The 3rd Annual Punta Sayulita Longboard & Stand-Up Paddle Classic took place this past weekend with a great turnout in terms of competitors, visitors and fans. There was a fairly decent swell predicted from the south, south-west for the weekend, and while it may not have hit perfectly, there were intermittent periods of decent surf for the competitors. For two days, and several days leading up to the event, Sayulita became swamped with professionals from around the globe, some well known with long illustrious careers already proving their mettle, and other young rising stars eager to compete. For those of us on the beaches relegated to spectating as fans, there was no shortage of talent admire or fun to be enjoyed, the event, the weather, the management, the entertainment, were all flawless. Once again, a very hearty thanks for the hard work put in by Punta Sayulita.
I was able to catch up with partner, Kevin Roberts, just after the completion of the tournament and his description of the events. ” An amazing event and good times by all. The level of competition was incredible and it was great to see the aloha spirit carry through the entire weekend of festivities. All of the competitors kept telling me how this is the best event of the year. ” I don’t doubt this sentiment as I was fortunate enough to catch at least a glimpse of most of the events, including the music on Saturday night from legendary reggae recording artist Pato Banton, from Jamaica. Pato has been touring and producing reggae for some 35 years, and is in deed top talent.
Based on the results below it’s apparent that the local Mexican surfers performed extremely well, especially considering some of the world renowned surfers from Hawaii, and the US, some notables being Sergio Gonzalez and Patricio Gonzalez placing 2, and 3 in the longboard division, and Ryan Helm placing 3rd in both the SUP division and the elite race. This is very impressive considering that he’s racing against some of the top ranked paddle boarders in the world. So bravo for the local talent.
Here are the top competition results:
2012 Men’s Longboard Division
(1) Darren Eudaly (USA)
(2) Sergio Gonzalez (MEX)
(3) Patricio Gonzalez (MEX)
(4) Trae Candy (USA)
2012 Women’s Longboard
(1) Karina Rozunko (USA)
(2) Mary Osborne (USA)
(3) Jen Lee (HAW)
(4) Candice Appleby (USA)
2012 Men’s SUP Surf
(1) Zane Schweitzer (HAW)
(2) Kai Lenny (HAW)
(3) Ryan Helm (MEX)
(4) Tigre Cadena (MEX)
2012 Women’s SUP Surf
(1) Candice Appleby (USA)
(2) Vanina Walsh (HAW)
(3) Jen Lee (HAW)
(4) Jenny Kalmbach (HAW)
2012 SUP Elite RaceMen
(1) Connor Baxter (HAW)
(2) Kai Lenny (HAW)
(3) Ryan Helm (MEX)
Masters – Aaron Napoleon (HAW)
Women
(1) Candice Appleby (USA)
(2) Jenny Kalmbach (HAW)
(3) Talia Gangini (HAW)
Masters – Veronica Nava (MEX)
SUP 10K Distance RaceMen
(1) Connor Baxter (HAW)
(2) Ryan Helm (MEX)
(3) Kai Lenny (HAW)
Masters – Jim Terrel (USA)
Women
(1) Jenny Kalmbach (HAW)
(2) Britt Oliphant (USA)
(3) Sofia de Wolf (USA)
Masters – Erin Breeze (USA)
SUP 2.2K Fun RaceMen
(1) Adam Finer (MEX)
Women
(1) Veronica Nava (MEX)