The second annual stand-up paddleboard race, Friends Paddle the Park, was held on Sunday, Nov. 2. Spirits were high as paddlers gathered at picturesque Maho Bay to paddle in celebration of the Virgin Islands National Park’s beautiful beaches and waters. All 51 participants finished safely and enjoyed the perfect sunny day in the park.
The race consisted of three courses: a 1-mile Short Course from Maho Beach to the floating National Park Service (NPS) pay station and back; the 3-mile Open Course from Maho Beach to Whistling Cay and back; the challenging 5.5-mile Elite Course, which took the most adventurous paddlers from Maho Beach around Whistling and Cinnamon Cays and back. Wind and sea conditions were favorable with occasional gusty winds giving competitors a challenge. The event was filmed for “Facing Waves,” a cable television series that showcases paddling destinations on Outside Television (to 8 million TV households) and NBC’s Universal Sports (to 48 million homes).
In the Men’s Elite division, Bill Kraft of St. Croix took first place with the fastest time, 1:05:51, followed closely by John (Nat) Ford of St. John, and third place went to Lee Donovan of Los Floric, California. Isabelle Picard of St. Croix dominated the Women’s Elite race, finishing in 1:16:56. Thais Taylor of St. John came in second and Jude Woodcock of St. John placed third.
In the Open race, the first-place men’s finisher was John Linnborn of St. Thomas with a time of 00:38:47. Second place went to Todd Clements of St. Thomas; third place was Nathan Hatfield of St. Thomas. The Women’s Open race was won by Nikki Samuel of St. Thomas, who finished in 1:02:52. Gail Walters of Rocky River, Ohio, finished second; Alisa Niehuser of St. Thomas finished third.
For the Men’s Short race, Mark Lonski took first place with a time of 0:12:55; second place went to Wyatt Bracy of St. Croix; Manny Horsford of St. Thomas took third place. For the Women’s Short race, Sharie Smith of St. Thomas paddled her way to first place with a time of 0:14:47, followed by Louanne Schechter (second place) of St. Thomas and Sandra Loeffler of St. John (third place).
The race was followed by a buffet lunch provided by North Shore Deli and High Tide restaurants with plenty of cold beer and soft drinks courtesy of St. John Brewers. An awards ceremony followed where winners were presented with beautiful glass and mahogany trophies, paddle sails and tote bags. Each participant got a medal provided by Caribbean Paddle Co. Linda Wright of St. Thomas was the lucky winner of the Paddle the Park raffle and took home a new Naish Nalu paddleboard and travel bag, provided by Ocean Potion sun and skin care.
The Friends congratulate all competitors who came out to paddle the park, and a huge thank you to all of the generous sponsors and volunteers who made the event possible, including: V.I. Orthopedics, Arawak Expeditions, Caribbean Paddle Co., Holiday Homes, Freebird Creations, Seaglass Properties, Cruz Bay Watersports, Ta-loo-ard Paddle Sails, Property King, Rhumb Lines, Yelena Rogers Photography, and BUZZ Radio and many goodie bag sponsors.
