June racing recap

June started out with the Endless SUP Race 6 Mile ocean race down in Bradley Beach, New Jersey.  This was a WPA region 8 championship race. I entered both the 1 mile sprint race, and 6 mile ocean elite race. I placed 4th in the sprint race behind top California pro racers Chuck Patterson, Thomas Maximus, and Brandon Rambo. The top 5 guys were all on 14' boards. The course was technical with 4 buoy turns and 2 laps to the finish.

Kialoa and 404 sup team rider  Women's winner Dani Schmidt and I

I had a bad start in the 6 mile race, but managed to get close to the lead pack which again was Chuck, Thomas, and Brandon. They maintained a fast pace for the whole race. I tried my best to catch up to their draft train, but I was stoked to place 4th behind those 3 guys who are all awesome paddlers. My finishing time was 1:16:25 

On June 21st I headed over to Wainscott for Main Beach's Paddle for Humanity 6.5 mile ocean race. The race was originally planned as a downwinder, but wound up being a upwinder going west to east ending in Amagansett.  2 top Northeast racers Lars Svanberg and Andrew Glidden along with myself formed a draft train that lasted a good portion of the race. Towards the finish I was able to break away and take the win. 

 At the end of June, I headed up to Rhode Island for the Narragansett Bay SUP championship race. The conditions were perfect with very light winds. I tried my best to catch up to New England's best racer and shaper Patrick Broemmel. I was stoked to place 2nd.