Surfski Knowledge Base

Hot 5: Series Wrap
Kevin Olney
09/02/17 #21903

The 2017 Hot 5 Summer Race Series is complete!

The Thursday night finale featured some of the toughest and grittiest racing I’ve seen all year. The 6 mile course looped from Marine Park around Chuckanut Island and back. It was a gorgeous evening on the water as 22 boats blasted off the line into a light breeze. Cryder and Kirk took an early lead. Paul C headed a huge pack while Tom S committed to an outside line. By the turn around the island Nicholas had opened up a gap on Kirk. And Tom’s navigational gamble paid off as he moved into third place. Amazingly, the main pack had barely separated. 15 boats screamed by within 30 seconds of each other. Major series points were on the line and everyone knew it!

At the finish Cryder notched his fourth win in four races, securing first place in the surfski 18-40 group. Kirk was second over the line, finishing first in the surfski 41-60 group. Dennis M dug deep to pull off a fourth place overall finish, gaining first in the highly competitive surfski 61+ category. Other division winners included Beau W in OC-1, Ana S in surfski Junior and Kim & Julie in OC-2.

Before I talk about the final standings I want to express tremendous gratitude towards the volunteers and sponsors who donated their time, energy and money to make this event possible. Without them it simply could not happen. At registration, thank you to Julie, Marc B. and Amy Hammer. Timing was handled superbly by Kristian T, Marc B, and Neal. On the water we were kept safe by the expert crew of Chris Collins, John R, and Ian Slone.

Our sponsors came through with huge prizes and awards! Thank you to Duncan and Gwen at Mt Baker Ski Area and to Greg at Epic Kayaks for donating some monster grand prizes. Big shout out to DJ and Ocean Paddlesports and Dean’s Stump Removal, Inc. These guys were on board from the beginning. Brandon Nelson Real Estate was another huge supporter, as was Steve and Rudy’s Pizzeria.

Paul Clement utilized awesome design and manufacturing skills to create all of our awards. I highly recommend him for any production project.

A very special thanks has to go to Amber Z. From planning and design to registration and timing this wonderful woman dedicated many hours keeping the train on the tracks.

In the end Dennis Mowry battled his way to the top of the standings, earning himself some sweet hardware, a $100 gift certificate from Epic and all the glory that comes with being the Hot 5 Series Champion. Dennis embraced the spirt of the event by not only participating in all the races but paddling in all three different disciplines. He is a true waterman.

Kirk Chrisensen missed the title by only a single point. His determination and power earned him top-3 finishes in every race. Always a competitor, Kirk received an Any-day lift ticket from Mt Baker as well as a lighted trophy.

In third place, and considered the People’s Champion, was Peter Marcus. After four races Peter held a commanding lead in the standings and had all but wrapped up the series title. Sunday he was called away for work to respond to the disaster in Texas and was forced to miss the final race. We all wish you the best Peter and hope you return home soon where a lighted trophy and a Mid-week lift ticket await you.

In sixth place overall was the top female competitor, Heather Nelson. The fact that Heather only attended three races and managed to rack up her huge point total is testimony to the paddling strength and resolve of this woman. As Top Female Heather also received a $100 gift from Epic Kayaks

Additional recognitions were given to Nicholas Cryder, Josh Dyck, Ana Swetish and Wilson Reavley:

Cryder received Top Gun award for finishing first overall in every race he entered.

Josh earned the Raging Rookie award for nailing some top-5 finishes in his first season of paddling.

Ana was the Rising Star. At only 15 years of age she is paddling like a seasoned pro!

Finally, Wilson received the Steppin’ Up award for moving out of the Junior category and into the merciless sea of the 18-40 group.

That is the wrap on this year’s Hot 5 series. Thank you to everyone who participated and spectated. It was truly a pleasure to bring some intense and fun racing to Bellingham Bay. Planning is already in the works for next year. Please share your thought or ideas with me and we will make it even better next time around!

KO

David Scherrer
09/02/17 #21905

Superb race series Kevin and Amber. Thanks again.

paul clement
09/02/17 #21906

Well done Kevin and all the support volunteers. I remember when this was a little idea about getting people on the water in a new way. It turned out to be much more than that. What an adventurous community of paddlers we have.

Thanks also for creating an event where I could launch Elastic Laser. I am excited to begin this new thing and hope if people are looking for interesting creative art and awards they contact me. For sure you will continue to see my work at the races.

Paul