Weekend Wrap-up

Just some quick notes from a busy, windy, but fun weekend:

The SUP weekend started off with a challenging Charleston Watersport 50/50 series race at Brittlebank. The winds were starting to pick-up, so the decision was made to simply race the "short course" to avoid what was becoming a treacherous harbor. Full results will be posted by Charleston Waterport - but, in summary, Eddie Sanders battled through the tough wind to come in first for the SUP'ers, on his 14 ft race board. Danielle Licari was the first woman to make it back to Brittlebank. Plenty of thanks to the canoers, kayakers, and skier's that have started to compete with us as well. It wasn't an easy morning.

The rest of the weekend belonged to a great Joe Hiller Longboard Classic. While the winds and current made things difficult to navigate - especially with the pier as an ominous structure in the front of all competitors' minds (the wind and current was stiff, pushing bodies and boards quickly towards the pier during the heats) - we can't ever let ourselves complain too much when we actually have some surf to play in. The waves were good sized, allowing for numerous exciting rides during each heat. Full results can eventually be seen elsewhere, but in the SUP surfing division, Kai Dilling took home the first place trophy after grabbing some nice waves in the final heat, fighting through the chop and current with everyone else. From our group of "regulars" on the local SUP racing circuit, Clay Thornhill had a great showing in the semi-finals. And, Don Alderman and Dave Mello both were able to come up with some great rides as they surfed in the finals with Kai Dilling and others. Beth Lovett and Jenny Alderman also represented our SUP'ers well while fighting against the rough conditions.

Many thanks, as with many past events, to Dave Clifford of Charleston Watersport for all of his help with both of our weekend events. The word is that Saturday night's Joe Hiller Classic party was tons of fun. Thanks, Dave.

Lastly, it was a perfect weekend for some fun and challenging long downwinders. A few of us were able to work some runs off of IOP and Sullivan's Island into the weekend's events. Maybe an idea for future races??

Looking forward to the Golden Nugget this coming Sunday...as well as some good surf early this week, in the meantime, especially once things clean up a bit.