Priceless...

We arrived to Doheny Beach bright and early.  I was excited to be there and knew it would be a good day.  I noticed Gerry Lopez, legendary surfer, during registration and became giddy like a star-sticken teen.  I had to introduce myself.  I brought his book with me to the event, Surf Is Where You Find It, and asked him to sign it, which he happily did.  I thought that this was the epitome of my day.

The Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle California is the largest SUP event.  The top SUPers in the world come out to participate in this event.  This year there were 160 elite competitors.  Danny Ching, a local from Redondo Beach, took first place overall.


The start of the Women's Elite Race.


I participated in the Open-Race Surfboard Division.  There were 340 individuals in the Open-Race.  The course started on the beach, through the surf, around 4-buoys counter-clockwise that register about 1-mile in distance five-times, then back toward the beach and a run on the sand through the finish.  It was a staggered start and my division had the fourth start.  So by the time I hit the water, everyone was in.  What you get with 340 people circling the same path in the ocean trying to move up front is a ton of carnage.  I wiped out on the get-go in the surf.  This placed me well behind the pack.  I was so determined to catch up that I didn't even mind my half-moon to the world behind me.  I slowly moved my way forward through the trailing pack.  I fell another time when I was cut-off by a racer into a buoy.  I was also literally run over (my left foot and my baby Takayama has the battle scars to show it) by another racer on a long, narrow Bark board causing a pile up with two other racers on my right.  The good thing was that I didn't fall.  At this point, I was just cruising an easy pace and wanted to finish the race with no more falls.  I paced myself the rest of the way behind a woman in a turquoise hat.  I had enough energy to move ahead of her on the last leg.  As I was passing her, she told me that it would be cool to go through the finish together.  Why did I slow down to do that?  I actually believed that we would surf a wave in together like friends... duh?!  We both hit the beach.  I saw her look at me and take a run for it.  That sneaky little @#%!  Lesson learned.  Good thing she wasn't in my division otherwise, I would have really been upset because I wouldn't have gotten this:

I definitely was not expecting this.  We were sitting in the beer garden and decided to take a look at the results.  We walked over, in the meantime, results being said onstage.  My friend, John Ashley (paddlesurf.net), says, "Hey Leez, you got first!  You need to go to the stage."  As I start running over to the stage, my name is announced.  I was so excited, I surpassed the steps and jumped up from the front of the stage.  Uncle Gerry remembered me from the morning and said, "Yeah, you got it!" and gave me a hug.

Entering my first Battle of the Paddle, winning my division
and getting Gerry Lopez to autograph it...PRICELESS!