1st place at the 19.5 mile Great Peconic Race

On Sunday September 14th, I headed over to Shelter Island for the Inaugural Great Peconic Race. I was prepared to paddle a long distance, but I had never circumnavigated Shelter Island. The wind was out of the North-North West and blowing around 20 mph. I knew I was going to have to paddle against the wind at a few long stretches along the course. Going clockwise around the Island was the final call. The toughest parts were on  the west side of the island going south to north,  and the north side of the island heading east; where I encountered strong headwinds and gnarly side chop. On the East side of the island I was able to catch a lot of downwind bumps. I got off the starting line fast and  was able to hold the lead for the whole race.  I was super stoked and exhausted at the finish, and beyond happy to take the win. My finishing time was 03:38:35.