Dana Point, California. This year all we packed for the worlds largest paddle board event the – “Battle of the Paddle” was a Starboard ASTRO Race inflatable! A last minute travel decision made by a set of hurricanes hitting each side of Mexico hindered our interior travel plans, a new mission emerged…A last minute Race test for one of our best selling products, at the biggest paddle race in the world!
Car was loaded kids packed up and the road trip began… YEHAW! out of the heat!! into the cold!! California here we come!! we arrived Friday to Dana Point…and the event was in full swing.. Hawaiian music playing rows of manufacturers stands full of race boards and paddles and all the fastest paddlers in the world…we checked in at the Starboard tent to wish Connor, Annabelle, and Zane good luck and take a quick look of their latest prototypes…WOW yet again, complete redesigns for 2014, why would we expect anything less!
As i prepared for the OPEN Race the ELITE heats were running, and it was the who’s who of modern day paddle warrriors..! The Elite Final was going to be a battle like no other.. some waves were starting to show up…
The Open Race course this year was 4 laps around a one mile course more than 600 people registered..! WOW this was the most crowded race i have ever seen and experienced and it was great! Perfect testing grounds for the ASTRO RACE!
A staggered start…i squeeze my way through the sea of competitors to find my spot felling a bit nervous at 9:30 sharp the unlimited class starts.. a hand full of beautiful 17 and 18+ foot boards, and our friend John Clark!! GO John! then the 14 footers a wave of paddlers flock to the water… and then our class…a tense minute.. a few butterflies and bang! the mass exodus of 12’6 SUP’s… i had a great start… got though the waves and paced to the first buoy…there were so many SUP’s!..
i found my self smack dab in the middle of 200+ paddlers.. elbows flailing..! I couldn’t even see the water! several attempt to set my blade, bouncing off other competitors boards, each catch was like prying open a can of tuna..! the wave of people making the buoy turn was a magic carpet ride, i was being turned by the force of of the group.. i could of ran across the nose of everyones board and touched the buoy!!
The inflatable board worked like a charm padding my contact with the mass movement, after rounding the corner i noticed a few other inflatables and we became connected, smiling at each other and offering motivational grunts!
The speedy unlimited class pass flew by and on my last lap, when i saw an amazing site.. a SUP’er in a wheel chair paddling his way around the course…amazing.. i felt a new surge of energy and smiled! …….
it was windy and Choppy but I didn’t fall, i felt stable on the ASTRO and was impressed with the pace that i could keep, holding my ground with the rigid boards! just a few meters before the finish line, i caught a wave with two other boards, and in BOP fashion we collided and fell in the water… WOOOO it was so cold that my tired muscles wanted to freeze up! When i looked up i realized that my board was still surfing the wave in so i swam a few strokes.. and ran up the beach to the finish line… SO FUN!!
a big smile… it was an incredible experience.. Ill be back next year!!
Board rating – 5 stars… to anyone who is traveling and racing or recreational paddling this board is an amazing option. No extra baggage fee on airplane and it is a great travel companion… the board was amazingly stiff and fast, the 6” thick construction gives it plenty of stability for its narrow 26” width. The full line of ASTRO inflatables is available on our website www.paddlesurfmexico, or at our shop Pacific Paddle.
Besos XOXO Vero..
Here are some of next years prototype race boards..!
The new All Star…
The new Sprint…
The new Unlimited…