Lobster SUP Cup 2013

I'm a little late getting this entry in, but better late than never!  Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a volunteer for the inaugural Lobster SUP Cup.  If you haven't read my previous post about Stand Up Paddleboarding, you can find it here.  SUP is relatively new to Maine, and while constantly growing in popularity - it's still relatively unknown to most people who live here.  It seems every time I am out on Brewer Lake I will get questions about "What do you call this?", "Where can I get one?", and a range of other questions about the difficulty of the sport, what I like about it, etc.  As such, Maine hasn't developed much in the area of competitive SUP racing.  Until now...

Thorfinn Expeditions hosted the first SUP race here in Maine with their 2013 Lobster SUP Cup.  The race spanned two days and covered 25 miles of Maine's rugged coast line.  Being that I just picked up the sport this year for exercise more than as a serious racer - I only attended as a volunteer this year.  My best friend, however, did race.  That's right.... she's a super star!  She just picked up the sport in May, and already has done a long distance race.  Here she is at the start of the SUP Cup in Rockport Harbor:

Our trip started the day before the race, as we wanted to make sure to be there with plenty of time to help out in any way necessary.  All of the SUP racers and volunteers were very friendly and in no time at all we felt like we had always been part of this group.  We filled out all of our paperwork, and then were left with the rest of our Friday night to just chill in the Lincolnville area.  Saturday morning would be when all of the festivities/race would start.

Saturday morning's race began in Rockport Harbor and traveled to Lincolnville Beach with a detour into Camden Harbor.  I spent my morning helping load up the boats while Sarah and the other racers prepped for start time.  Typically I consider myself to be a fairly athletic looking person, but looking around at the athletes in this race I no longer felt that way.  These people were in some serious shape - which is a testament to exactly how great a workout SUP can be.  This race had drawn people from as far down the coast as NC and even a former Olympic gold medalist from Canada named Larry Cain.  You can find his blog post about the race here - his post is probably much better.... he does this for a living, so cut me some slack!

While everyone else was going to spend their day on a board, I got the opportunity to spend my day on a boat taking photos of all of their hard work.  Jared Cumming's boat The Osprey was the place to be if you were a volunteer.  I'm always amazed at how openly welcoming people are in Maine whether they grew up here or have come from away.  The volunteers on The Osprey were no different.  All of the volunteers were so much fun to spend the day with, and Jared was a very gracious host.  This race featured some spectacular scenery along the Maine coast, and it was a pleasure volunteering to photograph it all.  Some of my favorite shots were as the racers passed the lighthouse coming out of Rockport Harbor, shots as the racers came through Camden Harbor, and catching video of the start of the race.

Lighthouse coming out of Rockport Harbor.

Marta Downing coming through Camden Harbor.

As the racers came through Camden Harbor, there were plenty of spectators all cheering them on.  From there they traveled up the coast to finish in Lincolnville Beach where they were rewarded with an after party at McGlaughlin's Lobster Shack.  There they had their choice of a lobster dinner (not one, but TWO lobsters), fried seafood platter, and BBQ chicken.  The food here was amazing, and the atmosphere was on par with the food.  It was great to be able to spend some time with the SUP racers, share some of the day's photos, and make some connections for some future races.  As part of the after party, awards were given out to the top 3 male racers and top 3 female racers.  

Day Two of the Lobster SUP Cup started in Lincolnville Beach with a finish line in Belfast.  Rather than start from the water as they had in Rockport Harbor - the racers were doing an actual beach start.  Unfortunately given the nature of the start, I could not get some video of this one.  I did get to spend the day on the water again, though.  I'm constantly amazed at the things that are available to people right here in Maine.  There is so much to experience if people just seek it out.  Being out on the ocean for the day was no different.  Everything from the scenery to the people - could not have planned a better weekend on the coast.

Since I was on a chase boat rather than the photography boat, I did not get quite the same photos on the second day of the race.  With my camera it always seemed that the SUP racers tended to get lost in the rock face they were paddling by - but here's a peek at part of their trip that day.

I think that my favorite part of day two was following the last racer's trek towards Belfast.  She showed such perseverance and determination that it was inspiring.  Inspiring enough for me to agree to do a smaller race (only 5 miles) in Cape Cod later next month. :)  Here's my absolute favorite shot of the day - her crossing the finish line while everyone cheered her on from shore.  I wish the angle had been better so I could have gotten everyone else in the background - such a supportive group!

This day the after party was in Belfast, and we all headed for Rollie's.  Rollie's is such a great little bar - the beer selection had something for everyone and the food was awesome.  We spent a good bit of time there refueling before heading to the unofficial after party place - Three Tides.  I can't think of a better place to have had the after party.  This is an eccentric bar/restaurant that didn't disappoint.  They even have bocce ball set up for their patrons.  Being that we were in a competitive crowd, it didn't take long for us to make use of that.  The evening ended with all of us exchanging contact information and making tentative plans to meet up at future races. All in all, it was an amazing weekend with some really great people!

Saying goodbye at Three Tides.

For more photos of the race, find me on Facebook or visit the Lobster SUP Cup Facebook page.