1st Place, Unlimited.  Done.  Thank you.

Kidding.  This year’s I2I Waterman Challenge was picture perfect — teammates, race support, hospitality, weather…all of it, perfect.  We pushed hard, getting faster over the roughly six and a half hours on the water, and saw breakout performances from both Pete and Bernie (the latter who got sick at least two times right before jumping into the water for her next leg).

I had several epic 20-minute sections, wind at my back, blue water, racing down the face of waves and laughing the entire time.  Of course, the best part of the race was the finish, which was handled with aplomb by Bernie.  Taking the final leg to the finish, Bernie chose an inside ‘local’ line and hammered past a strong SUP team who was surprised to see us come out of nowhere (at one point we were almost 1.5 miles behind them).

In true I2I fashion, we celebrated late into the evening, rose early, and played the rest of the day with fellow paddlers and our Two Harbors friends.

Next year…well, next year we’ll find a way to do it again as it has become one of my favorite races.

A special thanks to Mark Urkov, at Urkov Charters, for his expertise as a captain, his motivation, and his skills around a video camera.  Always above and beyond the call, Mark; your video recap of the race is perfect.