SUP YACS race proves that SUP is catching on in Chicago

     As you know, I started Windy City Waterman last year because I just couldn't understand why SUP wasn't catching on faster here in Chicago.  Well, I am very excited to report that IT FINALLY IS!  Yesterday's SUP YACS race at Montrose beach was a tremendous success.  Over 60 participants got on the water, many of them first time racers, and the beach scene was buzzing with clinics, yoga and a non-stop dance party for the kids.  Here are a few pics...

We had a perfect day with wispy clouds and warm temps...

There were trophies and very nice prizes for the winners... I won a sweet Patagonia backpack!

Here's my buddy Christoph getting his trophy... look at all those kids... the future of SUP is looking bright!

Winners...

     Congratulations to everyone at True North Treks for putting on a fantastic event for a great cause!  

SUP YACS & a teaser

     Remember, tomorrow is the SUP YACS race at Montrose Beach... if you haven't registered you can still show up by 8:30 and get in on the fun.  If you don't want to race, there will be yoga on the beach, clinics, a band and fun throughout the day so get down there.  I'll be racing then hanging out, so come say hello if you can make it.

     This photo of Connor Baxter has been making the rounds on Facebook... here he's catching a big swell during a training session for the upcoming Molokai2Oahu race.  I had the pleasure of meeting Connor earlier this summer and we had a few things in common... well now we have one more.  Want to find out what it is?  Keep an eye on the blog... there's some news coming soon!

is this your SUP man of the year?

     If you don't know this guy, you should.  This smiling face belongs to Shane Perrin, one of the baddest-ass paddlers in the Midwest... and probably the world.  Almost everything Shane has done on a standup board in the past few years has been a 'first'.  First SUP to do the MR340, a multi stage race covering 340 miles of the Missouri river.  First SUP to race the 179-mile La Ruta Maya Belize Challenge.  And most recently, Shane completed The Texas Water Safari, considered the world's toughest canoe race... 260 miles non-stop.

I love this shot... check out the paddlers in the canoe looking at Shane like, "What the hell is this guy doing?"

     While there are other athletes out there doing ultra-endurance standup paddling, what's unique about Shane is that he's entering all these canoe and kayak races.  From the start, he's had to fight just to enter these races, organizers telling him there's no way a SUP could even finish their event.  Then, once he convinced them to let him enter, the real pressure was on.  If he'd failed to complete any of these events, the "I told you so's" would have been heard around the world.  Fortunately for all of us who love SUP, Shane is not a guy to give up on anything.  He not only finished but placed pretty well in all these events, and now Standup is definitely on the radars of all the top river race organizers.

     Shane has recently been recognized for his work through a SUP Connect nomination for SUP Man of the Year.  Here's why I think he should win:

     Besides the fact that these are some of the biggest paddles anyone has done on a SUP, Shane has done his paddles in rivers in the middle of America.  Shane's been bringing SUP culture to a part of the country that thus far has missed the sport completely, still happily plying the waters in canoes and kayaks.  Not that there's anything wrong with canoes or kayaks... I'm happy to see people get out on the water any way they can.  Unfortunately, to a lot of these conventional paddlers SUP has been seen as little more than a passing fad or an extension of surf culture only fit for coastal locales.  Shane has proved that SUP athletes can do anything our paddling brethren in canoes and kayaks can, which exposes and authenticates our sport to a huge number of people that love the water but most of whom never thought SUP was for them.

     For all these reasons, Shane has my vote for SUP Connect SUP Man of the Year.  You can vote for Shane, or any of the other nominated paddlers, by going to the SUP Connect Facebook Page.  I hope you will!

   
     On the local scene, we have a bit of wind in the forecast, so drop what you're doing and get to the beach!  I had two nice SUP surf sessions yesterday on the small waves that came in on the beginnings of this cold front.  Today and tomorrow look to be even better.  Windsurf, surf or SUP downwinder... these are the glory days of wind, waves and warm water that we'll all be remembering in January.  See you out there!

the midwest SUP festival in madison

     Great work by Gary Stone and the whole crew from Paddleboard Specialists in Madison for hosting an amazing event this past weekend.  I attended Friday night's clinic with Jimmy Terrell from Quickblade Paddles, then participated in the 6-mile race on Saturday.  Here's the photo album...

Every Wisconsin pine grove should have a quiver of SUP boards...

The event was held at the Bishop's Bay Country Club... a swank joint with beautiful grounds and great lake access complete with a pier for spectators.  Very nice.

The vendor booths were stocked with demo boards and paddles...

Numbered up and ready to race...

Race buoys by Starboard...

Somebody famous is going to be making this board go FAST in a minute...

At the skipper's meeting with my coach...

Heading down to the water...  

The shots below are of the start.  There was a camera setting malfunction after my daughter borrowed the camera for a minute, so these shots came out super hot.  I threw them up anyway cause they look kind of cool with all the paddlers disappearing into the ethereal mist.

And here's elite winner Jimmy Terrell coming across the finish line first.  This was a great weekend and a fantastically run event.  If you didn't make it, definitely put it on your calendar for next year.  Unfortunately this will be my last MidwestSUP race before our Chicago Event in August.  Good luck to everybody up in Holland next week... I'll be wishing I was there!

racing, racing, racing and a quick interview

     With my work schedule it's impossible for me to participate in as much of the Midwest SUP Race Series as I'd like, so I pretty much cram all my racing into the month of July.  Right now I'm in the middle of my intense three-week race season and there have been ups and downs.  I was pleased with my performance at the Chicago stop of the Standup World Series last week, but if I tasted the thrill of victory there, this past Saturday at Lake Geneva was a healthy dose of the agony of defeat.  I finished 8th in the 14-foot class after no less than 5 falls during the race.  We had had a brutal week with temps in the high 90's during which I had done a couple full days of intense manual labor clearing fallen trees in my yard after last week's storms, so I'm going to chalk my poor performance up to fatigue and probable dehydration.  I'm not big on making excuses, so I'll just say that I'm going to make sure I get more rest and take care of myself before this weekend's race in Madison.  If any trees come down this week, they'll be staying where they lay until Monday!

     There was only one pro at the race, young Vanina Walsh from KM boards.  Still, pretty cool that she and her Dad came all the way from Hawaii to check out the Great Lakes scene.  This weekend in Madison I'm going to shoot some interviews with a bunch of the top LOCAL racers as well, so look forward to meeting them next week.  In the meantime, rest, hydrate and visualize that win (or at least a personal best) as you prepare for the big race this weekend.

   
     PS I wanted to try posting a vid directly to blogger instead of embedding from Vimeo just to see how the quality was.  You can still see this video and all my others on the Windy City Waterman channel on Vimeo by clicking THIS.

photos from the world series distance race on monday

I'm just going to throw up a big batch of photos today... Thanks Kim for shooting so many great shots!

Tizzy came by pre-race to wish me luck and check out the scene...

She was pretty stoked...

... especially when she got to meet Connor Baxter!

My buddy Christoph was the first racer to register... think he was excited?

Pre-race skipper's meeting.

And they're off...

This shot illustrates the difference between the world's top SUP racers and me.  See, I'm the guy there on the left, still getting up on my board while the pros to my right are already up and hammering.  Well, at least I know what I need to work on...

And see in this photo and the next how that quick start translates into an early lead.  If you SUP race, even recreationally, work on your starts.  A lot of races are won or lost at the start line.

Connor, Kai and the pros are gonna do nothing but get smaller from where I'm paddling for the next 45 minutes.

Ian from GLBC and I had a little scrap around the buoy and he edged out in front of me.  He didn't stay there for long... 

These are the pros...

... And these are of me.  These skyline shots are just kick ass!  How could any paddler not want to get into the water under this skyline?

And I made it... first local paddler off the water!

The pros were already cooling off when I came in...

Tizzy got her photo-op with Kai...

... And local paddler Basil Tydings and I discussed just exactly at which point the pros dropped us like yesterday's newspaper... ha ha ha.  I'll try to post another video before the weekend.  If I don't get to it, I hope to see many of you at the Lake Geneva race next Saturday.  Enjoy the 4th everybody!