A Year of Progress
If you had asked me in May of last year if I'd ever paddle 22 miles across the Catalina Channel on a prone paddleboard, I would've laughed.
"No way. No how."
At that point, I hadn't even been on a prone paddleboard. Everything changed in June. I borrowed a friend's 12-foot stock board for a two-mile race hosted by the South Bay Boardriders Club. Somewhere between that first race, dozens of miles of paddling, surfing, and taking lessons from DJ and Kurt at Oceans Prone, I fell in love with the sport. I spent June logging about 60 miles in the ocean and somehow managed to win my division in both South Bay Boardriders Club paddle races.
Then came an opportunity I never expected. LZ had designed the trophies for the Rock2Rock race, and while Matt Walls was picking them up, I casually mentioned that I'd love to race on a relay team if anyone needed another paddler. A few days later I was on a team.
Looking back now, it's funny how quickly everything happened. One month after my first prone paddle, I was standing on Catalina Island preparing to cross the channel. I barely knew what I was doing. Everything was new. The ferry ride. The race check-in. Sleeping on an escort boat. Meeting my teammates. Learning how relay exchanges worked. Trying to pace myself for three-mile efforts while crossing one of the most famous stretches of water in California.
I remember being nervous. I remember chasing down my friend Steve during my final leg and sprinting to the finish. Most of all, I remember crossing the finish line thinking I'd just experienced one of the greatest adventures of my life. I had no idea that race would completely change the direction of my paddling.
One Year Later
Fast forward a year. Last weekend before the race I paddled another 22 miles. The weekend before that I paddled 20. This year, every mile has been part of preparing for something even bigger—the Catalina Classic on August 30th. Training for the Classic has become a huge part of my life. Long paddles. Early mornings. Recovery days. Planning. Nutrition. Mental preparation. It's a level of commitment I never imagined making a year ago.
I knew I wanted to race Rock2Rock again. Originally, I wanted to paddle the entire crossing solo, but I couldn't line up an escort boat. Instead, I decided to race another relay. At first I was disappointed. Then I realized it might actually be the smarter decision. Rock2Rock could become my dress rehearsal for the Catalina Classic. I'd get another chance to experience race weekend, practice all the logistics, start the race, work with an escort boat, and learn things that would make me more successful in August.
Making that decision wasn't easy. It meant missing my sister's 50th birthday party. Calling her to tell her was tough, but she completely understood. She knows how much I've invested in this goal over the last year, and she more than encouraged me to go. That support meant the world to me.
Back to Catalina
I caught a ride to Catalina with my buddy Steve Bender and his family. Steve and his son Jackson were racing together as a two-person relay team. Watching them together made me smile. I couldn't help wishing my dad had been into prone paddling so we could've shared adventures like this. Life doesn't always work out that way, but it was still awesome watching Steve and Jackson tackle the channel together.
The boat ride also gave me time to think about last year. What struck me most wasn't the race itself. It was how different I felt. Last year I was nervous because everything was unfamiliar. This year I felt like I belonged. I knew the routine. I knew what gear to bring. I knew how the relay worked. Instead of sleeping on the escort boat like I had the year before, I stayed at the house with the rest of the racers so I could practice the same routine I'll use for the Catalina Classic.
After check-in and the safety meeting, Tommy put together an incredible dinner. It felt like Thanksgiving—chicken, pasta, salads, fruit, and enough food to feed an army. Steve, his wife, and their boys joined us, and the evening disappeared into stories, laughter, and race talk.
By 9 p.m. everyone scattered to whatever sleeping spot they could find. I finally drifted off listening to the live band echoing up the hill from Two Harbors.
Race Morning
At 4:50 a.m. my alarm went off. By 5 o'clock everyone was awake, taking turns in the bathroom, eating breakfast, organizing gear, and getting ready for the crossing. The conditions couldn't have looked much better. Light wind. Cool air. Calm water. I put on my bright yellow rash guard and my Mexican flag board shorts, hoping they'd make me easier for our escort boat to spot.
At 6:59 a.m., the countdown began. One minute. Thirty seconds.
Ten...
Nine...
Eight...
The horn sounded, and suddenly all of the paddlers were charging out of Two Harbors.
Unlike last year, when I watched from the boat, this year I was leading off for our team.
That was something I specifically wanted to experience before the Catalina Classic.
I started wide to the left, found a clean line through the boats, tucked in behind another paddler, and drafted until I found an opening to move ahead.
Since I was racing a relay, I decided to paddle hard. One minute prone. Two minutes on my knees. Repeat. The miles disappeared. I expected our escort boat to find me around the 45-minute mark. It never showed up. An hour passed. Still no boat.
Eventually I heard cheering behind me. They'd finally found me. As it turned out, the GPS trackers weren't working for most of the race, making it difficult for escort boats to locate their paddlers. I swapped out after 6.6 miles, climbed aboard, wrapped myself in my giant swim parka, and looked back toward Catalina. It felt good knowing I'd covered that much water so quickly.
The Finish
After Ed, Tommy, and Dave completed their legs, I jumped back on the board to finish the race. The conditions had changed. The wind had picked up. The current had turned against us.
Still, I stuck with the plan that had worked all morning—one minute prone, two minutes on my knees.
About halfway through my final leg, I caught up to my friend Matt. He was paddling all 22 miles solo. I stayed beside him for a while and told him he was my hero. Eventually I pulled away, but watching him battle through those conditions reminded me exactly what I'll be facing in a few weeks during the Catalina Classic.
As I rounded the Palos Verdes Peninsula, I could finally see the South Bay Boardriders Club flags lining the finish. I worked my way through the kelp, caught a small wave toward shore, made it down the face of the wave then buried the nose of the board, got tossed into the water, jumped up laughing, grabbed the board, and sprinted up the beach to the finish line.
Our relay team crossed in 4 hours and 44 minutes. It was our fastest Rock2Rock yet. I was especially stoked for Steve and Jackson. Their goal was to finish around six hours. Instead, they crossed in 5 hours and 23 minutes. They absolutely crushed it.
The Biggest Victory
The biggest surprise didn't happen during the race. It happened after I got home. I looked over my GPS data and realized I'd paddled 11.5 of the 22 miles. More than half the race. And I'd felt strong from beginning to end. For the first time, I honestly believed I could've paddled the entire crossing solo. Maybe not at the same pace. But I could've done it. That realization meant more than any finish time.
One year ago, I was just hoping I could keep up. This year, I walked away believing I'm ready for the Catalina Classic. Rock2Rock has become more than just a race to me. Last year it introduced me to what its like crossing the Catalina Channel. This year it showed me how far I've come.
There's still plenty of work to do before August 30th. The Catalina Classic is ten miles longer and a much bigger challenge. But after everything I learned at Rock2Rock, I'm more excited than ever. The training isn't over. It's entering the final stretch.
Rock 2 Rock
2026 Rock 2 Rock paddle board race livestream.
You can watch the whole race here... At 5 hours 4 minutes they interview me!
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| You can track each paddler here (just click the image above) |
