Spring race recap

In May the race season in the northeast started with Main Beach's Paddle for the Baykeeper. The conditions in Sag Harbor were  ideal with light winds. I placed 3rd in the 6 mile mile triangle race course.

I had a couple weeks off to train. Then I headed up to Newport, Rhode Island for the Newport Harbor SUP classic. There were strong headwinds, side chop, and downwind bumps throughout the 5 mile race course. I was stoked to place 1st and head back to Montauk with a win.

At the end of May, I headed up to Connecticut for the Soundsurfer waterman's challenge with the Kialoa NE regional team and Kostal Paddle team.  Race conditions were windy out the 7 mile race course on Long Island sound. I was happy to place 4th overall and 3rd in my division behind 2 top california pro racers. 

Getting on board with Kialoa and Cobian!

 In July, I was very fortunate and grateful  to join the  Kialoa 'Elele family and Cobian footwear family. The feel of the Kialoa Hulu ultralight paddle in the water is like nothing else. It releases with ease and holds true water with amazing energy and power. I am stoked to be a Kialoa 'Elele team. In addition, I am honored to be on the Cobian sup footwear team. I wear the new Draino sandals everywhere I go, hands down the most comfortable sandals out there.

New NSP Race Board

In July, I got on the New NSP Dale Chapman 14'x25" Ocean Race Pro Limited Edition brushed carbon fiber race board. This board is a bullet, with a snub nose and semi-displacement roll to vee bottom, and rocker that catches long glides on  downwinders. So Stoked.

Ed Gerbino who is the East Coast Territory Manager for Global Surf Industries/NSP has supported me the past few race seasons, providing me with the fastest, lightest, and stiffest race boards on the water. I am beyond grateful and stoked to be on these race boards. After todays win (which I will post on the blog asap) I have 14 - 1st place wins on the 14'x26" and 14'x25" Dale Chapman brushed carbon fiber race boards.  Ed is a Long Island native like myself and the most stoked person I have ever met.

Road trip down to the Carolina Cup

After getting back from Puerto Rico in April, I rested up and prepared for the Carolina Cup. I hooked up with team Kostal Paddle in Port Washington, NY, packed up the truck and headed down to Wrightsville beach, North Carolina. We had a lay day on Friday and tested out some boards on the bay side of the race venue. Demo tents from pretty much every board and paddle company were set up. The weather for the weekend was ideal for racing; sunny with light winds. JM and I decided to enter the Graveyard elite 13.2 mile race as a relay team. JM started the first leg which was 4 miles, and I did the 2nd 9 mile stretch. We won the relay and spent the rest of the day celebrating with friends on the beach. We also got  to hang and chat with NSP team rider Travis Grant who placed 3rd. All around awesome race and experience.

10,000 miles and beyond, finally back!

It's been way too long since I last updated, but I'm back. In April, team Kostal Paddle and myself headed down to Puerto Rico for the Rincon Beach Boy Classic 8 mile race. We went down with our paddles but didn't take our boards along. We knew the board fees would be expensive and we flew down kinda last minute. The first day we surfed for 5 hours straight at Maria's. I went to bed stoked and excited to race in the morning. Race day started out a bit hectic as I scrambled to get a 12'6" infinity board, and didn't have time to practice on it. I know realize that it's hard to race on borrowed equipment. I didn't get to feel out the board under my feet until 15 minutes prior to the race start. The conditions were windy especially as I approached the first turn buoy out in front of Maria's and Domes. I finished 12th in the 12'6" division with a time of 1:30:22. The race organizers and venue were spot on. After the race there was live music, good food, and great vibes all around.