Francziska Steagall and her husband Bob Willis were kayaking from the beach in front of their El Segundo home to the Santa Monica pier a few years ago when they saw a group of prone paddlers coming out of Marina Del Rey.
“We though wow, they’re fast. So for our wedding anniversary presents that year, we bought ourselves two paddleboards,” Stegall recalled.
Not long afterwards, the couple was paddling their new boards off the Manhattan Beach pier when they ran into Bob Wyler. Wyler was responsible for clocking in the finishers at the Manhattan Beach pier in the annual Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race
“We mentioned to Bob that we were members of the Velo Club LeGrange, and had timed their events for a long time and said we’d be happy to help with the Classic.,” Steagall said.
That was eight years ago. This year Steagall served as co-director of the Catalina Classic with outgoing director Kyle Daniels. Daniels said he hopes Steagall will encourage more women to participate in paddling.
For a sport that involves racing from point A to point B using very little equipment, the logistics for the Catalina Classic are surprisingly complicated. But over the years, as her race responsibilities increased, the special education art teacher at the Kayne Eras Center in Culver City, proved to be particularly adept at organizing.
In the weeks before the race, Steagall, Daniels and fellow Classic committee members Matt Walls, Buddy Bohn and Steve Fairbrothers hustled up race shirts, board shorts, trophies, insurance and permits for the pre-race dinner at Buffalo Park on Catalina, and the finish at the Manhattan pier.
With help from Catalina Island ranger Teresa McDowell, the committee served a pre race dinner to the nearly 100 paddlers and another 400 escort boat crew members.
Once the race began, Steagall and her committee were responsible for helping paddlers meet up with their escort boats and keeping the course clear of freighters.
Volunteer Jason Gant, a communication specialist, used a cell phone application that monitors freighters’ location, speed, direction and country of origin.
At the finish line, Steagall attempted to welcome every finisher with flower leis brought in from Hawaii by Bohn. Bohn resurrected the Classic in 1982 with fellow lifeguard Gibby Gibson, after the race had been suspended for two decades. Bohn and Gibson served as co-directors of the Classic until Daniels took over the role in 2007.
Following the race Steagall and Daniels presided over the awards dinner at Captain Kids.
In previous years, Steagall’s time keeping responsibilities kept her at the finish line.
Being able to follow the race from start to finish, was in itself, enough reward for all the work, she said. DZ
