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SONIC CITY 5000 results:
August 28, 2010
The Sonic City 5000 by Watch Out
The SC 5000 was an interesting SUP race….15 miles, theoretically downwind, on an east- west/west-east course between Fort Walton Beach and Navarre in the Florida panhandle. Due to the 5000 greenbacks up for grabs, which I believe is the biggest in Florida up to this point, there was a good turnout of top Florida racers, including Packet Casey, Justin Cook, and Matt McDonald. The top women racers were out as well. Heather Baus, one of the top paddlers from Puerto Rico, with her brand new custom Bark, and Mary Anne Boyer, #1 woman in South Florida, who had just gotten sponsored by Yolo.
Conditions: Rain, rain, rain, and it just wouldn’t go away. The recreational turnout was definitely hurt by the weather, but it was very light wind and the water was as FLAT as a pancake. It was as flat as the MYC race in Miami the weekend before, which was perhaps the flattest SUP race in the history of the sport. Current was favorable at the beginning, fading into virtually nothing as the course went on.
Start: The RC did a rolling NASCAR type start between two boats. They got everybody lined up, allowed them to get up to speed, and turned them loose. The three amigos Casey, McDonald and Cook were all over on the left side of the course, in the channel and the favorable current. Boyer was more towards the middle and Heather was in a second group behind the 3 amigos. It was very clear right away that everyone on the left was pulling ahead, and everyone on the right was getting worked as they were in the shallow water and not in the favorable current. As the channel merged to the right about a mile plus down the course, the groups kind of stabilized and the real fun began.
Casey had the lead, but the top 3 were all right next to each other….and stayed that way all the way down the course for 15 miles. Initially the breeze was a very light, broad reach, and then it faded to virtually nothing. Occasionally, intermittent rain showers would pass through. Later on, this turned into some serious deluges, with the wind shifting all over the compass, but never at any serious velocity. Heather had established a good lead on Boyer at this point and was battling Rafael, her traveling buddy from PR, with DeSilva about 50 yards behind them. You also had Tom Pace up there on the 18 footer, another 16 footer in there, and one more 18 footer up there in between the Amigos and the PR contingent. If you took the top positions at 5 miles and 10 mile checkpoints, not a lot changed radically one way or the other. After 10 miles, DeSilva had reeled in Heather and Rafael, and had gotten by the Yolo 18 footer on his Jacuzzi, but then both his legs cramped up. Many of the other paddlers seemed to hit the wall around this checkpoint as well. Apparently Matt had the handle of his paddle break off, and paddled the last number of miles WITH A BARE SHAFT AND MANAGED TO GET BY PACKET AND JUSTIN at the end… pretty impressive. No doubt the Ohana is a very good board in the flat water, and it is not easy to beat Packet, but both Matt and Justin managed to do it. Packet was on a proto board with an interesting full displacement front that somehow blended into a deep double concave tail, kind of a “best of both worlds” type approach to board design with very, very flat rocker. Heather had a comfortable lead on Boyer by the 10 mile mark and never looked back and took home the big cash.
Although the race had a ton of rain, it was honestly kind of refreshing. No one overheated, which is a big issue in Florida during the summer races, where you often see people just suddenly get woozy, light headed, the occasional barfing and whatnot. SUP is one of the few sports where doing it in the rain is actually not bad at all. We will be looking forward to rainy races in the future!
Congrats on a very successful first event, it was a fun course with FREE BEER afterwards at Helen Back and prize money, what more could you possibly ask for?? And let’s not forget about the OC-1 guy who came out and absolutely smoked all the boards, those things are super fast. See if we can get some kayaks in there for next year and some OC-1/OC-2 action, kind of fun to watch those guys go. Liquid Surf and Sail of Fort Walton Beach hosted the action, with Master of Ceremonies Rhys Sharp doing a good job on the mike, megaphone or just entertaining the crowd in his various outfits/ensembles. Results and times are posted on www.soniccity5000.com. A big THANKS to all competitors, sponsors, and supporters for coming out, and we look forward to seeing everyone there next year!!!
Elite Men
1. Matthew McDonald - 2:47:11
2. Justin Cook - 2:49:30
3. Packet Casey - 2:49:51
4. Jim DeSilva - 3:03:45
5. Rafael Cruet - 3:04:10
6. Pete Buzzelli - 3:04:12
7. Mark WeinzierL - 3:06:48
8. Adan Cebollero - 3:29:49
9. Nathan Pooley - 3:42:58
Elite Women
1. Heather Baus - 3:05:25
2. Mary Anne Boyer-Willis - 3:11:05
Run What You Brung
1. Travis Roach - 2:50:18
2. Steve Hill - 2:55:23
3. Tom Pace - 3:00:55
4. Dave Meadows - 3:04:55
Men Rec.
1. Joe D'Aleo - 3:15:46
2. Stefan Halushka - 3:17:07
3. Jeff Hood - 3:39:29
4. Nate Dog - 3:43:06
Team Relay
1. Yolo Men - 3:10:33
2. Yolo JRs - 3:13:25
3. Team WhatSup - 3:34:17
4. Yolo Women - 3:45:00
Outrigger
1. Gary Wise - 2:27:40
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Sonic City 5000
"The Great Gulf Coast SUP Race"
August 28th, 2010
Stand Up Paddle races have become stale. Everyone locally is doing the same-old 2 mile course race, BORING. Liquid Surf and Sail is proud to present The Sonic City 5000; a SUP race that drop-kicks everything else and takes racing to the next level in the panhandle. No one on the Emerald Coast has run a race of this magnitude with this much money at stake. No one in Florida is offering cash prizes, no one. The Sonic City 5000 will be a 15 mile down-winder with a $5,000 cash purse!!! If you are not ready to paddle for the gold, don’t worry about it. Along with the Elite 12’6” Class, there will be recreation classes for Men, Women, Jr's, and teams. The race is set to take place on Saturday, August 28, 2010
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Liquid Surf and Sail Ft. Lauderdale Short-Track
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Enough already, we get it, you're fast... REALLY fast, at paddling in a straight line... but can you paddle in a CIRCLE, around obstacles, and with three other racers breathing down your neck?
After months of planning... Liquid Surf and Sail is pleased to announce a unique racing experience: SUP Short track.
We are tired of the same old, same old. Racers rip away from the starting line in a blaze of paddles and brawn... only to disappear on the horizon and leave spectators wondering where the nearest bar is. NO LONGER.
SUP short track will be the red headed step child to all of those races held previously. The race will be viewed in its entirety as racers jostle, bump, and fall in trying to complete a race track with turns (lots of turns) and gates.
So save the date! Bring a paddle and come out and play. We'll have something for everyone.
The action takes place at Shaka Jon’s @ the Beachside Hotel
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