2015 Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge
The 5th annual CGPC went off with plenty of drama this year. After a windy week with some benchmark windy days hitting wind speeds the 30 mph range. The Thursday and Friday before the event we had some of the best swell we have seen on the Gorge in a few weeks so those who got here early were rewarded with some epic down winding conditions. The CGPC suddenly started filling with the worlds best athletes after some other major events in our industry were cancelled which led to the largest event in 5 years. Unfotuanley a tragic accident happened the day before the event when a paddler from Florida fell off his board in big windy columbia gorge conditions and was never to be seen again. There were search parties organized by many of the events athletes and I spent 2 hours combing the banks with binoculars and by foot. Unfortunately as I write this Andreas Pombo is still missing. Everyone here at Starboard/Trident send out our deepest thoughts and prayers for his safe return. We will still keep looking and the local authorities in the Gorge spent 3 full days of organizing and conducting searches in very unfavorable and challenging conditions. A fund has been setup so please make a donation if you have the ability. http://www.gofundme.com/cz2js8sw
The Juniors had over 60 paddlers with a very competitive field so it was actually divided into Juniors and Super Juniors classes. Then we saw the Open class with a massive field as well. Over all there were over 300 paddler at this years CGPC. The event was very well attended and even though there were no windy days everyone had a great time and got a chance to sneak a peek at some of the 2016 gear that is just hitting the water. It was obvious that the Starboard brand is very popular by the number of Blue boards on the water. The Allstar has proven its performance in the Gorge and has become one of the better downwind, flat water, and rough water (one board does it all) board that took podium spots in nearly every class.
The start of the day on Saturday with the gross was quite spectacular and in fact many of the juniors would also be competing in the open classes because they are so strong at such a young age. The open classes on Saturday would be a 4 lap/mile race with some unreal athletes. I rode the 14×23 Allstar and got a win in my age category with a 4th overall finish just behind my team mate MaCrae Wilde who got me by one board length and put in an amazing effort at 52 years young. Then the women Eoite start went off and Fiona Wilde help the lead until the last lap when she had a serious billable for the podium and ended up in 3rd with an amazing spirit to the line against Angela Jackson. The men’s pos was an amazing field with competitors from over 20 different countries and one of the most stacked fields I have ever seen in a race. It was Connor Baxter on the 2016 Allstar 14×23 with an amazing hole shot start. bUt after 5 grueling miles and some major tactical errors and line choices that almost changed the finish order. In the end it was Titouan Piyou on the 14×23 Allstar who was able to contest the second place spot but settled fro third after a huge sprint to the line against 3 other paddlers. It was hot and the smoke hanging in the air was making breathing more uncomfortable than it should have been. There are dozens of fires burning near Hood River in Oregon and Washington and the lack of wind meant smoke was sitting and clogging the airways of some of the worlds best paddlers making an already challenging “W” course with almost 10 turns per lap! In the end Danny Ching hung on to the win after a huge mistake that cost him substantial margin ahead of 2nd place. We were especially proud of Titouan and Connor for their top 5 finishes.
Day 2 was supposed to be a double downwinder with 2 runs that would be added together for an overall time, but the lack of wind meant it would deb a flatwater distance race for one 7 mile race from Viento to Hood River which is the downwind “run” but this turned into a tactical race of drafting and current reading while paddling Upstream against the biggest river in the Northwest with almost 5 knots of opposing current in some spots. When the horn went off for the Elite classes it was an amazingly fast start and in the end we saw some serious draft trains meaning the race would start just before the finish and this made for some very dramatic finishes including Fiona Wilde against Terrene Black for an all out sporting that landed Fiona in 2nd place for another top finish for Team Starboard in the Elite women’s class. Maris Buchanan (10th place) and Shannon Bell (6th place) from England and Canada respectively also had epic performances. In the mens it was an insane race between about 10 athletes trying to chase down Georges from Tahiti, but he lost steam and the “peloton” of drafters were eating up breakaway athletes just like a bike race as they move much faster as a drafting group than anyone out there on their own. At the last buoy the group broke up and it was an all out sprint for the last 300 meters to the finish. It was obvious the heat and increasesed pace of this race was taxing athletes and the sprint in the end was just too much for many athletes who had left too much on the water and didn’t save anything for a sprint finish, that is unless you were Titouan Piyou (3rd), Beau Obrien (4th), Connor Baxter (5th) and Giogio Gomez (9th) who all Sprinted to the line for a top ten finish. There were def some major route decisions that really liked up the pack and those who could hang on to the draft trains were able to improve their performances and shake up a star studded filed of racers who might normally see themselves a lot higher in the finishing results. In the open class it was a mad dash to find the smooth water at the start and set a good pace that you know you can maintain for 1.5 hours of grueling flat conditions against current, through subsurface vegetation, lots of other people board chop and some boat traffic. IN the end it was a super tough race and you could see it on the faces of the finishers as they came into the beach of the Riverfront Park in Hood River. Congrats to Macrae Wilde for a top ten finish and to all the senior and junior athletes who paddled a Starboard and survived a long race to the finish. Big shout out to Derek Fromm as well for his awesome performance and always positive attitude. Look out for this guy in the future he is one of the fastest in the NW and will soon be a player in the Men’s Elite class.
Overall it was a bittersweet weekend with lots of smiles and tears and it was definitely a tough decision for the organizers to deal with the Andreas tragedy and the No wind conditions but I have to give them all a huge hats off for another epic years of racing and fun for everyone who came to this magical region to play and race on their SUP boards. Starboard/Trident would also like thank everyone who organized, volunteered, supported, and/or participated in the 5th annual Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge. We would also like to send a huge THANK YOU to Big Winds and Steve Gates (including his whole BW crew) for adding so much to our paddling community and the sport.
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