2nd Annual Providence Paddle Battle

[supthecreek]

As usual, event organizers, John (kayadogg) and Kristen timed everything perfectly...It was a great day for the Providence Paddle Battle!
Light Southwest winds, sunny, and.... by the finish, pretty darn hot in the upper 80's... the racers were showing a bit of heat stress by the finish.

The 2 leaders of the Elite 10.5 mile race, had such a lead.... they both agreed to jump in the water to cool off at the last buoy turn, before the run to the end.
They started side by side with a few miles to go..... there was only a 4 or 5 second gap a the finish. Great sprint to watch!

Lots of participants in all the categories, and everyone enjoyed the course, that winds it's way into downtown Providence, past the waterfront eateries and parks.
Providence police did a great job of providing water safety escort.
Sponsors were very supportive of the event which is growing in popularity. It attracted a respectable amount of media coverage with some news coverage as well.... great for SUP in New England!

I arrived late, but in time to see the finish of the elite race and see lots of great people from the NE paddle community.
After the race, racers adjourned to a nearby waterfront venue for lunch and hydration!
A good number of Zoners were in attendance... we missed you Stoney!

I took a few pictures to post.

[kayadogg]

Thankful for another great day in the books. It's tough to organize this from across the country and get logistics worked out even though it's a small event. Thank you to everyone that came out to race and support the event. It was great seeing all of the familiar faces and meeting new ones too. Hope everyone enjoyed it. Here's a FB link to some pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.878030095608928.1073741846.192711294140815&type=3

[stoneaxe]

Wish I could have raced...I can beat PDLSFR.... .

I should have come down just to say hello but Sue reminded me of all the stuff we have to do. You'll be home by the time you start planning that one? If so I might try and help you get it inside. Racing the full route would be very cool. Have you thought about making part of the proceeds go to Waterfire....get them on your side?

[PDLSFR]

Bob you should have come for the great stoke and vibe or even just for the raffle (and no I didn't win the SUP, won almost everything else, especially a sweet Infinity Stavron keel fin,  I was actually holding my breath that John wouldn't call my name during the board raffle as I would have gotten mugged or worse..banned from all future raffles).

Maybe you would have beat me if you used that "special board" your brother used at the Charles !!

[kayadogg]

Wish I could have raced...I can beat PDLSFR.... .

I should have come down just to say hello but Sue reminded me of all the stuff we have to do. You'll be home by the time you start planning that one? If so I might try and help you get it inside. Racing the full route would be very cool. Have you thought about making part of the proceeds go to Waterfire....get them on your side?

Yes, we'll be back long before then. Maybe even before the year's over. We should chat, I'd love to extend the course further into the city. I dropped the buoy a little bit further in this year and the police boat never said a word. They're very supportive of the event and I think benefitting Waterfire would be a win-win. There happened to be one the night before the race so it could work out nicely. We have a year to figure it out 

[stoneaxe]

I know guys that know guys....that's always good in RI too. Not sure how good the connections are but worth asking. I'm right downtown so easy access also.