What an exciting weekend for team Naish at the 2012 Battle of the Paddle at Doheny Beach Park in California. Did they rock the place? Yes, they did! There were outstanding performances from everyone on the team. Day one featured the Elite race – An “in-and-out through the surf” triangle course with 4 laps to be completed. The top times where just under 45 minutes.
Winner of this year’s Molokai to Oahu race in the 14’0″ class, Kai Lenny, as well as Kody Kerbox, had great starts leading the pack to the first buoy in the first lap. Kody unfortunately got stuck on the buoy and lost his second position, but Kai continued to increase his lead ahead of the pack. This race however is not over ’til it’s over and it really depends on if you are catching waves back to the beach or not. All the efforts Kai made in extending his lead were lost when paddlers came back to the beach after the first lap. This continued on for the remainder of the race with Kai battling it out with Danny Ching and Connor Baxter. In the end Kai took second place.On day two the Long Distance and Team Relay races were held. Once again it came down to Kai Lenny and Danny Ching battling it out with Kai finishing in second again. In the women’s division it was Jenny Kalmbach placing fourth in the Elite race and third in the Long Distance race. The Team Relay race proved to be the most spectacular to watch for paddlers and spectators. Naish had two teams in the running. One with Kai Lenny, Kody Kerbox, Jenny Kalmbach and Jake Jensen and the other with Tucker Ingalls, Noa Ginella, Casper Steinfath and Mariko Strickland. Both teams did great out of the gate but it was Jake Jensen who separated himself quickly and created a big lead right from the start, making it “easy” for his teammates to continue on and further extending the lead. No one was able to challenge Kai, Kody, Jenny and Jake’s lead throughout the rest of the race and they successfully claimed top spot on the podium way ahead of the second place finishers. It was a hard fought battle for third place between Naish’s other team and the team around Connor Baxter. It all came down to the run through the light barrier at the finish line. Just a split second put Tucker, Noa, Casper and Mariko in fourth.
The Naish team once again rose to the occasion on their production boards – the Javelin 12’6″ LE and Javelin 14’0″ LE.
Congratulations from all of us here at Naish!
Next up the Stand Up World Series Grand Finale at Turtle Bay on October 12th – 14th in which Kai Lenny is entering as the tour leader.
2012 BOP Results Elite Race – Men
2012 BOP Results Elite Race – Women
2012 BOP Results Long Distance Race – Men
2012 BOP Results Long Distance Race – Women