Big Paddle , Bigger Night!!!!!!!

Well well well.... We survived the big smoke but only just...More on that later. Saturday Morning dawned and the Hennesey's International Race was Upon us. It was a chili morning but not as cold as San Fransisco can get.. The race started at 830am and we all started in waves. Sort of like a Triathlon. The Stock boards went 1st then us Unlimited paddleboards,then the Unlimited SUP and finally the SUP Stock which raced a shorted course. We all started 2 min apart. After nearly missing the start me Mick and Sean headed off for the 10 mile paddle(16km) and Joss,Shaq and Billy were close behind in the Stock SUP race.. Also there racing was Danny and Sue Sheard from The Sunshine Coast, Australia and they raced in the Stock SUP also. The race was a awesome and beautiful scenic paddle around Angel Island and then back around Alcatraz and back to Fisherman's Wharf. Pretty cool to be paddling around these famous landmarks(not to mention the Golden Gate Bridge that we could see the whole time). As always us Aussies put in a 100% and all done very well.. I was lucky to come away with a win and Sean finished 3rd and Mick 4th. Shakira and Joss finished 2nd and 6th and Billy Finished 3rd. Everyone pretty happy with how we went and how good the weather was. After the race it was pretty interesting to see all the different SUP Boards and different designs.I think we are just at the beginning of what we can and will be paddling in the future.I think there is a long way to go when it comes to design.

So after a quick shower we all headed to the Presentation /Lunch and had a few quiet beers and some lunch and talked story with everyone.Good times. We then decided to take the Party to Capuro's which is a cool Italian bar/ restaurant and that's when things started to go a little sideways. Some Aussies, Californian's, Hawaiians a few shots , some memory loss and a very bad hangover the next day and boom it was over..Lots more could be said but lets leave it at that and maybe a few photos??

In true fighting spirit we got up early and done the Tourist thing on Sunday.. Went to Alcatraz and done the tour then we jumped in our hire car and drove to Half Moon Bay and i showed the crew Mavericks. After a quick look around we were on our way back to the City and to a final dinner with all the Hennesey's crew and off to a much sought after sleep.. Then before we knew it we were up again on the road to the Airport and here we are back in LA... Battle of the Paddle is this weekend and ill post again soon..Cheers JM