddle-board? 6:46:43. 9:00 AM, The second heat of paddlers is the OC-1 and OC-2 Women and mixed crews. 11 boats take the line, and without incident they are off, The team of Jill Schooler and Jeane Barrett break away early with the OC-2 women's crew of Elaine Kasper, Phaedra Arellano, Meg Jones, and Sabrina Schwanebeck. The rough conditions made dry changes tough in the OC-2 and allow Jill and Jeane to pull away. They will three-peat as champions of the Catalina Challenge, setting a new women's record of 5:46:22 crushing their previous record of 5:59:44. Nice job Ladies.

9:00 was also the start of Mixed OC-2. It was a close race all the way across, In the end it was Janelle Jinbo, Katy Arnold, Mirko, and Jim Purkell taking the win with a time of 6:01:58.

9:30 AM Mens OC-1 Start. 26 boats take the line, As usual there are a few that think they can win a 40 mile race by getting a few extra strokes in at the start, However they are kept behind the starting line and sent off with out incident. 15 minutes into the race the pack is still pretty tight, a few are dropped however about five teams stay very close all the way across matching each others moves waiting for an opportunity to get ahead, Leading the pack and taking the win line to line was the Team of George Leslie of Oahu and Travis Grant from Australia. In a winning time and new course record of 5:01:00, another crushing of the previous course record of 5:12:22 set in 1999 by Walter Guild and Mike Judd. Although George and Travis went wire to wire they never had time to relax, Any mistake could cost them the race. The team of Dan Barbosa and Steve Sinkus was always right behind finishing just 1:42 behind, Luke Evslin and Kelly foster came in Third with a time of 5:08:32.

The best race of the may have been between the teams of Mike Eisert and Scott Granger against Josh Crayton and Bubba Parker, Side by side, lead change after lead change their race came down to the final mile up the harbor to the finish, Bubba had Scott at the buoy, Scott would not give up and was able to get by Bubba and take the lead finishing about two lengths ahead. with a time of 5:09::23 New Masters record. As bubba pulled his boat from the water he told me "that was the hardest race of my life, And it was the funest race of my life".

Another new division added this year was the Men's and Women's OC-1 three person teams. Added as a way to get the intermediate paddler that does not feel comfortable with the distance or hasn't put in the water time and just wants to have fun, As was the case for the Team of Craig Williams, Alan Horn and Tim Dougherty, Tim has run as well as raced in this event since it's start in 1998. This year as he handed over the reigns to me he wanted to relax and really enjoy the race. They finished in 5:27:15 setting the mark for next year. The Women's OC1 3/team was won by Shien-lu Stoke, Andrea Conrad, Agnes Regeczkey there winning time was 6:16:25.

10:00 AM Our last heat of boats is the Men's OC-2 division A strong field of six boats. No Strangers to this event the win was taken by Casey Owens, Kevin Allen, Tom Allen, and Ian Forester. Their time was just 27 seconds off the record at 5:00:42. The big news from this race was the second place finish of Alex Buffalini, Mouslly Palacios, Nick Bersudskiy, and Jimi Spoto. Their oldest member is just 18 years old, They have been paddling hard for several years from NAC with their Coach Sam Coach. We will see these guys again and watch, they have youth on their side, something many of us don't. we rely on smarts, and that is going as well.

In the end we had a total of 45 teams, and 117 paddlers, a great turn out with great conditions to finish out our 2004/2005 season. I want to thank our sponsors for this event, Without sponsors events like these would not be possible. Patagonia is getting into the Outrigger world in a big way, sponsoring many Events, teams, and individuals. Patagonia really stepped up for us this year donating all the Capeline race jerseys which was a huge hit with the paddlers. Kialoa Canoe paddles, Native Eyewear, Eyecatcher Sunglasses, Hurricane Outrigger, Hawaiian Airlines, Mauna Kai, and Hennessey's Tavern were also big sponsors for the event, We appreciate all of their support. The next time your shopping for a new paddle, clothing, eyewear, or travel please remember those company's that support you and the sport you love.

Aloha,
Chris O'Kieffe
Ocean Ohana
858.270.8922
www.oceanohana.com

Posted by keizo on Mon, 04/04/2005 - 6:02pm