Tuesday Night SUP Race @ Deep Cove Kayak Recap
Deep Cove Kayak put on a great race this past Tuesday down in the Cove and everything (well, aside from my time) exceeded expectations! Conditions were exceptional, turnout was outstanding, and the vibe was super friendly.
The race was held in conjunction with Deep Cove Kayak’s regular Tuesday Night Race Series, with SUP being the featured event for the night and it was their best SUP turn out to a race by far, with 27 ready and stoked stand up paddlers.
The Stand Up Paddleboard course starting off at Deep Cove, around South to Grey Rocks Island, across to Hamber Island just off Belcarra, then back into Deep Cove for an approximate 4.6km round trip.
For those not familiar with the area, here’s a map with my GPS route overlay:
This was my first time participating in a Stand Up Paddleboard race and I now know I’ve got a fair bit of work to do if I want to get competitive. Racing definitely takes a different mindset and level of fitness from recreational paddling so our typical flatwater “training” regimen of stopping here and there along the way to take in the views, wasn’t all that applicable to a racing scenario.
Not saying that you needed to be fast to have fun as there were a ton of paddlers out there taking it mellow and having a good time, but the experience just showed me that there’s another level of speed to these boards and with some hard work, I might be able to get onto the podium too one of these days… Eventually… Maybe.
Anyways, I raced in the unlimited class with my Starboard K15, along with three other racers on K15’s, one guy on a beauty 14′ Ron House Full Carbon and a fifth racer on a Naish Glide. Amongst the unlimited racers I swept up last place but had a great time doing it and look forward to improving next time.
Bob Putnam from Deep Cove Kayak got pretty much holeshot from the start and maintained it throughout the race, followed by Tyler Massey and Daryl Remmler.
Kelvin Humenny blazed the stock 12’6 class with his beautiful hand built wooden 12’1 SUP and paddle. The rest of the stock class was made up of a wide variety of boards, tons of Starboard Blends, Cruisers, and Pins. Also saw a few Jimmy Styks, a Walden 10’10, even an old windsurfer or two… Whatever was available to get out there and have fun!
Lina Augaitis placed second and Ken Stobbart from Trident Sports placed third, both on Starboard Pins, rounded out the top three in the stock 12’6 division.
Here are the complete, unsorted results:
1 Medland Mike 2834 M 12 42.48 PRONE 2 Augaitis Lina 2797 F 12'6 34.05 REG 3 Langford Angela 2884 F 12 37.47 REG 4 Mauriks Diana 2802 F 11'3 38.59 REG 5 Sol Adrienne 2827 F 12'6 45.51 REG 6 McLean Erica 2163 F 12'6 51.49 REG 7 McLean Brenda 2814 F 10 53.25 REG 8 Humenny Kelvin M 12 33.39 REG 9 Williams Brett 2832 M 12'6 37.46 REG 10 Day Garth 2782 M 12'6 38.10 REG 11 Stobbart Ken 2835 M 12 39.24 REG 12 Rollings Dale 2840 M 12 39.33 REG 13 Mortimer-Lamb Andrew 2844 M 11'6 39.39 REG 14 Shwartz Corry 2731 M 11 41.33 REG 15 Matheson Ian 2793 M 10'10 42.12 REG 16 Smith Zac 2816 M 12 43.29 REG 17 Holmes Alan 2843 M 11'6 43.50 REG 18 Stanley Dalen 2833 M 12 45.41 REG 19 Wrohen Adam 2825 M 12 47.21 REG 20 Putnam Bob M K15 31.28 UNLIMITED 21 Massey Tyler 2817 M 14 32.08 UNLIMITED 22 Remmler Daryl M K15 32.34 UNLIMITED 23 Santaga Mitchell 2763 M 14 33.45 UNLIMITED 24 Sacré Declan 2830 M 15 34.09 UNLIMITED 25 Fulde Taylor 2858 M 15 35.00 UNLIMITED 26 Williams Peter 2831 M 14 UNLIMITED
The event wrapped up at The Raven with beers, burgers, video recap on the TV’s and lots of socializing amongst the racers. What was great to see is how friendly the SUP scene is becoming here in Vancouver. A lot of the guys know one another from past races and other sports, but those that are new to the game were welcomed as part of the team, and all was very cool and friendly across the board… Hoping that continues for sure!
Thanks again to Bob and his team at Deep Cove Kayak and on that note be sure to read his recap of the race as well!
Everyone I spoke to is stoked for the next race and if you didn’t make it this week, be sure to get it on your calendar for next week as they will be running SUP races alongside their Tuesday Night Races every week here on in.
