First favored for fourth Catalina Classic Paddleboard race victory
Max First, of Manhattan Beach, has his eyes on a fourth Catalina Classic win, but faces two champion challengers this year. Photo by Ken Pagliaro (KenPagliaro.com) by Kevin Cody Los Angeles County Lifeguard Max First, of Manhattan Beach, is among the favorites to win this year’s Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race, on Sunday, Aug. 26. The 32 mile race from Two Harbors on Catalina Island to the Manhattan Beach pier is the sports’ oldest and longest race. First has won the Classic three out of the last four years. Among his top challengers this year will be Jack Bark, of Palos Verdes, and Lachlan Lansdown, a Queensland, Australia lifeguard. Bark and Lansdown have previously competed in the Classic in the stock division (paddleboards under 12 feet). This year they will compete in the unlimited division (paddleboards 16- to 19-feet). Bark won the Molokai 2 Oahu stock division race in 2012 and this past June won the Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race stock division in Santa Cruz. Bark will compete for Team USA at the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championships in Denmark in September. Lansdown won the ISA Championship in the unlimited division last year and has won the Classic stock…
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