So, you think paddle surfing was easy right? Well this race will challenge any athlete not only to paddle but to keep up the pace, hold their breath and fight against one of the most ferocious waves.
The race is organized by RedBull “The RedBull Heavy Water” and with only three years since its beginning it has gain a lot of crowd and athletes. It takes place in San Francisco, CA. normally in October but this is not the average race due that it will test the athletes physically and mentally.
All three years the race has been taking the same route. Athletes began in Ocean Beach with a full rested body and they tried to beat the waves and surf through them until they got to San Francisco Bay. But 2018 was different, they make a few changes that made this one of the gnarliest paddle surf races ever. One the race will be in a reverse course, this means that the athletes will start to paddle from San Francisco Bay for miles and then tried to surf through the waves but now with sore muscles. And the other change is that the race will be mixed genres, making a more interesting and competitive race.
But it doesn’t end there, this race was certified as a “Deep Blue Event” which means that it has to be a sustainable event. It was created by the nonprofit Sustainable Surf group. But, what does it mean to be a “Deep Blue Event” your first guess might be to pick up trash and garbage, rather than that this certification tries to attack the problem before it becomes one. By this they try to change the minds of the people attending to the event making them realize that they have to make the right choices to help the environment.
Co-Founder of Sustainable Surf Michael Stewart explains that as you know after every big event, no matter if its sports event, music event, or any type at the end the garbage left by them is huge. So this will help the event not to produce any type of garbage and even help the spot of the event to be in a better shape than it was before.
So there you have it, one of the gnarliest paddle surf races ever with a sustainable twist.
Keep rolling till find something you love.
