Hey guys here are a few more pics of the event. Have to say it is without a doubt one of the most exciting races I have seen. With Andy up in the top 10 for the first two laps and Jacko mowing him down from about 20th place, along with all the other Aussies all doing so well and the local Hawaiin crew who are all pretty tight with the Aussies, it really made for an amazing event. The atmospehere at the change over on the beach was just incredible.
The fact that Jerry Lopez supports and races in these events is awesome for the sport. Also an amazing effort - it was a hard race. Throw in the girls who lapped many of the men, the younger crew like Riggs, Conner Baxter etc and you realise just how inclusive this sport is!
Candice Appleby. Winner in the womens 3 times in a row!
Ang!
Gav!
Kelly, the realisation of coming 5th!
This young kid was right up there!
Riggs and Connor. For a 17 y.old flyweight, Connor smashed it!
Winning board!
Kawiki Carvalho won the Open race on this 14' PSH.
Kawaiki - you couldn't meet a nicer guy. The spirit of Aloha!
New Naish 12'6 - these boards looked fast!
Riggs, ready for anything
Just watching the crew pack up the trucks with boards stacked 5 high to head up the coast for the down winder.
Should be another exciting day!
Thanks for the pictures Andrew.. Great shot of Andy, Travis and Danny..
And thanks for the pics of the new Naish 12'6" boards.. I wonder if the Jamie Mitchell fins are standard?
That 14' PSH looks fantastic also.. What a great event.
DJ
Great pics AA - didn't know you were going over lucky buggar! Well done to all the aussies, shows we are right up there with the best.
Great finish to the relay. Connor Baxter anchoring for Team Starboard chased down a 100m gap to the female rider for Travis' C4 team. Caught and passed her on the last stretch with some wave assistance. That new Starboard Race is damn mouth watering. Hopefully it works for people who don't have Connor's tank or skills. Speaking of which, the 404 team finished well back so that says something for Danny Ching's superior paddling more so than the board I guess.
Congrats everyone, great results, great photos.
Has there been any results from the Ke Ala Kai Loa (Hawaii Kai Run – start from Maunalua Bay). I believe this started at 11.00am US time so it should have been done by now...
Thanks Ali Cat.
Have been scouring the net and have found the following which has the unofficial results at the bottom as well as a short interview and highlights from BOP.
paddleathlete.com/news/racing-news/battle-of-the-paddle-2011-hawaii-race-results/
So stoked here are todays results that i can remember, the aussies did SO WELL!!
Relay race out of 35 teams i think.
2nd - Travis grants team
3rd - Kelly's team
7th - Jacko, Simone, Macca, Steve walker
10th - Mick, Sondra, Steve quiller, Jakey
Distance race
1st - Travis Age Group
3rd - Steve Quiller Age Group
3rd - Angie Age Group (Stoked to come 3rd against Heather and brandi!!)
1st - Jake (Beat riggs!!)
1st - Andy Davis Age group
3rd - Jacko Age Group
I think i have it right, sorry if i missed anyone.
XX angie
Some pretty good results there - congratulations to all the crew!!!
Jake will definitely be one to watch in the future, to do that well after only paddling for a couple of months!!! - give him another year and I reckon he could be challenging the likes of Connor and Slater.
Well done Ange and Jacko and the MIGHTY Steve and everyone else. Dont think the commentators will ever call him Grant Travis again. love when Aussies rip it up against the world
This Press release from Jodi Wilmott of Ocean Promotion
Waikiki, Oahu, HAWAII - (May 15, 2011) -- California's Danny Ching returned to the winner's podium today at the Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle. Ching finished the 9-mile Hawaii-Kai to Duke Kahanamoku Beach downwind race in a stand-up paddle record time of one hour, 20 minutes and 27 seconds - almost five minutes faster than his winning time last year. The win earned him $1,100. Second place was Georges Cronsteadt (Tahiti, 1:21:50); and third was Maui teenager Connor Baxter (1:21:58).
Australian Travis Grant, winner of the grueling elite course yesterday, finished sixth overall (1:24:28) but was the first home in the shorter 14-foot rudderless class.The women's distance race was won by Big Island's Jenny Kalmbach (1:37:53). A total of 168 paddlers completed the course that was presented by Quiksilver Waterman Collection.
Ching was paddling an 'unlimited' 17-foot race board with rudder steering system. Cronsteadt was riding a 16-foot board without a rudder - technically harder to ride in the moderate tradewind and swell conditions. It didn't help that he became entangled in a fishing net at the start of the race and was passed by the rest of the field. But Cronsteadt is famous for his ability to read the ocean and find every possible surfable bump and fought back to within 300 yards of Ching by the finish.
"I went unlimited so I definitely had faster equipment with the longer board and the steering system," said Ching. "The steering system is huge. (Travis) went fixed fin and still was right there so unfortunately he wasn't on unlimited today.
"The race wasn't too technical for the most part. The beginning was flat and then it started to pick up a little bit. The only thing you could do at the beginning was sit in the waves so I was able to rest a lot in the beginning and fortunately at the end it picked up and the board worked great and I got away from everybody."
Travis Grant was very happy with his performance despite his choice of equipment: "For the first part of the race I was right there with Danny. At that point I began to wonder what might have happened if I'd paddled an unlimited board! But it's all good I was stoked to finish in the time I did - that's a great time for a 14-footer."
For Cronsteadt, the race was challenging from start to finish: "It was a hard race. I had no rudder on my board and just tried to catch a lot of waves and I came second. I'm happy. (With no rudder) you have to use your legs, all your body, your mind and you have to focus about every wave so I think it is different. No excuse, just go, go, go, push, push. Just after the start line my fin caught some rope and I stopped for one minute and everybody (went by) so I tried to relax and catch a lot of waves and I came second place, so I'm happy."
Jenny Kalmbach rounded out a greet weekend of racing with her win today and second place yesterday, totaling $2,050 in prize money. Known for her epic long-distance paddles between Hawaiian islands, a nine-miler would normally be a walk in the park, except for the fact that it came one day after the rigors of yesterday's elite battle.
At one point Kalmbach said it crossed her mind she might not finish: "It was a tough race...I thought it might get to that point. It was just hard out there, especially after yesterday. Yesterday we all battled and that was a tough race. Today there were three of us side by side and it's frustrating when you're that close because you just have to keep pushing, you can't get comfortable. Luckily, coming around the point, I managed to catch some bumps and separate myself (from the others)."
Candice Appleby, winner of yesterday's women's elite race, finished fifth today in a time of 1:41:49.
There was another great turnout from the Napoleon family in the distance race, with three generations represented. The legendary Nappy, 70, finished 121st overall. Thirteen year-old Riggs placed 31st, and his father Aaron came in 11th overall.
Hawaii Kai-Duke Kahanamoku Beach Downwind Race Results:
MEN:
1st - Danny Ching, CA - 1:20:27
2nd - Georges Cronsteadt, Tahiti - 1:21:50
3rd - Connor Baxter, Maui - 1:21:58
4th - Bart De Zwart - 1:23:57
5th - Scott Gamble, HI - 1:24:09
WOMEN:
1st - Jenny Kalmbach, Kailua-Kona - 1:37:53
2nd - Rachel Bruntsch, CA - 1:38:10
3rd - Laura Birse, Honolulu - 1:40:08
4th - Heather Baus, Puerto Rico - 1:40:19
5th - Candice Appleby, HI - 1:41:49
Did Danny Ching paddle the Naish 17' Glide like last year or a custom 404 board?
DJ
Big congrats to Travis and Andy. 1st and 2nd in the 14ft class.
Usual high standard for Travis but how about Andy. If you're ready this then I hope having a beer or 2 feeling a little bit stoked as that is an amazing result. Bring on Maui!!
Sam.
yeeeww andy great result !!! im having a beer or 2 for ya .
Well done Andy Davies! Go the Northern Beaches Boys!
Great effort and awesome results to all the Aussies!
Thanks AA and Angie for the excellent updates!
Awesome effort by all ..... especially Andy when I first meet this guy at the Mambo there was something special about him ,and it's now showing on the world stage .... well done mate!
Boylos
Amazing effort by the Aussie crew , great to see Andy get up there considering he trains on his own. Great shots and story Andrew makes you wish you were there.
