We skipped the one mile swim and arrived in advance of the run-swim-run. We also were able to take some photos of our lifeguard family competitors, as well as the late a.m. 3-lap dory race. It was a wonderful event. The attendance was off from last year and the race organizers are going to have to do some heavy duty promotion to kick the participation back up. Refunding entrance fees for cancelled events seems like a non-starter in this regard. A lesson not learned last year. After all, the customer comes first. The gnarly surf last year did not repeat itself this year and that too may have led to some people not signing up.
In any case, those who did compete had a great time and the photos we took and the videos we shot clearly express this.
 |
| Plenty of parking at Bay St. behind SMS Tower #20... |
 |
| Classic '49 Woodie on display on the pier |
Below, a couple of young female surf lifesavers from way back in the day...
Below, an undated photo from sometime in the early 50's, we think, showing Santa Monica Beach Lifeguard, Tom Volk Sr., holding the winner's trophy for that year's paddleboard race.... Well done, Tom!
 |
| metal wheels... not very forgiving when running over pebbles... |
And below are the first 3 finishers in the kids 250 yard ocean swim...
And then we headed down to the beach where we caught up with Brandon Henry Snell and Jay Butki. Brandon had just completed the 5.5 mile standup paddle race! Well done, Brandon! Jay was once again officiating as one of the race officials.
 |
| All BARK... |
Below, the competitors in the run-swim-run gather at the starting line...
Below, OL Tucker Hopkins explains the race course to a couple of rookie lifeguards...
*** Video Alert ! ***
Run-Swim-Run: The Start
http://youtu.be/o0vWf3Q8tZA
*** Video Alert ! ***
The Finish: Run-Swim-Run
http://youtu.be/QOI9lQjMnA0
---
Below, Jimmy "Mak"!...
Below, "the cousins"... together after the run-swim-run...
Capt. Tom Seth "in the house!"... on SMS!
Below, on duty LACo OL, Tucker Hopkins, provides a cold pack for competitor Ryan Makuta who scraped his forehead on a sand bar on the way out through the surf in the run-swim-run. Well done, Tucker! And Congratulations to Ryan who finished FIRST overall in this event today!
And then look who showed up!!! Newly promoted Northern Battalion Section Chief Chris Linkletter in her Captain's vehicle! To say the least, she was greeted with enthusiasm and high fives, cheers, handshakes and hugs!
*** Video Alert ! ***
Pre Dory Race Video: The Huddle
http://youtu.be/f5vgrPxULa0
The one mile prone paddlers at the starting line... and guess what... they were also the first five finishers with 14 year old Kian Brouwer, at far right below, winning the event!!! All cousins too!
*** Video Alert ! ***
On The Berm: The Video
 |
| No Bull!... |
Below, L2R, LACo OL's, Tyler Morgan and Ben Gottlieb, taking a break from competing in the dory races today. Tyler showing some major league sun smart zinc oxide coverage on his face! Pay attention to this all you young Lifeguards!...
Next up, the SUP race...
and a few final parting shots...
and last but not least, below one Veteran LACo OL proves that you can save lives, get paid for it and enjoy some free pizza too!... Well done, Anto!... and all while still "watching the water!
10-4
(All photos & videos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2014.)
Until next time.....
"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com
*** *** ***
No comments:
Post a Comment