Stand Up Paddle Company, Laguna Beach

Hello All,

Well, the Battle of the Paddle has come and gone, yet another year. This was my 3rd BOP California that I have competed in. My first BOP was in 2009. The year of the waves! I had only been SUPing for a few months when I raced and took 3rd in the elite and first in the distance, I was stoked!!! Last year, I placed 2nd in the elite, and 1st in the distance, stoked again! Both years I was also given the “Most Combative” award, for best combined performances. So fast forward to this year. Going into the Battle this year, my confidence was pretty low. I figured I could finish anywhere between 1st and 7th, and was really just hoping to make the top 5 podium finish. The competition this year has really turned up the pressure. Girls are just plain getting faster, and I never know if I am getting faster or slower, so I wasnʼt sure how things would wind up. Anyhow, the Elite race did not disappoint this year. After a week of virtually NO waves at all, God gave us a little wave surge, which always makes the race more fun and interesting.

The format was a bit different this year. I had to qualify for the elite race in 1 of the 2 preliminary heats. I finished first in my heat, but still wasnʼt sure how I would do in the elite race because their were several heavy hitters in the other heat. Well, after racing the first 2/3ʼs of the elite race in 3rd place behind Candice and Annabel, I caught Annabel as we started our last lap. The fact that I had caught her gave me some confidence, because if you catch someone, itʼs because you are going faster at that point. We paddled together most of the last lap, with some “interesting” buoy turns :). Well, I pulled away towards the end and finished in 2nd place!!!!! Super stoked again. This years 2nd place means so much, it has rejuvenated my love for the sport. Iʼve been using the “I am an old lady” excuse for a bit, and well, old doesnʼt suck that much, I guess. I felt great after the race and was ready to bring on the distance race. ! The distance race isnʼt that exciting. I got 3rd, which was fine. I had won it the past two years, but this year Candice was able to hold on to her strength for day 2 of racing, and Annabel beat me by seconds. The distance race was a bit funny, and different than the past years. Lots of drafting by everyone (me too). Itʼs funny how people who are so outspoken on anti drafting were the same oneʼs bumping my tail, hmmmm.... anyhow. ! The final and most fun event of weekend is always the relay. I was on the relay with fellow Hobie Team riders, Byron Kurt, Jay Wild, and Collin McPhillips. To tell you the truth, there are a lot of super fast teams out there, and I didnʼt think we were going to be one of them, but I was wrong (thankfully)! We finished third. Actually, more like second and a 1/2 because it was just the sprint up the beach where the Naish team got us. So, you know, I will go with second and a half :0). ! All in all, totally awesome weekend!!!!! Oh yeah, to top it off, I was awarded Most Inspirational female on day 1, cool. ! Thanks to everyone for the awesome support throughout my race season. I think I am going to race this upcoming weekend (maybe) and then surf more and paddle less for a while :).

Brandi