Brad “Shoulder Doc” Thomas wins Hennesey’s Paddleboard Championships
Sea lions on the R10 Buoy urge on Brad Thomas in the 2011 Hennessey's U.S. Paddleboard Championships. Photo by Ciley Carrington
Brad Thomas, an orthopedic surgeon known among local watermen/women as the “Shoulder Doc,” proved to be his own best salesman Saturday with a convincing win in the Hennessey’s U.S. Paddleboard Championship in Redondo Beach Saturday. [Hennessey’s U.S. Paddleboard Championships]
“The best thing is I beat the stand-up paddlers,” the traditional paddleboard racer joked after the race.
A friendly rivalry exists between paddlers of traditional boards and the increasingly popular stand-up paddleboards, which made up nearly half of the 173 entries.
Stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) are generally faster. But a slight headwind on the first leg of the course, from Avenue I in Redondo to the R10 Buoy off of Palos Verdes, handicapped the SUP paddlers. By the turn back to the beach, Thomas and second place finisher Adam Buckley, who was also on a traditional board, had built too much of a lead for the SUPs to close the gap, despite a following wind and small swell.
Thomas, 43, of Redondo Beach, covered the 8.5 mile course in 1:23:48. Buckley, 33, of Hermosa Beach, winner of last summer’s Catalina Classic, finished in 1:25:11. Kyle Power, of Malibu, was third in the unlimited paddleboard division in 1:27:57.
Thomas “Maximus” Shahinian, 42 of San Clemente, finished first in the SUP unlimited division and third overall in 1:25:22. His Riveria Paddlesurf teammate Tyler Morgan, of Redondo Beach, finished second in the SUP unlimited division in 1:26:31.
SUP’s took six of the top 10 overall places in the men’s divisions, and seven of the top 10 positions in the women’s divisions.
Candice Appleyby, of Hawaii, winner of last month’s Battle of the Paddle in Hawaii, won the women’s SUP race in 1:39:51.. Torrance firefighter Brandi Baksic was second in the SUP division in 1:40:46 and Rachel Bruntsch, who finished third in last month’s Battle of the Paddle, was third again on Saturday, in 1:42:54.
In the women’s 14-foot SUP division Margaret Cook took first in 1:53:39 followed by Mindy Czuleger in 2:07:10
Cori Raffaelli of Oxnard won the women’s stock paddleboard division in 1:46:37, followed by Jo Ambosi, of Australia, in 1:51:20 and DJ O’Brien of Redondo in 1:52:40.
In the men’s stock division, Los Angeles County lifeguard Brian Murphy led in a time of 1:41;18, followed by his Junior Guard student Jack Bark in 1:41:31 and brother Mike Murphy in 1:41:37.
The men’s 14-foot paddleboard division was won by Jay Scheckman in 1:36:11, followed by Adam Maingot in 1:37:46 and Pete Stirling in 1:42:11.
Erik Starnes won the men’s 14-foot SUP division in 1:31:55, followed by Slater Trout in 1:32:19 and Rob Pelke in 1:32:43
Los Angeles County lifeguard Anthony Vela, winner of last month’s Rock 2 Rock paddleboard race, switched to a stock SUP for Saturday’s face and finished first in his division in 1:36:41. Jay Wild was second in 1:38:41 and Dane Morrissey was third in 1:39:58.
Junior Lifeguard Director Jeff Horn helps a Junior Lifeguard out through the overhead shore pound.
Junior Lifeguards
Approximately 400 Los Angeles County Junior Lifeguards participated in one-mile paddleboard races. Because the surf was too big to paddle out through, the junior guards swam out to paddleboards paddled out by the senior guards.
Top finishers were: Boys AA — Toby Contarsy, Benji Garcia and Matthew Harmatz. Girls AA – Marua Silka, Coertunay Krause, Ailidh, Sheldon. Boys A – Chandler Jones, Tanner Milford, Derrick Compas. Girls A – Kira Makuta, Rachel tominaga, Frankie Seely.
The festival also included a fun 2 mile paddleboard race and was followed by an awards lunch at HT Grill in Riviera Village. ER