The Paddle IMUA event is an 8-mile downwind race from Maliko Gulch to Kanaha Beach Park. Cynthia Brown fills us in on what went down.

This year’s race was their largest to date with 68 wing foilers, 52 SUP foilers, and 22 kiters/windsurfers, all on the start line together. The 92 other entrants in SUP, OC1, 2, 6, prone paddle, and Surf Ski started a half hour later. The format was very professional, with trackers on athlete’s ankles that recorded their time. Because of the amount of trackers available, several last-minute athletes who wanted to enter were denied. 

At the start, the seas outside Maliko were big and felt even bigger with all the athletes, watercraft, and turbulence. 3 minutes before the horn, a large Hammerhead cruised straight by me. I quickly adjusted course so we wouldn’t get to know each other better. 

The 8-mile run was beautiful, with moderate breeze, and magical wind swell. There was a bit of excitement at the finish as several of the foils got snagged by the buoy line. I placed 8th overall in the wingfoil fleet, and was the first woman of the event to finish, even after I too caught the buoy line and fell! The festival setting at Kanaha was kicking with live music, lunch plates, beer, a raffle, and free massages. Lots of fun for the whole community that even included an athletic, skills area for the kids. 

Jesse Richman smoked the fleet with a time of 18:05, on his kite/twintip combo. A minute behind Jesse, Bobo Gallagher took 1st in the wingfoil. James Casey grabbed the SUP foil crown. On a side note, Edo Tanas, who was one of the athletes that was too late to enter, raced unofficially and was the first SUP foil to finish, but without a tracker, he didn’t count. 

Top 3 finishers in the three disciplines:

Wing Foil Men

  1. Bobo Gallagher
  2. Jon McCabe
  3. Alan Cadiz

Wing Foil Women

  1. Cynthia Brown
  2. Carolina Dickenson
  3. Sloane Jucker

SUP Foil Men

  1. James Casey
  2. Andrew Gibbons
  3. Kai Lenny 

SUP Foil Women

  1. Olivia Piana
  2. Annie Reickert
  3. Devin Blish

Kite Men

  1. Jesse Richman
  2. Cyris Laury-Schaefer 
  3. Desmond Walsh

Kite Women

  1. Liang Hua Richards
  2. Lauren Lipcon
  3. Maggie Stacy

Congratulations to all the athletes and to Camp IMUA for a an amazing day and a memorable event. We hope they raised tons of funds to send many special kids to camp. 

If you love Maui and can afford to send something to aid, in the recent wild fire tragedies, here are a few credible organisations accepting donations:

-https://mauifoodbank.org 
-https://mauiunitedway.org
-https://mauihumanesociety.org

By Tonic Mag

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