Staff photo by Allison Breiner
Competitors in the Intracoastal SUP Cup pass under the Heide Trask Drawbridge on Saturday, May 16. |
After Jeoffrey and Catherine Nathan opened an active wear/outdoor retail shop at Landfall Center, the newlywed couple discovered standup paddle (SUP) boarding. Marking the store’s first anniversary in operation, the couple co-sponsored and organized the first SUP Cup race that drew over 35 competitors from North Carolina and Virginia.
Racers gathered on the docks behind Bluewater Grill on Saturday, May 16, ready to compete for $5,000 worth of prizes earmarked for the competitors.
“This is a relatively new sport so this is a cool way to get these people all together and add some competition flair,” said Clark Shay of Wilmington.
Shay and other competitors gathered under the restaurant’s gazebo a little before 9 a.m. wearing yellow jerseys contributed by race co-sponsor, Capt. Scott Collins of Sea Tow. Jeoffrey Nathan explained the race route: from Bluewater, under the Heide Trask drawbridge, north along the Intracoastal Waterway, east to Lees Cut, South under the West Salisbury Street bridge and the Causeway Drive Bridge and west around Harbor Island and back to Bluewater — a distance of approximately 3.5 miles.
Staff photo by Allison Breiner
Competitors in the first Intracoastal SUP Cup, a stand up paddle board race sponsored by Coastal Urge and Sea Tow, jockey for position at the start of the race on Saturday, May 16. |
Collins drove Nathan onto the water with the Sea Tow boat while the racers gathered into position at the start line. A few minutes passed before Nathan fired the bull horn and the racers began.
They skimmed across the water passing the Sea Tow boat on all sides. As the competitors fought and jockeyed with each other for space on the water, they paddled beneath the bridge and heard the roar of the traffic overhead.
Other boaters motored past the swell of yellow jerseys with looks of awe on their faces. Ladies stood on the docks taking pictures of the spectacle with their cell phones and tiny digital cameras.
“People are fired up. This is exciting,” Nathan said, standing on the Sea Tow boat looking out over the race. “This is going to be a long race. They’re hitting the tide.”
Collins drove the boat around Harbor Island so Nathan could watch racers glide under the Causeway Drive Bridge.
Gracefully competitive the paddlers slid into the final stretch. Nathan explained the reasons for organizing the event. He said paddle boarding is a family-oriented social sport that is growing in popularity every year. The race was an attempt to bring the paddle board community together and to get people who have never participated to try it.
“We want to be the epicenter for paddle boat racing,” he said.
The race ended after 10 a.m. as the last of the competitors crossed the finish line.
Everyone who participated was awarded a prize including sunglasses, clothing, gift certificates, magazine subscriptions, a backpack, a cooler and a paddle board.
The winners of the men’s division from first place to third were: Mike Owens, Chris Hill and Jason Calclough; and for the women’s division: Tara Miller, Lori Herring and Kimberly James. The winners of the division that featured boards 14 feet or longer were Brannon Smith, Dwight Fisher and Jackie Fisher. Race proceeds will be donated to the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation.
