Port Mann Bridge from a new perspective

Friday we had a little house re warming party! Andrew spent the last 1.5 months building, creating, and fixing our little home. Check out his blog for PICS etc
www.andrew-in-bc.blogspot.com

SUP and Port Mann Bridge

Saturday morning we joined Johnny and Marc on the Fraser River. It was pouring down with rain so out of our sport options paddling seemed like the most sense AND Johnny thought of a cool adventure. I am always up for exploring new places... I wanted to get out for a SUP anyways and paddling with others is always more fun! Johnny and Andrew were in Johnny's skin on frame canoe, Marc was in the evo surfski and I was on my Starboard BOP SUP. We were quite the scene launching out near a construction site underneath the Port Mann Bridge! We headed not too far upstream into the Coquitlam River. Here we paddled until basically the current got too strong for us to make significant headway. I kept getting little waves of dizziness whenever I looked down as we were heading the opposite way to the current and it was fairly shallow waters so I could see the bottom rushing past in a weird direction.... it was kind of trippy! I was enjoying the "resistance training" of the current and also trying to keep up with a surfski:)  The paddle down the Coquitlam was much quicker than going upstream... we explored the Fraser river some and then headed back under the Port Mann and took some time looking up through the gaps of the bridge... again definitely a little tipsy standing on a river looking up at traffic whizzing overhead:)

MORE PICS HERE

Saturday evening we enjoyed some Halloween celebrations and after a well needed lie in, on Sunday afternoon we headed out to Cypress to explore some new trails. We decided to only take our running shoes as we weren't too sure where the trails we were looking for were and in what condition they might be in! We managed to be out there for about 3 hours and found some trails but not the one we were looking for:) We will be back as it is a whole new area of trails that we have yet to discover/ride/enjoy:)

Sunday night I got called into Deep Cove to guide a full moon tour! Love the full moon tours!!!! Sunday ended up being a wonderful day that we spent in the outdoors:)

Now, it is time for my body and mind to get prepared for the last BIG SUP race in awhile.... Off to Mexico to battle it out at the Hennessey's World Champs!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!
lina

Doing many different things......

I've been busy in a really good way lately!

I have missed out on writing about some recent adventures so I am going to summarize.  Adventures keep popping up lately and I am loving it but its tough sometimes to keep on top of all of the other smaller but really important parts of life:)

Winthrop Thanksgiving weekend

The crew at the top of Angels Staircase

Biking the ridge of Angel Staircase

There was lots and lots of sunshine... lots and lots of really great mtn biking, lots and lots of amazing food.... fun people, slacklining, and good times.
We rode 4 days: all over the area of Winthrop and still managed to ride some trails that we had never rode before.  We also rode some of my favorite classics like Cutthroat and Angels Staircase.
I am one for traditions and this is one tradition I hope we keep alive for a long time coming. THANK YOU Chris's parents for lending us your cabin for a weekend, WE LOVE IT there! I also love it when you bump into someone on top of a mountain in the middle of what feels like nowhere... Great to have bumped into you Dale! It truly is a small world...

Andrew at top of Cut Throat Pass

Me biking down Cutthroat Trail

me slacklining behind the house

andrew and I at the top of Angel Staircase hike a bike

I got to finish the weekend off with a SUP in Bellingham Bay. Andrew dropped me off and I paddled the bay and he picked me up about 45 minutes later! It was great to beable to get out for a little paddle. I was on the Starboard Astro Blend Inflatable SUP board! Great for packing it up in a small space and quick to pump up and put together!

Bellingham SUP

Bellingham SUP

Bellingham SUP

Slipstream 90 Hour Wilderness First Aid Course
Following a great weekend of mtn biking, food, and friends I headed straight into a 9 day intensive wilderness first aid course. The days were long, the information plentiful but interesting and useful, and the nights full of readings and review. Although it was intense and tiring it was a great course. I met some really awesome people and learned a lot about myself and first aid! A double winner in my books! I just have to finish an online multiple choice test and I am officially done...well for the next 3 years at least! I totally recommend Slipstream if you are ever thinking of doing a more intense first aid course!

Birthday SUP Surf weekend in Tofino

Birthday at Chesterman Beach

I wanted to go surfing for my birthday. My birthday happened to have landed on a friday and I managed to get that friday off from work.... SO, Andrew organized a birthday weekend in Tofino. Its a process getting over there.... the ferry line up, and the ferry itself, then the drive across the island. Luckily, it was worth it:) We got three days of mix of sun and rain, and am happy to say it was mostly sun! The waves were a perfect size for Andrew and I. Thank you Trident Sports for lending us the boards. I really love surfing on the Starboard Whopper board. We also had a Starboard Blend and Andrew was looking solid out there on that board! We stayed at a greta little guest house called Tofino Travellers. It was very peaceful and FUN! It was just what I needed after a long 10 days of class! THANKS ANDREW for the perfect birthday weekend!

my mad skills:)

Now, its time to gather my thoughts, do some soul searching, and figure out what is next for me. I have many ideas and desires but they are a little unfocused, and I can't do it all in one go. I have to pick and choose and frankly I find the choosing tough... tough when there are many great choices and I have no real indication what the outcomes of each choice can be.....

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point California

View from the Starboard team House. I heart beaches

When I came back on the scene of SUP after a year away in China.... The BOP was not on my list of races to do this fall. I knew I hadn't surfed since probably two years ago and so much of the race depends on the ability to read waves, catch them and ride them.... The BOP is a really great event but it does cost A LOT of money to enter the races. I spent money on getting there etc but I still couldn't bring myself to lay down the $$$ for the elite short course. I just wasnt mentally confident enough to regularly catch and surf in waves most of the time. Right now catching and surfing a wave is more in the hands of chance than skill. I am hoping to practice surfing throughout the winter and change this.... So, the money bothered me BUT I wanted to be on that start line up BUT it would show me nothing other than I could finish and I know I could finish.hmmm... I had to make a choice....

lots of people on the water...

The OPEN race.
A whole bunch of craziness!!!!! What happens when 400 paddlers paddle around a circle five times?.... I think you need to experience it yourself to fully understand. Some called it a huge human whirlpool and others just plain chaos....
At the start of the race, I didn't even get butterflies in my stomach.... no pressure, no tension, no nervousness (other than not really understanding how it would actually work with so many paddlers out on the water at the same time?!?... ) The start signal went and I just hammered away.. I wanted to sprint out of the mess from the start:)  Luckily we only had a minimal amount of small surf breaks to get out to the first bouy, unluckily for some paddlers they managed to get caught in a big pile of a mess around the first bouy... I stayed WIDE and far away from that scene as I didn't want any part of that. I consistently paid attention to others and tried to react to their movements in order for me to stay upright and not get caught in a battle field of people and boards. I did fairly well until on the last length a man in front of me fell and tipped me in.... oh well... its all part of the game!...and then again I fell on a wave riding in to shore but did manage to catch the next one and rolled in with the ever so famous Gerry Lopez. I found myself with a first place prize and my confidence boosted!  I was on a Starboard carbon BOP 12'6x26.5 board. A board I enjoy in the chop and swell. I find the BOP board light and stable yet maneuverable. It was my first race with my new Werner Grand Prix Paddle and so far it felt good in my hands. The shaft is slightly longer than I am used to and I think it helped with my reach which is great!  It is super light weight and think it definitely helped me get out in front throughout the start of the race.

Start of Open Race Photo by Jason Lexa

Open race madness Photo by Jason Lexa

Photo by Shannon Bell Running in with Gerry Lopez in the background!

winning my 1st place prize for Open race with Sparky and Gerry Lopez

Karly and I with our prizes. Photo by Mike Darbyshire

Open Race Award

The DISTANCE race.
Coming into the BOP event I knew the distance race was the event where I had a better chance to flourish and really test myself against the best. Less luck would be involved and more just hard good ol fashion grit and mental tenacity. I kind of expected to finish somewhere around maybe 10th or so and would have been content with a top 10 placing among the elite women. The start was a water start and it was a little mental with people sneaking forward, the officials making people move back, forced to sit, and the skidoos infront of the line making waves and then somewhere in the mix of all that there was a GO! and...we were off. I truly just concentrated on my stroke, my balance, my hydration and going in the right direction. Once we started, the waves and people made it too difficult to concentrate on anything else but staying upright on my board. After the first few minutes of banging boards and crazy waters I kind of fell into a rhythm... I looked up and then saw Jenny Kambalch, a truly accomplished SUP racer right there beside me.. My first thoughts were "oh she must be having a bad day cause I am so close to her"... I then saw Brandi Baksic, another amazing SUP racer, just ahead and got some jitters as I realized it would be kind of unlikely that they both were having bad days at the same time...maybe I was having a good day:) So, I got on the end of the drafting train behind Jenny and some boys. In this race anyone could draft anyone.... I was gettting excited and maybe got a little too exctied because the next thing I knew I was in the water and the fast train had just pulled away from me :( I shook it off and got back on my board and just put my head down and started to paddle again.  I got some drafting here and there but it seemed as though I was in an empty space with not too many guys or gals really around to draft.... hmmm... I sipped my NUUN more than usual... the heat was getting to me and my stomach was growling. The water was tough throughout the entire course, swell and random chop made it tough to keep a straight line. I rarely get sore legs but I was feeling it with all the micro movements needed to stay on top of the water rather than in the water. Slowly though I could see Jenny and Brandi and their clan moving farther and farther away from me. It was frustrating as drafting really does help and there just wasn't a train for me so on I pushed by myself. I rounded the last bouy and sort of luckily for me I was in between sets. This did mean I had to paddle all the way into shore without a free ride form a wave but it also meant no carnage...:) My Werner Grand Prix helped me paddle hard into shore. I proudly found out I was the 5th girl across the line. 5th elite women!  It felt really good. I am totally stoked!

Comin in at the end of Distance Race photo:Jason Lexa

Distance Race photo: jason Lexa

Running into 5th place women elite photo:Jason Lexa

Pretty Stoked after the distance race photo: Jason Lexa

I heart Team Canada! Mike Darbyshire, Norm Hann, Gary Parsons and myself created a Team Canada for the relay race. We raced on a starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon board. I wanted a leash so Mike D created a system that I could take on and off the board as the other badass surfers didnt need one! One day maybe I will be confident enough in the surf that I won't need a leash either:) I loved the relay race! The carnage, the crowds, the team aspect... all of it! Team Canada came in 10th out of about 50 teams! YAY CANADA!

Team Canada Relay Team: Gary, Mike, me, Norm photo by Karly Cox

Me waiting my turn photo by Karly Cox

Mike running photo by Karly Cox

Gary photo: Karly Cox

Heading out to paddle photo: Karly Cox

most of the Canadians at BOP but not all... CANADA ROCKS!

A BIG THANK YOU to
*Trident Sports and Starboard for helping me out with boards and accomodations and for being a really fun cool team to hand out with!
*Nikki Rekman sales and Werner Paddles for providing me with a stellar Grand Prix Paddle that helped me get to where I needed to get to(start line to finish line..) quickly!
*Ryders Eyewear for protecting my eyes while chillin on the beach and at the beer tent:)
*Laiph Clothing for bringing me on as an ambassador to what seems to be an amazing team. I look forward to being part of the team!
*Mike Darbyshire for driving us around and just being awesome
*Dan Gavere for organizing us athletes getting us boards, food, and ensuring we were having a good time
*All the amazing people, the community, and the stoke!
*ANDREW my hubby for encouraging me to go to the race and being awesome in every way possible! LOVE YOU

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

Triple Crown on Saturday? Why Not? SUp race on Sunday: should be interesting... Funfilled weekend of outdoor fun!

This week has been GORGEOUS! Wow Vancouver is beautiful in the sun and there just isn't enough daylight to stack everything you want to do in a day. I was lucky enough to be working outdoors at Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks all week. I was teaching SUP and taking people out on kayak tours and got to guide students from Mulgrave School for a wonderful three day adventure on the Indian Arm. Upon my return on Friday Andrew invited me to join him and Paul on a local adventure for Saturday. We were to climb and descend all three local mountains on bikes in one day....


Triple Crown

start

climbing my seymour

top of mt seymour

We met at 8:30am at John Henry Bikes. We started off with riding our road bikes to the water for a true beginning of the sea level to mountain top ride. We first rode to the top of Mt Seymour. We all felt good, chatting away. We were a funny crowd: Paul looked like a road biker with the proper attire and bike, I was half way there with the carbon bike and spandex but sort of ruined it with my camelback, Brooks seat, and mtn bike bike shoes, and Andrew looked like a commuter on his frame he welded himself, straight bars, handlebar pouch, baggy shorts, and mtn bike bike shoes!.... I was drinking nuun and had some trail mix as my food/nutrition while riding. It seemed like the ride up Seymour was easy with all the chatting and sunny weather. I get nervous on steep curvy descents on my skinny road bike tires so I let the boys go ahead while I enjoyed using my brakes!

climbing the last bit of Grouse

Top of Grouse

Following some cinnamon buns and lunch at the car we switched bikes and headed up Mountain Highway to get to the top of Grouse/Fromme. We rode up the road until it switched to gravel, a place we were familiar with as it is where we have ridden many times for mtn biking.  We then past the highest trail all the way to the very top of Grouse resort and onto the top of the peak chair near the windwheel. Grouse was rockin with tourists and tourist attractions from ziplines, to bear and log shows, paragliding, and hiking! We took a quick break and then made our way back down the mountain. I managed to fall on some of the gravel road so felt a little shaken and passed on the first actual trail down (the boys rode seventh) but then joined the boys down bobsleigh and then all the way back down to the water/cars.

Top of Cypress

We took another food break and switched bikes for the final mountain: Cypress.. It was the farthest one out of town and had quite the climb from the water to the highway. Once on the hill climb I was starting to feel little pains in my back and neck... I needed a couple of quick breaks to get things stretched out.. Paul was a machine and zoomed ahead while Andrew and I plugged away pedal stroke by pedal stroke. It was very rewarding making it to the top and I was getting excited for our celebratory beer and food but we were still quite a ways from our car... we needed to get all the way down and across the north shore..... After a quick stop at Ambleside we finally made it to our cars at about 7pm! LONG DAY! It was about 10 hours and 20 minutes 3200m elevationa and about 140km in length! WHOA! I feel like I am now part of a special club.... Another CHECK OFF THE BUCKETLIST for sure!

Ambleside Beach

In hopes of a quick recovery I kept myself hydrated with NUUN and beer! and filled my tummy with delicious Banditas burito! I wasn't too sure what else to do? I needed to recover quickly: in 14 hours I had a 15km SUp race.... I figured food and whatever rest I could get would be the best thing....

Pictures by Paul (thanks!) and a write up by Paul HERE

Board the Fjord SUP race
The wake up call came and I was nervous to see how my body felt. I surprisingly felt pretty good, just a little tired and really hungry.  After coffee and some granola, fruit and yogurt, we were off. Andrew being the best hubby in the world dropped me off in Deep Cove. I kept hydrating with nuun throughout the morning and ate a banana about 30 minutes before race start as I remembered getting really hungry during round the rock last weekend. Following the race briefing I jumped on my Starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon board (Thanks Trident Sports!) and did a little warm up paddle. It was flat out there... there were 8 females in the 12'6 category so some competition to be had! It was gonna be a constant push all the way to the end on the flat water.... I found my start position just beside the dragon boats... I was happy with that as there weren't too many people right around me and thus less chance of bump and grinding off the start line. I had a decent start and managed to stay in front of most of the mess. I found myself a rhythm and went at it. Being on a 12'6 board I was naturally slower than the 14s but still I found myself surrounded by a bunch of 14 boards which is cool. Eventually the pack spread out and I was kind of on my own for most of the race. Not having anyone around to chase or get chased by I did find myself day dreaming a little but was able to snap myself back in the game once I realized I was thinking about other things. The body felt alright, my back was a little sore throughout the race which was definitely from biking as I have never really experienced back pain in SUP race, and my arms felt a little more tired than normal but the legs weren't as shaky as I thought they would be and my energy felt pretty good. I kept sipping on my nuun and focused on my breathing. The weather was perfect really and the course stunning! It was a wonderful race all in all. I got to meet some new folks from washington state which is awesome and also enjoyed the company of fellow canadian SUPers...
I managed to win the 12'6 category which felt good, I am gonna have to keep on top of my fitness as the competition is growing! Thanks to everyone at Deep Cove Canoe and kayak Centre for making this happen and for all the SUP athletes coming out to support and race!

Pictures HERE

Thanks Nikki Rekman for my new Werner Grand Prix Paddle...can't wait to use it on the water!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!
lina

The Battle around the rock: Race Report for Round The Rock SUP race

I'd been working a lot through the week before the race, commuting a ton, working outside and with people, and then trying to throw in some fun with friends..I was tired and was very pleased to be able to sleep in on Saturday. Andrew was away for the weekend road biking up mt baker, so I had the apartment to myself. My goal was to RELAX and get some stuff done around the house. I managed to relax some but I couldn't help myself and went out for a little run, did a little yoga, and some exercises... but all in all it did make me feel good and it was nothing compared to what I usually get up to... so I was pleased with myself. I was definitely feeling run down.... not so young as I think I am I guess:)

photo by Kelvin Humenny. Finish of RTR SUP race

The race: Round The Rock
I had some trouble deciding what board length to race. I originally wanted to paddle the shorter board length and try  and beat out the longer board lengths but then for some reason I was switching my mind... I wanted more practice on the length that I normally would race and thought that would be good but then I couldn't figure out if I should paddle something longer because it was a longer race?!? As it turned out I ended up racing on what I originally intended to race... a 12'6 board. I was happy with this.I raced the BOP 12'6x26.5 Carbon Starboard race board. I had a Starboard Enduro paddle, and wore Andrew's Oneill neoprene booties. I drank Nuun as my hydration and ate nothing but was STARVING half way through the race:)

It was choppy out there..Unlike when I am in a kayak, I actually really don't mind the chop in a SUP race and sometimes even pray for it:) Its strange but I am good at it. I feel balanced on the board, and am able to power through strokes where others might be loosing some time in more of a balance stroke. Maybe its 'cause I am little or maybe its because I am focused and sometimes don't even notice, or maybe because I have broad shoulders and strong lats?...not sure.... but I like that I like all conditions! I am still working on learning to read water a little better for downwinders.  Anyways, after a very early morning ride to Seattle, we arrived with plenty of time to spare... it was chilly and windy...

The race started with a knee deep water start.... I think that is my least favorite way to start as of right now. It is hard to get good momentum for me as usually people's knee deep in my hip deep so jumping up onto the board and getting those first few strokes always seems to take me a little longer than most... it is something I am hoping to practice more!
 We headed into a headwind to begin with... I was okay with this, it wasn't too tough and I am surprisingly good at head winds... I raced in the 12'6 board length category which is a slower one than 14ft board category... this race had a twist to it though. If someone from a shorter board category beat someone from a longer board category in the the first three places than they won their prize ($$). So I had my challenge ahead of me. My ultimate goal was to try and go for the overall title on the shorter board and my intermediate goal was to at least beat out 3rd place in the longer board category. From the start of the race I could see the first two ladies on the longer boards. They were out ahead battling it out. I had my eye on them around the island. As we turned around the first corner around the island we got out of the head wind and had a slight downwind with random side chop thrown in there. I had no one around me so at times I had to look up and find the first two ladies in front of me and remind myself that I was racing and trying to catch them! Some motivation to keep me paddling hard...it is sometimes hard for me to keep the intensity when I don't have anyone close to me to catch or someone chasing me.  It felt like I was sometimes falling farther behind and at others like I was slowly making progress towards them. About 3/4 of the way around the island I was pretty sure I couldn't catch them but I never truly gave up hope...you never know what could happen in a longer race:) and something interesting did happen a wickedly strong HEADWIND.... OMG it was like a punch in the stomach.... after two or so hours of racing we them had to battle a very very tough headwind and crossing! I managed to pass a couple of male racers and got a lot closer to one of the female racers but not close enough... after the HEADWIND and then the side chop I finally rolled in at 3rd female overall and 1st in the 12'6 board length category. I was pretty pleased with it all.

Congrats to all of the Canadian SUP paddlers you all rocked it. It was grand to be out there with so many BC paddlers! It was also awesome to meet up with some of the northwest paddlers from the states... :)

Kelvin : Thank you for the drive, the support, the pictures, and just being you!

What is next...
Board the Fjord Race this weekend. Another distance race. Another good training race for the famous Battle of the Paddle race down in California. I wasn't going to head to this race as I don't really feel like I am good enough at surfing yet to be of contention or in the lead pack...
I ended up looking at my situation, where I am at, what my goals were and with the help of Andrew and others I decided that I wanted to and should head to BOP this year. I did it 2 years ago just for kicks and am sort of in the same frame of mind but now since I have returned from China feel like I might actually want to take SUP a little more seriously.... I am curious what I can accomplish in this sport physically, mentally and emotionally. I have been searching for a sport that I enjoyed, felt like I had some natural talent, and had goals I could aspire to. I think for now at least I have the closest thing to what I was hoping for. I do LOVE adventure racing, another sport I have raced at a high level but the time, money, and the fact that I need a strong team to train with makes it difficult to fully commit to it. SUP however, is new, exciting, there are communities of paddlers all over, I seem to have some sort of natural ability in the sport, and it takes me to beautiful beaches:) haha... I heart SUP right now...

I got some training to get figured out but the one thing I do know is that I want to keep SUP enjoyable, I want to work hard but not overtrain, I don't want to lose sight of all the important things in my life... BALANCE! it will be key as I step it up a notch but yet keep it cool.... :) Exciting stuff!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

Hello Werner Paddles and Nikki Rekman Sales!

I am super stoked to work with Nikki Rekman sales! We finally hooked up at the Vancouver SUP Challenge and I am looking forward to paddling Werner Paddles. Keep checking in for reviews, updates, races, expeditions using new gear!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Back on Local Turf and Loving it! Oceanman and Vancouver SUP Challenge

Great weekend down at Jericho Beach...

Oceanman
This year although I wanted to race the entire oceanman solo style and this race is totally up my alley I felt too scattered to enter the entire oceanman on my own,.  I don't feel comfortable driving our car in the city nor did I feel it right for Andrew to drive me across town, I had no wetsuit nor surfski organized for the race AND hadn't been swimming or surf skiing in a long while...These were my excuses for not racing the oceanman solo... Luckily, Shannon asking me to SUP for team Maui Jim (defending ladies champs) kind of sealed the deal for me to just hit up the relay race and enjoy a laid back team atmosphere.

Its always a long day when you are the last leg of any kind of relay team... Andrew and I were the last leg of a huge relay race in Comox Snow to Surf for a couple of years running and although you get the pleasure of running through the finish line you also get the pleasure of having little butterflies in your stomach for an unecessarily long period of time, and just hanging out waiting what seems for forever... Luckily, oceanman is not that long of a race and most of it is within eyesight and spectator friendly so being the last one to go wasn't soo bad in the end. The team was composed of Shannon who absolutely rocked the swim, Sheryl who put in a very solid paddle, Josie crushing the run, and then myself on the SUP. I got to paddle the Starboard Ace Pro Carbon 14foot by 25 inches board. It is so far my favorite 14foot board on the flattish waters. It is very light but still feels long for me as I am sooo used to paddling 12'6 long boards. I have to stand pretty far forward to get the best benefits of the board which always feels kind of funny to me. Anyways, I really like the feel of this board and was happy to race it for our team. The conditions were choppy but not as choppy as last year. We went out on a downwind round a bouy across a headwind, into the beach, with a little run around a bouy, back out in the headwind and home on a downwind. I managed to pass a couple of guys on the board which always makes me feel a little better:) I had a solid paddle. It was short (2km) and short is generally not my forte but I tried to hold on to my speed and power for the entire course. The longer boards are definitely a little tougher to turn but I am slowly getting the hang of it!

Basically we rocked it. We came in 6th overall and first for the women! Loved racing with the ladies!

Vancouver SUP Challenge

Team Starboard photo credit: Ian Hylands

We were blessed with sunshine, great water conditions, music, a very welcoming fun group of SUPers, and an enjoyable atmosphere for a race. Big shout out to Gary, Shanon, and crew for putting on a wonderful event. There was a ton of SUPin to be had in just over 5 hours....

 I started the day with talking/hugging/smiling with and catching up with people that I hadn't seen in over a year!

First event: 14ft race 4km
I was on the epoxy ace pro 14x25 Starboard Board.
A little crazy start. The time I am really nervous in SUP races is the start line.. The starts are sooo nerve racking with expensive boards, paddles, and lots of people aiming for the same area... It is always a little crazy and I am always just praying that I stay on my board and not in the water:) My start was alright here and I managed to get out in 4th place off the start. We rounded the first couple of bouys and I was out in front with the men... it felt good. After the bouy chaos we headed out into the headwind around an anchored barge. I managed to sneak in at 3rd overall before I stopped paying attention and just followed Norm to the WRONG pier.... OOPS.. no biggie in the end other than we paddled a little farther than most! It was great to paddle into my first win.

12'6ft 3km race
I was on Starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon
This race was the most popular among the ladies and also had lots of paddlers in general. Here the battle was tougher and tighter. Shannon was right on my heels, Stu blasted out in front and Mike D managed to pull in a 5th among the men on an inflatable! I felt strong, things stayed exciting around the turns as people were spreading out and hence really there were people everywhere going in ALL directions. Some good hearted madness! Again I pushed hard, Declan was a great board handler and I managed to pull off a second win.

Kids Race
LOVE the kid races. Shannon, Nikki, and I helped out on the water and it was brilliant cheering and encouraging them throughout the paddle. I would love to get more involved with some more KID SUP events and opportunities!

12'6ft Sprints
I was on Starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon
Sprints are my toughest, pushing hard form the start and the entire race is NOT what I am used to coming from an ultra endurance background for the last several years. I managed to pull ahead before the bouy turn and due to being out in front I managed to escape the one bouy turn chaos! YAY! Another first! Cruising into the beach felt great. My body was starting to feel the pain of pushing hard in 3 shorter races but I was totally riding the high mentally!

Team Relays
Mike D, Stu R, and me!
We race the Starboard Ace Pro Epoxy 14ft x 25
We destroyed (to put it mildly:)) FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE relay races, its just plain old madness out on the water and on the beach, the cheering, the change over with boards, LOVE!

I loved seeing old faces, meeting new ones, seeing how Vancouver/BC has built a really fun community of SUPers.... I am in love with SUP! The training BEGINS! Since leaving gymnastics back in 1998 I have not truly focused on one sport... I am a little nervous to miss out on friend events BUT I am stoked to see what I can do with my mind and body in this sport. I am excited to be part of this community and pushing the limits in different ways.

Gary you pulled off a great event! I had my doubts with so little time and so many races but it worked sooo well! Loved it!

Awesome ladies: Shannon, Nikki, Me photo credit: Ian Hylands

next race Round the Rock-Seattle.... bring it on!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina