Local lifeguards keep Taplin Bell at home
Members of the winning LA County Southern “A” team surround the Taplin Bell, the perpetual trophy that includes the names of all the winners from 1949 to the present. Photo The swimmers kept them in the race, the paddlers delivered the lead, and the dorymen took the L.A. County Southern Section lifeguard team home through some seriously troubled waters, winning its fifth straight Judge Irving Taplin Medley Relay championship Saturday night north of the Hermosa Beach Pier. The fact that it was such a well-rounded team effort made it even more remarkable that Jack Bark’s leg in the race stood out. Bark entered the water for the anchor leg of the paddleboard component of the race — which begins with four swimmers and ends with four dory legs — with the team in third place. He left the water in first place, sending a palpable buzz through hometown spectators and even his fellow guards. “He’s the man,” said Tom Swift, one of the team’s dorymen. “The legend.” Bark, the 24-year-old son of another legend, paddleboard maker Joe Bark, is already one of the most experienced paddlers on the planet. His obsession with paddling began at 4. By the time he was 18 he’d won a championship at the…
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