May 31, 2014
by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

Kids Take Centre Stage As Hobie Hennessey’s Waterman’s Challenge Returns SUP Racing To Doheny


Hobie Hennessey's raceEarlier today a small but classy field of paddlers descended on one of SUP racing’s traditional homes, Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. The 2014 Hobie Hennessey’s Waterman’s Challenge was a two-race event, combining a 5 miler with an elite surf race to crown the overall winners.

Conditions were picture perfect for a SUP race, with sunny skies, dead calm wind and small but fun waves peeling into Doheny. Kind of a shame we have to leave this place in October…

So after combining results from the two disciplines, Anthony Vela and Candice Appleby came out on top. There were also solid performances from the likes of Brandi Baksic, Team USA star Shae Foudy, Sean Pangelinan and Ryan Murphy (edit: and Brennan Rose/Javier Jimenez).

However from all reports the highlight was the kids’ racing, where a bunch of very enthusiastic groms blazed around the course in a showcase of SUP racing’s future. The Paddle Acacemy’s GromChallenge race actually came close to drawing the biggest field of the day, with 29 boys and girls making it look easy and reminding us older paddlers that our time is almost through.

Oh and I also saw a few cool pics of Mexico’s rising star, Javier “Bicho” Jimenez and Brennan Rose near the pointy end of the men’s surf race, however they’re not in the results… not sure why.

UPDATE: Seems like Bicho and Brennan were leading the 5 miler but took the wrong course and were DQ’d. They still raced in the surf race and finished 1-2 there as well, however they weren’t in contention for the overall results you see below. But DQ or not, these guys have been in fine form lately, particularly Bicho… Now that everyone knows Titouan Puyo’s name, perhaps Javier Jimenez will take over his role as “World’s #1 Dark Horse”?

Anyway there’s a whole stack of really good photos up on Facebook thanks to Riviera’s Mike Muir.

A selection of the finest below…

(scroll down for full results)


Not sure if the overall results were based on combined times or combined points (coz AV and Candice would have either way), but anyway here are the results from each race. Click on “5 Miler” or “Surf Race” to show results from each race, or click “Combined” to see who had the fastest overall times.

Hobie Hennessey’s Waterman’s Challenge

#NameCOMBINED5 MilerSurf RaceAge
1Anthony Vela1:11:450:54:590:16:4518-39
2Sean Pangelinan1:12:050:54:440:17:2118-39
3Ryan Murphy1:12:270:54:440:17:4318-39
4Noa Hopper1:12:510:55:010:17:50U17
5Karl Ring1:13:230:55:270:17:5640-49
6Dave Boehne1:13:380:55:430:17:5518-39
7Colin McPhillips1:14:460:57:460:16:5918-39
8Brian Haag1:15:110:56:400:18:3118-39
9Byron Kurt1:15:330:57:090:18:2550+
10Brendan Light1:15:390:57:200:18:2018-39
11Chris Boland1:16:410:57:490:18:5250+
12Jedd Hasay1:17:050:58:310:18:3418-39
13Yann Lauletta1:17:070:58:350:18:3218-39
14Mark Miyamoto1:17:260:58:490:18:3818-39
15Nick Scheel1:18:530:58:560:19:57U17
16EJ Johnson1:20:280:59:520:20:3650+
17Darren Del Monico1:21:011:01:170:19:4340-49
18Steve Funk1:21:041:00:330:20:3140-49
19Donald Preston1:21:261:01:130:20:1318-39
20Scott Rose1:22:081:01:480:20:2040-49
21Ryan Knysh1:25:321:04:340:20:5918-39
22Dylan Goode1:25:431:04:390:21:04U17
23Myles Blazer1:27:101:06:230:20:47U17
24Kyle O'Kelly1:41:331:18:360:22:5740-49
25Daniel Russelln/a0:55:30DNSU17
26Mark Raaphorstn/a1:00:30DNS40-49
27Mace Camhen/a1:00:53DNS40-49
28Alic Funkn/a1:05:20DNS18-39
29Ted Canedyn/a1:19:38DNS40-49
30Erik Alstonn/a1:23:24DNS40-49

Hobie Hennessey’s Waterwoman’s Challenge

#NameCOMBINED5 MilerSurf RaceAge
1Candice Appleby1:18:220:58:260:19:5518-39
2Brandi Baksic1:20:070:59:260:20:4240-49
3Shae Foudy1:20:080:59:250:20:4218-39
4Kelsa Gabehart1:24:541:02:440:22:1018-39
5Alleanna Clark1:26:411:04:140:22:27U17
6Kristin Thomasn/a1:04:19DNS50+
7Erica Santosn/a1:16:12DNS40-49
8Jenny Gibbonsn/a1:16:35DNS40-49

Paddle Academy’s WaterGrom Challenge

#NameTimeBoy/GirlAge
1Nick Scheel0:08:33Boy15-17
2Max Fleming0:08:34Boy15-17
3Ryan Funk0:09:07Boy12-14
4Tyler Bashor0:09:14Boy12-14
5Ryan Maloney0:09:17Boy15-17
6Trevor Bashor0:09:27Boy15-17
7Peter Shoemaker0:09:40Boy15-17
8Kai Mcphillips0:09:40Boy9-11
9Erika Benitez0:09:45Girl12-14
10Christine Shoemaker0:09:56Girl12-14
11Alleanna Clark0:10:04Girl15-17
12Lexi Alston0:10:22Girl12-14
13Maya Robilio0:10:23Girl9-11
14Alexandria Higginson0:10:39Girl9-11
15Tai Diggins0:10:46Boy9-11
16Keagan Lamar0:10:51Boy9-11
17Dane Hillis0:10:52Boy9-11
18Jade Howson0:10:57Girl9-11
19Dax Mcphillips0:11:08Boy9-11
20Cole Vander Broek0:11:33Boy12-14
21Darcy Forcier0:12:04Girl12-14
22Belah Ellis0:12:20Girl9-11
23Carter Vander Broek0:12:25Boy8 & Under
24Gavin Mencinsky0:12:32Boy9-11
25Malaya Ring0:12:33Girl8 & Under
26Jonas Graham0:13:28Boy9-11
27Walker Graham0:15:07Boy8 & Under
28Trevor Mencinsky0:17:32Boy8 & Under
29Kelly Ann Doody0:19:23Girl12-14

Hennessey’s 9 Mile Race

#NameTimeGuy/GirlClass
1Jack Wygal1:15:45GuySUP 14'
2Dale Marnati1:20:19GuySUP 14'
3Andew Mencinsky1:20:32GuySUP 14'
4Robert Howson1:21:22GuySUP 14'
5Ryan Pingree1:22:14GuyProne Stock
6Matt Hartnett1:24:13GuySUP 14'
7Sean Sullivan1:25:46GuySUP 14'
8Mark Pighini1:27:29GuySUP 14'
9William Kindel1:29:00GuyProne Unlimited
10Steven Beuder1:29:12GuyProne Unlimited
11Kerstin Ouellet1:29:13GirlSUP 14'
12Andrew Mcginnis1:30:20GuySUP 14'
13Rene Bruce1:34:19GuySUP 14'
14Terri Wargo1:37:17GirlSUP 14'
15Adam Sandler1:45:06GuyProne Stock

Fun 3 Mile Race

#NameTimeM/FClass
1Rod Loftis0:44:38GuySUP 14'
2Tyler Bashor0:45:54GuySUP 12'6"
3Rick Stinson0:46:32GuySUP 14'
4John Andel0:46:51GuySUP 12'6"
5Les Hopper0:48:16GuySUP 14'
6Lexi Alston0:49:50GirlSUP 12'6"
7Cameron Fraser0:50:12GuySUP 12'6"
8Jim Jr Jenks0:50:23GuySUP 14'
9Kristin Kaczmarek0:51:18GirlSUP 12'6"
10Chris Cheek0:51:48GuySUP 14'
11John Nordin0:52:18GuySUP 12'6"
12Susie Hopper0:52:30GirlSUP 12'6"
13Alley Miesch-nie0:53:12GirlSUP 12'6"
14Drew Ohlmeyer0:54:07GuySUP 14'
15Michael Skelly0:54:37GuySUP Surfboard
16Gretchen Benedetto0:55:04GirlSUP 12'6"
17Jim Wolfe0:56:42GuySUP 12'6"
18James Yanoschik0:56:49GuySUP 14'
19Kennady Rose0:59:27GirlSUP 12'6"
20Matt Jenks0:59:37GuySUP Surfboard
21Mitch Jenks1:04:49GuySUP Surfboard
22Michelle Brislen1:05:31GirlSUP 12'6"
23Brandon Rootsaert1:05:32GuySUP Surfboard
24Kennedy Underwood1:06:09GirlSUP 12'6"
25Alfredo Fernandez1:17:33GuyProne Unlimited

(The raw results are up on Paddle Guru)