3rd place at Paddle for the Bays Race in Cape Cod

At the end of September, I headed north up to Massachusetts for the Paddle for the Bays: Race Cape Cod. This was a 10 mile, 2 lap race around an island in Cotuit Bay. The conditions were similar to last year, with winds around 12-15 mph. Patrick Broemmel, and I tied for 1st last year, in a photo finish. I was focused, and really wanted to win. Patrick, Travis Hayes, Chris Begg, and I broke away from the main pack and we each took our own lines since drafting was not allowed.  The strongest winds were on the east side of the island, where we all battled headwinds. Patrick took off and finished 1st. I came in third behind Travis. It was awesome racing against these guys, and getting pushed to paddle my hardest. I was stoked to beat last years time by over 7 minutes.