We’ve just wrapped up the second and final day of the Ta-Hoe Nalu SUP Festival here in beautiful Lake Tahoe, California. Among epic scenery and hundreds of paddlers, it was Georges Cronsteadt from Tahiti who stood out, taking out both the Distance and Elite Races.

Meanwhile the women’s prizes were split between the impressive Canadian Lina Augaitis (Distance Race winner) and the always strong Morgan Hoesterey (Elite Race winner).

Yesterday saw the 10 mile Distance Race while today it was the Elite Race and overall it was a fun weekend. However there were a few issues with the event organisation, including a messy one with the prize money, but that will come out in the days to come. For now let’s look at how the results went down…

>>> PHOTOS: Click here for some great race pics thanks to Crown Paddle Grips

DAY 2 UPDATE: Sunday saw the Elite Race and the battle for the $10,000* prize purse which used Jamie Mitchell’s “Survivor Race” format). It was a fun, tough race. We were hurting by the end of it. Altitude hurts. And this Lake is at 6,200 feet…

Jake Jensen was on fire early, taking out three of the first four rounds, but Georges Cronsteadt was like a raging bull in the final, setting an early lead and holding it right around the 500 meter course to secure first place for Team SIC. Local boy Jay Wild was impressive as well, getting past one of the race favourites in Chase Kosterlitz to finish top 3.

Meanwhile in the women’s race it was Morgan Hoesterey all the way. The Oahu girl dominated all of the rounds and held a massive lead in the final, however she was pushed right to the line by a charging Lina Augaitis. The Canadian, who won yesterday’s Distance Race, came within a board length of Morgan at the final buoy, but couldn’t quite catch up. If the race was another 100 meters there might have been a different winner.

You can check out the top finishers below, then check back soon for full results plus photos and videos of the action from Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Nalu Elite Race RESULTS

Men’s race started with 18 guys and consisted of five rounds, with the last two finishers being knocked out in the first four rounds. The fifth and final round was the final…

Men’s Final Round:
1st: Georges Cronsteadt
2nd: Jake Jensen
3rd: Jay Wild
4th: Chase Kosterlitz
5th: Mike Tavares
6th: Chance Fielder
7th: Colin McPhillips
8th: Jeramie Vaine
9th: Jimmy Spithill
10th: Christopher Parker

Women’s Final Round:
1st: Morgan Hoesterey
2nd: Lina Augaitis
3rd: Gillian Gibree
4th: Gail Vento
5th: Jen Lee

*****

DAY 1 UPDATE: Saturday was the 10 mile Distance Race and jt was an awesome day on the lake. Perfect weather and one of the most scenic paddling courses made for a super fun Distance Race.

We started at Kings Beach, took a left-hand turn at the first buoy, which was about 100 metres out, then continued along the coast. We rounded the headland, crossed the border from California into Nevada, then continued around Crystal Bay to Incline Village, hugging the coast the whole way.

After we rounded the halfway marker it was a straight grind all the way back to the finish. Draft trains were everywhere, paddlers were dropping off and catching back up and everyone was getting distracted by the amazing surrounds.

In the battle of the 14 footers, Tahitian Georges Cronsteadt, paddling for the SIC team these days, led out a pack that included the Fanatic boys Chase Kosterlitz and Jake Jensen, while Riviera’s Thomas Maximus was way out in front on his Unlimited.

Meanwhile in the women’s race it was Canadian Lina Augaitis all the way, with the Starboard paddler finishing four minutes clear of Jen Lee, while Morgan Hoesterey was third.

Speaking of Starboard, big thanks to the guys from Starboard USA for hooking me up with a board at the last minute. I paddled the 14′ x 24″ Sprint (next year’s model!). It was a fairly tippy, as you can imagine the first time you hop on a 24-inch-wide board, but super fast. I don’t know exactly how it stacks up to other boards in terms of pure speed, however it seemed really efficient, so it must have a pretty good speed vs. effort ratio. Because let’s face it, there’s no way I should have gotten 4th place, so the board must have been doing something right…

Scroll down for the results.

Oh and here’s how it all looked on the GPS…

*****

Tahoe Nalu SUP Festival

DISTANCE RACE RESULTS

Course: 9 miles
Conditions: Epic
Scenery: Awesome
Click “M/F” to switch between Men’s and Women’s Results
Click “Class” to show the results from different board classes
Click “Time” to reset the results…

Overall #	M/F	M/F #	Name	Time	Class	Class #
1	M	1	Thomas Maximus	1:26:39	Unlim	1
2	M	2	TANDEM Erickson	1:27:23	Unlim	2
3	M	3	TRANDEM Brackett	1:28:00	Unlim	3
4	M	4	Georges Cronsteadt	1:28:09	14'	1
5	M	5	Brian Stockdale	1:29:56	Unlim	4
6	M	6	Rand Carter	1:31:11	Unlim	5
7	M	7	Chase Kosterlitz	1:31:13	14'	2
8	M	8	Jake Jensen	1:31:23	14'	3
9	M	9	Darian Hildreth	1:32:31	Unlim	6
10	M	10	Christopher Parker	1:34:12	14'	4
11	M	11	Eric Starnes	1:34:14	14'	5
12	M	12	Chance Fielder	1:34:21	14'	6
13	M	13	Brendan Light	1:34:49	14'	7
14	M	14	Austin Young	1:35:48	14'	8
15	M	15	Belar Diaz	1:36:25	14'	9
16	M	16	Jeramie Vaine	1:36:33	14'	10
17	M	17	Mike Gabor	1:36:38	14'	11
18	M	18	Seth Springer	1:37:15	14'	12
19	M	19	Michael Tavares	1:37:20	14'	13
20	M	20	John Becker	1:37:26	14'	14
21	M	21	Brad Seyffer	1:37:37	14'	15
22	M	22	Evan Derdowski	1:39:01	14'	16
23	M	23	Bojan Bernard	1:39:03	14'	17
24	F	1	Lina Augaitis	1:39:04	F12'6"	1
25	M	24	David Meyler	1:40:02	14'	18
26	M	25	Joel Comer	1:40:29	14'	19
27	M	26	Michael Valenzuela	1:41:09	Unlim	7
28	M	27	John Alexiou	1:41:30	14'	20
29	M	28	Dax Willard	1:41:31	14'	21
30	M	29	Trent Hickman	1:42:16	14'	22
31	M	30	Rob Graham	1:42:25	14'	23
32	M	31	Larry Ferguson	1:42:29	Unlim	8
33	M	32	Steve Arkell	1:42:32	14'	24
34	M	33	Luca Genasci	1:42:55	12'6"	1
35	M	34	Mike Irete	1:42:58	14'	25
36	F	2	Jennifer Lee	1:43:26	F12'6"	2
37	M	35	John Merryfield	1:43:30	14'	26
38	M	36	Doug Furano	1:44:07	12'6"	2
39	F	3	Morgan Hoesterey	1:44:35	F12'6"	3
40	M	37	John Allen	1:44:40	14'	27
41	M	38	Kenny Puckett	1:44:44	14'	28
42	M	39	Fred Andersen	1:44:47	14'	29
43	M	40	Jeff Pearson	1:44:59	14'	30
44	M	41	Brook Staples	1:45:30	14'	31
45	M	42	Mike Bond	1:45:41	14'	32
46	M	43	Scott Estrada	1:46:27	14'	33
47	M	44	Joseph Mosquera	1:46:28	14'	34
48	M	45	Dalton Arkell	1:46:36	14'	35
49	M	46	Jay Gomez	1:46:43	12'6"	3
50	M	47	Mike Day	1:47:19	14'	36
51	M	48	Geoffrey James	1:48:07	14'	37
52	M	49	Mark Maguire	1:48:17	14'	38
53	M	50	Kevin Scott	1:48:35	14'	39
54	F	4	Jennifer L Fuller	1:48:43	F12'6"	4
55	M	51	Joseph Fellner	1:49:03	14'	40
56	F	5	Gail Vento	1:49:07	F12'6"	5
57	F	6	Kimberly Gomez	1:49:12	F12'6"	6
58	M	52	John Walsh	1:49:17	12'6"	4
59	M	53	Ian Light	1:49:22	12'6"	5
60	M	54	Richard Slye	1:49:25	14'	41
61	M	55	Ryan Delariva	1:49:32	14'	42
62	M	56	Ciro Mancuso	1:49:33	14'	43
63	M	57	Daniel Buchanan	1:49:39	14'	44
64	M	58	John Albrecht	1:49:40	14'	45
65	M	59	Matt Lund	1:49:44	14'	46
66	M	60	Brady Flaherty	1:50:03	14'	47
67	M	61	Rob MacIas	1:50:13	14'	48
68	M	62	Zane Asselin	1:50:24	12'6"	6
69	M	63	Pablo Bori	1:50:46	12'6"	7
70	M	64	Tai Boutell	1:50:51	14'	49
71	M	65	Kyle Wade	1:50:57	14'	50
72	M	66	Tom Sykes	1:51:03	12'6"	8
73	M	67	Doug Stoup	1:51:51	14'	51
74	M	68	Stephen Pugh	1:51:53	14'	52
75	M	69	Wayne Prouty Jr	1:52:02	14'	53
76	M	70	Phillipe Asselin	1:52:06	14'	54
77	M	71	John Thomaselli	1:52:12	12'6"	9
78	M	72	Travis Wade	1:52:35	14'	55
79	M	73	Kevin Murnane	1:52:40	14'	56
80	M	74	Doug Penny	1:53:00	12'6"	10
81	M	75	Leo Robinton	1:53:03	14'	57
82	M	76	Joe Quinn	1:53:30	14'	58
83	M	77	Andrew McGinnis	1:53:40	14'	59
84	M	78	Nate Ludwig	1:53:58	12'6"	11
85	M	79	Jim Granger	1:54:44	14'	60
86	F	7	Kristine Hamrick	1:54:51	F14'	1
87	F	8	Amy Staples	1:54:52	F14'	2
88	M	80	Steven Rawiszer	1:54:54	Unlim	9
89	M	81	Buck Quaglia	1:55:21	14'	61
90	M	82	Jase Roessler	1:55:31	Unlim	10
91	M	83	Paul Hasselquist	1:55:40	12'6"	12
92	M	84	Nick Vivar	1:55:42	14'	62
93	M	85	David Swidan	1:55:51	14'	63
94	M	86	Gary Wimberly	1:56:09	12'6"	13
95	M	87	Summit Moulton	1:56:25	12'6"	14
96	M	88	Tony Schopp	1:56:44	14'	64
97	F	9	Kali'a Alexiou	1:57:00	F14'	3
98	F	10	Wendy Ackermann	1:57:04	F12'6"	7
99	M	89	Bill Bloodgood	1:57:06	12'6"	15
100	M	90	Kip Roseman	1:57:17	12'6"	16
101	M	91	Peter Phelan	1:57:50	12'6"	17
102	M	92	Michael Melville	1:58:01	12'6"	18
103	M	93	Johnathan Boyd	1:59:22	14'	65
104	M	94	Rod De La Rosa	2:00:01	14'	66
105	M	95	W. Joe Woodman	2:00:04	14'	67
106	M	96	Matt MacArewich	2:00:09	14'	68
107	F	11	Debbie Fajans	2:00:29	F12'6"	8
108	M	97	Andrew Lanes	2:00:34	12'6"	19
110	M	99	Sasha Unruh	2:00:37	12'6"	20
109	M	98	Lincoln West	2:00:37	14'	69
111	M	100	Thomas Leith	2:00:47	14'	70
112	M	101	Steven Becker	2:01:03	14'	71
113	M	102	Bill Schmidt	2:01:04	14'	72
114	M	103	Trevor MacArewich	2:01:29	14'	73
115	M	104	Dante Boutell	2:01:38	14'	74
116	F	12	Maya Sprinsock	2:03:04	F12'6"	9
117	M	105	James Claussen	2:03:35	12'6"	21
118	F	13	Monica Arche	2:03:56	F12'6"	10
119	M	106	Greg Felsh	2:04:34	12'6"	22
120	M	107	Ed Caballero	2:04:34	12'6"	23
121	M	108	Mike Lefrancois	2:04:59	14'	75
122	M	109	Bill Owens	2:05:11	14'	76
123	M	110	Gary Leong	2:05:12	12'6"	24
124	M	111	Levi Largent	2:05:20	12'6"	25
125	M	112	Ben Smith	2:05:20	12'6"	26
126	M	113	Kurt Roessler	2:05:49	14'	77
127	M	114	Jake Hickman	2:06:46	14'	78
128	F	14	Julie Stevens	2:07:06	F12'6"	11
129	M	115	Markus Lang	2:07:14	12'6"	27
130	M	116	Nick Poulsen	2:08:34	12'6"	28
131	F	15	Tandem Mello	2:09:05	F12'6"	12
132	M	117	Bryan Robinson	2:10:44	12'6"	29
133	F	16	Helen Taylor	2:10:54	F14'	4
134	M	118	Connor Hollingsworth	2:10:59	12'6"	30
135	F	17	Nancie Schoener	2:11:01	F12'6"	13
136	M	119	Steve Hunt	2:11:37	12'6"	31
137	M	120	Paul Aro	2:12:21	12'6"	32
138	F	18	Shiela Hickman	2:12:30	F12'6"	14
139	F	19	Kimmie Field	2:13:35	F12'6"	15
140	M	121	Andrew Meinnert	2:14:51	14'	79
141	F	20	Jenna Granger	2:15:17	F12'6"	16
142	M	122	Jason Book	2:19:35	14'	80
143	F	21	Lauren Robinson	2:20:24	F12'6"	17
144	M	123	Kirk Theis	2:23:03	14'	81
145	M	124	Tm Rote	2:25:49	12'6"	33
146	F	22	Barbara Rote	2:25:51	F12'6"	18
147	M	125	Dainel Lahl	2:32:00	12'6"	34
148	M	126	Bob Glynn	2:33:36	14'	82
149	F	23	Leslie Clohan	2:34:12	12'6"	35
150	M	127	Rod Clohan	2:34:25	12'6"	36
151	M	128	Keith Brown	2:50:19	12'6"	37

4 Mile Race results coming soon…

*****

* Turns out it wasn’t $10,000… bit of an issue at the end of the day and quite a few of the elite paddlers left the beach disgruntled. Hopefully it’ll be resolved asap, but if not I’m sure you’ll hear all about it in a day or two…

UPDATE: Organisers agreed to pay out the original prize money 48 hours after the event, thanks largely to the work of the WPA and its head honcho Byron Kurt