Classic stories from the toughest ever Catalina Classic paddleboard race
by Kevin Cody After viewing the Channel Island weather buoy reports Saturday afternoon, Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race director Gene Rink prepared what he’d tell paddlers to expect Sunday morning. “I decided to say the conditions will improve through the morning, after you reach the R10,” he said. He would avoid mention of the first 24 miles approaching the R10, from Two Harbors on Catalina Island, where the race would start at 6 a.m. The R10 buoy is two miles off Palos Verdes, and eight miles south of the finish line, at the Manhattan Beach pier. Rink is the only person in the Catalina Classic’s 46-year race history to have simultaneously held the unlimited and stock (12-foot) records. He knows paddlers worry about the weather, almost as much as if they’re physically prepared, even when the forecast is favorable. He saw no reason to add to their pre race jitters. His particular concern was for the 32 first time paddlers. Scott Clausen, of Seal Beach, claims his second consecutive Catalina Classic title. Photo by Mike Balzer The veterans, he trusted, had their own coping mechanisms. Kurt Fry, director of the Oceans Prone race series, was competing in his 6th Classic. He told…
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