Last summer, Los Angeles County firefighter Jack Bark broke the five-hour barrier in the 32-mile Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race, from Two Harbors on Catalina Island to the Manhattan Beach Pier. Bark’s time of 4:55:12 was seven minutes faster than the previous record set by Los Angeles County Lifeguard Tim Gair in 1999.
On Saturday, Bark set another record, with a time of 2:16:35 in the South Bay Paddle. Waiting on the beach to congratulate him was Gene Rink, the only paddler to have held the Catalina Classic unlimited (1987), and stock (1986) division records simultaneously.
The South Bay Paddle is 15 miles, roughly half the distance of the Catalina Classic. But in some respects, the new record was even more impressive because last year’s Classic had record-making conditions. Saturday’s conditions, by contrast, were not conducive to fast times.
Just getting to the starting line for the water start off the end of the Hermosa Beach Pier was a challenge due to closely spaced, head-high surf.
Zach Jirkovsky, of Redondo Beach, a top-five finisher since the inaugural South Bay Paddle in 2018, paddled out with extra water bottles, not for himself, but for the paddlers he knew from previous years would lose their water bottles in the pounding surf. Jirkovsky finished second, overall, but first in the hearts of paddlers who might have cramped and not finished at all without his selfless foresight. Chris Russell of Coronado finished third in 2:27:22.
In addition to getting to the start, all three legs of the race presented challenges uncharacteristic of June weather. An unusually strong south wind slowed the first leg, which runs south along the coast for four miles, past the blue Whaling Wall to the pink Palos Verdes Beach Club, where Johnny Marselis’s committee boat was anchored. The second four miles, out to sea to the red R10 weather buoy, was bumpy and kelpy. And the seven miles back to the Hermosa beach pier, while assisted by the south wind, was afflicted by swells from three directions, making it difficult to knee paddle the narrow boards. A lead boat, skippered by Peter DeAvila, and a safety boat skippered by the “Two Dons,” McVicar and Ruane, guided paddlers back to the Hermosa Pier, which was hidden from their view by the swells until the final two miles.
Los Angeles County Lifeguard Tiana Pugliese finished first in the women’s division, in a time of 2:45:09, and 23rd overall, out of 79 finishers. Puliese also won the race in 2019.
Last year’s Catalina Classic winner Emily Bark was second, in 2:53:10. Catalina Channel swimmer (2021) Amy Dantzler was third in 3:07:10. The women raced stock boards, which are shorter (under 12 feet), and slower than the unlimited boards (averaging 18-feet) favored by the men.
In the men’s stock division, David Thomas, of Hermosa, finished first in 2:38:59. He finished second last year, in 2:37:42. Oliver Levine was second in stock, in 2:44:16; and Chase Kelly was third, in 2:44:44.
The South Bay Paddle is presented by the South Bay Boardriders Club. Upcoming races include: Rock to Rock, Sunday, July 13, 22 miles from Catalina Isthmus to San Pedro; the family-friendly Velzy Stevens, Sunday, August 3, two miles, from the Manhattan to the Hermosa Pier; the Catalina Classic, Sunday, August 24, Catalina Isthmus to the Manhattan Pier, 32 miles; and the family friendly Catalina Cup, Sunday August 24, Manhattan Pier, two miles. For more information, visit SouthBayBoardriders.org. ER
