Buckley two for three in Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race
Catalina Classic winner Adam Buckley is congratulated by his fiancée Ashley. Photo Adam Buckley, 34, of Hermosa Beach won the 37th Annual Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race for the second time in three years and in only his third time competing in the race. The 32-mile race from Two Harbors on Catalina Island to the Manhattan Beach pier, held Sunday, August 26, had 77 finishers. Buckley was on a record setting pace until he reached the R10 Buoy, a mile off of Palos Verdes and eight miles from the finish. There, a south moving current slowed the pace. The record of 5:2:02 two seconds was set by lifeguard and firefighter Tim Gair in 1999. Buckley finished in 5:11:44. Sean Richardson, 51, of Palos Verdes, winner of the 2003 Classic, finished second, in 5:19:22. Donald Mirallie, of Sand Diego, was third in 5:25:10. Buckley built such a comfortable, early lead that just before reaching the R-10 buoy, he passed the lead boat, Body Glove’s Disappearance. His strategy, he said, was to start fast to put a gap between himself and the paddlers behind him. “It’s a good way to discourage the competition,” he said. Kelsey O’Donnell cruises across the finish in first place, in the 32-mile…
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