Ladies and gentlemen, stop your engines. The only power allowed in these races is human power.
As many as 250 rowers and paddlers are expected to launch into the 24th annual Bay to Bay Rowing and Paddling Regatta hosted by the Peninsula Family YMCA on Saturday, June 9. Athletes will traverse a course extending from Mission Bay to San Diego Bay, finishing at the Tidelands Park beach landing on Coronado Island.
There, a Hawaiian luau reception, complete with music, dancing, lunch and an awards ceremony, will be waiting for participants, according to Greg Erickson, director of community programs for Peninsula Family YMCA.
Sponsored by Roel Construction, this year’s races include the familiar 20-mile and 5-mile race, along with a new 1-mile junior race for a parent and child. Returning is a category for participants with physical disabilities.
Proceeds from the race will benefit YMCA’s youth aquatics and swim programs, Erickson said.
“It’s a fun event for the competitors, and it really helps our YMCA to provide kids and adults with knowledge about water safety,” Erikson said. “It’s a win-win.”
Starting as early as 6:30 a.m., hundreds will take to their paddleboards, kayaks, surf-skis, outriggers and other human-powered watercraft, including a possible appearance of the new, standing kayak racers popularized in Hawaii, said Russell Moore, event patrol boat commander.
The athletes will paddle the course while taking in some of the area’s grandest coastal sights, Moore said.
The 5-mile race begins at Shelter Island in San Diego Bay and finishes at Tidelands Park, in Coronado. The mile-long junior race follows the last leg of that course.
Those in the 20-mile race start at Santa Clara Point in Mission Bay and paddle or row out down the jetty and into the ocean before heading toward San Diego Bay to meet up with the other participants in Tidelands Park.
Here, athletes get a chance take in the Point Loma and Ocean Beach coastline, Moore said.
“You’re seeing beautiful, pristine cliffs like they’ve existed since before people lived in San Diego,” he said.
The race is a favorite with local rowers and paddlers because of the unique experience that beats simply paddling out to a buoy and back, he said.
Weather conditions, however, are always uncertain. Racers could encounter dense fog, rough waves and overgrown kelp beds turning the race into a grueling obstacle course for the athletes ” many of whom use the race as training for other, longer races, Moore said.
Pre-sale tickets for the event cost $35 and are available on the day of the event for $55. Anyone with a human-powered watercraft can register on the day of the race at the San Diego Sailing Center, 1010 Santa Clara Place, at Mission Bay. For more information call Greg Erickson at (619) 226-8888, or visit www.peninsula.ymca.org.