By Mike Busch
The 5th annual Great South Bay Paddleboard Race took place this past Sunday morning between the Bay Shore Yacht Club and Okenok Neck just east of the Great South Bay Bridge. Put together by Karen Marvin of South Shore Paddleboards and the Bay Shore Yacht Club, this has become a premier race bringing in paddleboarders from all over Long Island and beyond. Once again, proceeds went to the non-profit Save The Great South Bay, dedicated to the revitalization of the Bay. The race is open to all ages and skill levels with a 6-mile elite race, along with a 3-mile and 1-mile fun race.
This year about 60 paddlers participated despite gusty east winds that made for a very challenging race. The event organizers did a great job with trained EMTs stationed on the water and at the finish line along with a fleet of safety boats spread across the course to make sure everyone stayed safe.
Once again I was there to photograph the event and got a great view from a beautiful 36 foot Grady White traveling with the racers. I also squeezed in a short drone flight before the race and took some GoPro footage on the water to show what the racers were dealing with.
Click here for the official results.
I ended up taking over 1ooo photos and included 5 pages below but also uploaded a huge gallery to my website in case you were in the race and want to find yourself here.
