by Sam Gentsch
(Founding Member & Southest Regional Rep living in Georgia)
I have been fascinated with videos of the Graveyard race at the Carolina Cup for years. I am a river and lake paddler, and just getting off and back onto the beach looks brutal in years past. I sit in awe watching paddlers of all ages and on various craft battle the waves just to start the 13.2-mile race. This year I decided to go to the Carolina Cup, participate in the shortest race and run over to watch the graveyard (this was wildly optimistic on how quickly I could finish the Harbor Island Race, more later…). I took a couple days off work, to leisurely drive from Atlanta to Wilmington Beach, and to attend Dan Gavere's Rough Water Racing- Technique and Strategies clinic. Dan’s clinic was fantastic. We learned a lot of skills for choppy and challenging conditions and received a lot of personal technique tuning. I heard great reviews from the other clinics also. It was very much worth a vacation day to channel with Dan and similarly skilled paddlers.
Race day was very well organized, warm, and sunny and all the racers were smiling and chatting while we waited for the safety brief. I love our community, and it was fun meeting so many kindred spirits! The 5km Harbor Island race started off with a water start on the front/bay side of the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, we paddled the course and due to some construction along the original course did more like 8km. The course was fun and lots of boaters made it challenging for flat water paddlers like me…though Dan’s clinic helped me a lot!
The 8km took me longer than I planned for the 5km, HAH, call me Captain Obvious, so I missed the graveyard start…dang it! I took the time to chat up some other racers of the shorter races and test out one of the sponsors, Kona Brewing Company, adult beverages. It was not long before the amazingly speedy racers started surfing in and running across the finish line. I overheard many racers talking about how challenging the conditions and course were. Some very skilled racers could not make it out of one of the inlets…the conditions had them paddling as hard as they could and they just could NOT get into the ocean, they chose after fighting for a while to call it a day. I KNOW how hard it is to admit defeat to the course and really give props to those racers. Next year. Next year you will crush it!
After the race, the free food and beer/seltzers, the paddlers, the support crews (aka family), and award ceremonies were enjoyable! I enjoyed talking to people at sponsor tents, USA SUP crew, racers from all over. SIC, 404, Allstar had boards on display, and it was informative talking to experts about all of them. Listening to Danny Ching explain the design process of the 404 Jump and new LTDX was fascinating. Jonathan Bischof shared so much knowledge about Starboard and 404 boards. The SIC crew (so sorry I do not remember the name of who I spoke to) was also awesome. Salt Life had a tent up and cornhole contests to win free stuff and there were many others.
It was outside of my normal distance to race rule, AND well worth it. I WILL race the Carolina Cup again. I hope to someday be good enough in the ocean to do the Graveyard, but if not, I will still come to NC, attend clinics and race on the inland races!
