Tried my first ocean race this past weekend at the Surf to Sound race in Wrightsville Beach North Carolina. The race I paddled was called the "froth" an 11 mile ocean and sound race. I'm used to paddling on the Chesapeake Bay where conditions are usually pretty benign. I have paddled in 20-30 knot wind and 4-5 foot waves. This DID NOT prepare me for ocean racing. What a humbling experience. The ground swell and wind driven waves were 5-6 feet coming in short intervals. I capsized more times than I could remember. The good thing is I got a chance to practice bracing and remounting from both sides of the ski. On the downwind leg I was surfing down a steep wave and actually pitch-poled and was launched out of my boat. At this point I was just hoping to survive and lost my focus to win. Thankfully, I didn't drown and once I made it to the flat water part of the race I was able to make up some time and pull off the win. It wasn't pretty and my time for an 11 mile race was my 20th best according to my GPS. I have a new respect for ocean racing. Looking forward to doing it again at the Carolina Cup in April.
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