by Kevin Cody The Fifth Annual South Bay Paddle on Saturday was a repeat duel between the two winners of the past two Catalina Classic Paddleboard races.
Catalina Channel lays down for famously challenging Rock 2 Rock Paddleboard race
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Photos by Ken Pagliaro (KenPagliaro.com)
by Kevin Cody
The annual Rock 2 Rock paddleboard race is famous for bad conditions. The start at Two Harbors on Catalina Island typically has onshore winds whistling through the Isthmus, churning up the water. The finish, at Cabrillo Beach, is known to windsurfers as Hurricane Gulch because of its powerful offshore winds.
Not this year. The only disruption was a slow moving freighter that forced the slower paddlers to sit up while it passed. Otherwise, conditions were as conducive to fast times any year in recent memory. The water was flat and the feared wind at the finish never materialized.