South Bay Paddle starts paddleboard season Saturday at Hermosa Pier
Paddlers enter the water at the start of the South Bay Paddle in 2019. Easy Reader file photo
Local paddleboard races, all of which were suspended last summer because of the pandemic, will resume this Saturday, June 5 with the South Bay Paddle at the Hermosa Beach pier, at 7:30 a.m.
The South Bay Paddle is a 15-mile, prone (hands only) race founded in 2018 as a qualifier for the Catalina Classic. It starts on the south side of the Hermosa Beach pier, and runs south four miles to the Palos Verdes Beach Club, at Torrance Beach. From there, the course runs four miles out to sea, to the R10 buoy. Then it runs six, wave and wind assisted (with luck) miles back to the Hermosa pier. Nearly 100 paddlers have registered to compete.
A second, three-mile South Bay Paddle fun race will start shortly after the 15 mile race, also on the south side of the Hermosa pier. The three-mile course runs south to the Redondo Beach Breakwater, and then one-mile out to sea, to the second, sailboat racing buoy. From there, it returns to the pier.
The South Bay Paddle is organized by director/founder Scott Rusher and the South Bay Boardriders Club. An awards lunch will be held at noon at Waterman’s on Pier Plaza.
Beach entries: $100. ER