Two man 14' relay: featuring Starboard International Dream Team Members : Bart De Zwart ( Maui ) and E.J Johnson ( Dana Point,Ca.
And world reknown skipper : Capt. James White.
Bart's story.
The Catalina Challenge, 39.5 miles from Catalina island to Dana point.
Team Starboard, Ernest Johnson & Bart de Zwart
The day before the race we took EJ’s sailing boat to Catalina Island. A light head wind promised good tailwinds for a smooth down wind race tomorrow. But things would turn out different than expected.
About 60 racing teams of which 25 SUP came for this race. This race is a team effort. EJ and I were team STARBOARD. A lot of the big names and big brands came to the race. But we are confident. We feel strong and have a fast board, a STARBOARD ACE 14’
Just before the start we hear that the promised tail wind might be turning into a head wind. There are dark clouds on the horizon but for now the sun is still shining.
I started the race in a fast but controlled pace. Collin and Dane Deboer and I were right at the front of the pack. Most teams raced in the 14 foot class. Since our escort boat was a sailing boat, our changes weren’t as smooth as the teams with small motor boats. But we managed to get ahead. We had a rhythm of 30 minutes of paddle and then the next one took over.During the 30 minutes recover time we drank eate, and drank and before you knew it was time to start paddling again. After a couple hours team Hobie, team Quickblade and Team rivera were all still very close. Suddenly it got the clouds were moving in and then wind picked up and we made good time on everybody. Paddling was hard and to keep the board moving became a struggle with the wind and chop straight in our face. The next couple of hours we were pulling away from Team Hobie and team Rivera. Team Quick bald was still on our tail. Although we were fast and making good progress our man changes were still taking a lot of time compared to team quick blade. After being in the lead for more than 5 hrs , the wind died down and they came along side and had another fast transition. Dana point was getting nearer now. With every transition we had to turn the sailing boat 180 degrees before we could make the change. Costing a lot of time because a sailing boat takes more time to slowdown. We could stay in close range of first place but they were ahead of us. After just over 7 and a half hours of paddling we turned in the Harbor of Dana point with just team quick blade with Jimmy Terrell and Dane Deboer just over 100 yard ahead of us we got second place.
A long day, a long and fierce battle for 1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th place, and an awesome experience.
Thanks Starboard for those fast boards and EJ for the nice days on his boat.
EJ's Story,
This was my 5th yr doing the Catalina Challenge, and each has had it's own unique quality about it. The channel may be one of the toughest, because it is so unpredictable. 2011 reports promised 12 -16 knot NW winds, which is right at our backs, so everyone was pumped on a down winder.
That night I heard or felt hardly any wind, which got me thinking the weather was changing for the worse. The skies in the morning were partly sunny, which seemed to keep everyones spirits high. Start time was 8:30 am, Bart was on the line to start the race, along with teams from Hobie, Bark/QB, Ohana, Riviera, Kings, Infinity. This yr offered a diverse group of teams,with two- 3 women teams, co ed, and a 4 person father/ son. father/ daughter team, who had new grom Starboard team rider Nick Scheel (12yrsold).
We did 30 minute on and 30 off to start, which seems to be the best formula for the two man team. Bart got a great start staying with the lead pack, but not burning himself out. Our 1st exchange was a little shaky, and I jumped on and within 5 min I passed my nemesis paddler Byron Kurt and then got right behind team QB, our next exchange was the worse one of the day, me having to keep going and then have the boat catch up.
About 8 miles out, the wind switched to a 10 knot S/E head wind with scattered showers, which was actually in our favor, because our 14' ACE works really well in those situations. So Bart started powering though that nasty stuff and took the lead, which we kept until the wind shut down.
It was a close race the entire 40 mi, changing leads 3 to 4 times. On my 2nd to last leg, Jim Terrell and I were battling for the lead, and he got a better line than I, and he gained a 100 yards, which they maintained all the way to the harbor entrance buoy. Bart jumped on about a mile outside the harbor and charged all the way to the finish line, gaining good ground in the flats, coming in only 1 minute 19 seconds behind the 1st place 14' 2 man winners.
What another great channel experience, with a awesome team mate! Very Stoked to be part of the Starboard International family.
Unofficial Results:
Catalina Challenge 2011
1 SUP-U (3), Open - Men 7:06:04 Gallagher/Rojas/Vela
2 SUP-U (3), Open - Men 7:17:48 Matero/Shahinian/Rambo
1 SUP-14 (2), Master - Men 7:34:58 DeBoer/Terrell
1 SUP-14 (2), Open - Men 7:36:17 De Zwart/ EJ Johnson ( Starboard )
2 SUP-14 (2), Master - Men 7:40:42 Scottsdale/Starnes
1 SUP-14 (3), Open - Men 7:58:02 Emory/Kho/Pascoe
2 SUP-14 (2), Open - Men 7:59:28 Kurt/McPhillips
2 SUP-14 (3), Open - Men 8:06:36 Donnelly/ McDonald
1 SUP-U (2), Open - Men 8:16:00 Glinn/Harrison
3 SUP-14 (3), Open - Men 8:16:50 Calandra/George/Springer
1 SUP-14 (2), Open - Coed 8:18:51 Baus/Morrisey
SUP-14 (3), Open - Men 8:29:37 Smith/Swoot/Vaughan
1 SUP-14 (3), Master - Men 8:33:21 Frey/Huddle/Welch
1 SUP-14 (3), Open - Women 8:39:26 Strazulla/Wolfe/Zuhr
3 SUP-14 (2), Master - Men 8:41:06 Cooper/Meter
1 SUP-14 (4), Open - Coed 8:46:26 Erickson/Munoz/Munoz/Poppler
SUP-14 (2), Master - Men 8:53:29 Mosher/Zulim
3 SUP-U (3), Open - Men 8:53:32 Benedict/Connor/English
2 SUP-14 (3), Master - Men 9:08:53 Meffert/Tingle/Wright
2 SUP-14 (3), Open - Women 9:22:20 Plunkett/Thomas/Wenzel
1 SUP-14 (2), Open - Women 9:22:50 Lee/Nelson
3 SUP-14 (3), Master - Men 9:27:36 Brostowicz/Perna/Swanecamp
2 SUP-U (2), Open - Men 9:32:52 Campbell/Campbell
1 SUP-U (4), Open - Coed 10:34:51 Clark/Clark/Scheel/Scheel
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