photos by Graham Mattock

It was an exiting finish to the Pacific Paddle SUP Series ending the 5 stop tour around the Bay of Banderas with a new race – the “Watermans Challenge” consisting of swimming, prone paddling and SUP,  mixing up the field and giving an edge to the strong swimmers of the bay.

Copa Mexico Windsurf Champion Fede Ortiz came out of the water from the swim leg in 2nd place forcing Ryan Helm to turn on the speed in the prone leg to secure his victory. Felix Garcia came off the swim looking strong but could not hold off the charge from Horacio Garcia and Geovanti Cervantes. It was a great format and challenging for the athletes and we look forward to more challenging races for next seasons race series.

The tour has elevated the SUP presence in the Bay of Banderas by moving the SUP Races from El Baracuda in Puerto Vallarta, to Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerias, Punta Mita, and back to El Baracuda for the final round. With over 50 participants at most of the events the race series has been a great training ground for local paddlers and a fantastic reunion of the SUP Community in Nayarit and Jalisco.

At the end of the 5 stops it was Ryan Helm of Sayulita who won the 2012 Surftech Bark 12’6 Competitor race board for the mens division. Ryan has proved himself to be a solid competitor on the international scene with a top three finish in Punta Sayulita Classic and more recently a top ten finish at the Waikiki Paddle Festival against the fastest paddlers in the world.

In the women’s division it was Veronica Nava standing out with her consistent wins in the long distance races, and her fortitude in the Elite and technical races. Vero is a great athlete and Pacific Paddle is proud of all she has accomplished this season in SUP, Kite, Windsurf, and being a great Mom and role model. Surftech was proud to award her a brand new 12’6″ Bark Competitor race board, and hopes that she continues to draw more women into the sport.

Pacific Paddle has been very pleased with the response of the series and the growth that SUP has seen in our area this season. We look forward to next seasons SUP series that will start in December 2012 and will be even bigger!

If you are looking to get in to Stand up paddle surfing in Mexico, don’t hesitate to call Pacific Paddle, we have the best selection of SUP’s in Mexico for sale, and a huge fleet of paddle boards boards for rent and demo. We also deliver throughout Mexico and have a network of qualified Certified SUP Schools, so if your planning on coming to Mexico on vacation or you live here and are looking to buy a stand up paddle board, be sure to give us a call!

322 123 3034 cell or office 329 298 1057