Starboard Florida State Paddleboard Championship and Easter Surf Fest SUP Contest
2011 Florida State Paddleboard Championship
Hosted by: The Cocoa Beach Surf Museum
Sponsored by: Starboard, Ocean Minded, SOBE Surf and WavzCapz
The 11th annual Florida State Championship was held on April 23rd at Shepard Park, Cocoa Beach in conjunction with the Ron Jon Easter Surf Festival.
Competitors and race organizers were greeted on race day with 15 to 20 mph ESE winds and 4-6 ft swell which promised to make a very interesting race. After picking their way through the shore break, 73 men and women made a water start straight into the wind. The 7 mile course was divided into a 2.8 mile upwind leg, followed by a 3.5 mile downwind leg back to the Cocoa Beach Pier with a .7 mile upwind sprint to the finish line.
The conditions were very challenging with strong winds, confused seas and 4 to 6 foot ground swell added to the mix. Several paddlers reported head high plus swells on the course and one of the prone paddlers was slapped off his board by a rogue swell, forcing him to swim for his board. To add to the fun the south buoy decided to take a trip down the beach and the pack leaders followed until water safety on jetski’s realized what was happening and turned the paddlers around. They ended up paddling 9.2 miles in all. Many thanks to Brevard County Ocean Rescue for their excellent support.
Equipment selection proved to be relatively unimportant as the overall winner, Chase Kosterlitz, with a winning time of 1:56:24 on a 14ft SUP, was closely followed by Packet Casey on a 12’6″ SUP, John Sedely on a 14ft. prone board, and a mixed bag of boards nipping at their heels.
Nine women entered the race with Helga Goebel finishing first overall with a time of 2:24:04 on a 12’6″ SUP. She was closely followed by Lindsay Shoop on a prone paddleboard in second and Dariane Boyle in third on a 14′ SUP. Special props to Lindsay Shoop, competing in her first ever race.
Grand Champion Trophies were given to the male and female with the best combined times of the 7 mile race and the King/Queen of the beach, a short course swim, run and paddle event. The Men’s winner was Chase Kosterlitz and the Women’s went to Helga Goebel.
Special thanks to our tireless museum volunteers, Viera High School volunteers and especially my wife Marie whose organizational skills ensures that everything runs smoothly.
– John Hughes (Race Director) Cocoa Beach Surf Museum
Report from Girard Middleton:
The Starboard Florida State Paddleboard Championships at Cocoa Beach turned out to be a true Championship test in the open ocean with 4-6 foot surf and 15 to 20 knot East winds! The 7 Mile race turned into a 9.2 mile gauntlet when the southern turn buoy blew into the beach with the raging sea conditions. Starboard Team Rider Iain McFarland took 2nd place in spite of taking a gash in the bottom of his race board at the start of the race when a wave drove the nose of a competitor’s board up through the bottom of Iain’s raceboard, throwing Iain into the sea and causing his board to take in massive amounts of water for the entire coarse. Rory Cam took 2nd place in the unlimited class riding a Starboard K-15.
Starboard team riders also made a great showing at the in the Cocoa Beach Easter Surf Fest SUP division with a talented field of SUP surfers including Garret Macnamara. Starbord Team Riders Girard Middleton, Iain McFarland, and Jake Portwood all made it through to the Semi Finals before being eliminated.
– Girard Middleton, Starboard Team Rider, SoBe Surf
Check out the results here:
Florida State Paddleboard Championship 2011 FSPBC Rankings