Santa Barbara hosted their OC1/Surfski race yesterday. It was good to see everyone after several months of being off the water.The first thing I noticed when I jumped out of the truck was that I shouldn’t have been wearing my slippers.The cold air made my toes curl up.Unloading boats in a cold draft in slippers is not fun.At least we didn’t stand around talking, because we had to keep unloading to keep our minds off of the cold.
Ah but the morning sun soon broke over the Santa Barbara mountains and we bathed in it’s glorious rays.That’s when all bitching stopped and the fun began.
In clear weather we raced under bright skies and unfortunately very flat water.But hey, two out of three, you can’t have everything.
It seemed as though everyone was just getting back in shape after the long holiday season.Some were there for the race; some were there for the workout.Julie Wolfe who came in second to Vicki Mills said that she tried, but couldn’t catch Vicki, who claimed she hadn’t be working out.That was depressing to Juli. One could read our minds as we thought, “What happens when she does workout?”
Brian Dempsey and Al. "Senior men of the sea"
Bryan Mack and Charlie Banfield paired up and easily took first in the OC2 division, but not without everyone taunting them.Up front Danny Ching led the OC1s wire to wire picking off surf skiers.He has been following his Doctor Sylva’s regiment, rehabilitating in the gym.Meanwhile Justin Banfield held second most of the race until he had to stop to remove some kelp.That’s when Dave Spitzer made his move and jumped to second place, holding it all the way to the finish.
Danny racing in his demo "Pink" boat and "Red stained" paddle...... Cute!
I had a tight race against the guys around me. This being my first race of the season, I concentrated on the catch for a solid connection to the water. Watching the bow wake rise and fall I could feel the boat run if everything was right. At the turn I cranked it up a notch as the competition around me heated up. We became natural speedometers to each other as our pace grew with intensity. In a flurry of activity we finished within a few seconds of each other after keeping abreast the entire race.I doubt if I’ll ever master the art of drinking water while racing. Okay, so you say drink while on a bump.... What bump? Some days the only bump we experience is the bump against the dock after the race. Everyone has to drink eventually, which means holding your breath while sucking from a long tube and swallowing.A good swallow takes about 8 seconds. Anarobically 8 seconds is an eternity. Many times in your haste, you swallow air too and have to burp. (add 2 seconds) Meanwhile you're you’re slowly choking and turning blue.By the time you take your first full breath you’re gasping for air and your rhythm has fallen apart.
Racing for the finish skier-Mick Handy, the Bobers, Randy Wise, Dave Spitzer and Justin Banfield.
After the race Johnny Puakea and Danny Ching gave an hour seminar on OC1 technique in an interesting question and answer discussion.There will be more to come on their seminars this OC1 season, which will involve personal hands on instructions with videos.
Johnny Puakea emphasing his ideas with great hand motions.
Thanks to Santa Barbara for hosting the race.The Chili was my favorite.Thanks everyone for coming.Hope to see you all at the Hanohano race coming soon at San Diego.It usually is attended by a very large contingency of OC1 paddlers, paddle boarders, surf skiers and stand-ups and juniors in K1s.We know it’ll be a fun day.There’s always good food, lots of vendors selling shirts, racing gear and prizes for all.
See the Official Socal Website for more details and for official results.
MahaloAl
Definition of Gross motor skills...Balancing a surfski on your head after racing 5-miles.
