The evening before the worlds biggest gathering of stand up paddle racers to date, it hit me: This is going to be gnarly!

The beach is decorated like a rock concert will be hosted tomorrow thanks to event organizer Barrett Tester and Pat Huber. The waves are awesome and we are slated to have more of the same in the days to come. A young entry Slater Trout is full of fire and will surely give the big boys a run for their money.

Guys and girls are checking each others gear out. Ekolu Kalama shows up in a Hummer with his board inside! Chuck Patterson is so focused. This, Dana Point, California, is his home. He really wants to go big in his own front yard.

Patterson uses all the latest tech advantages he can get his hands on from Extreme Clean, which makes the underside extremely slippery, to Monster Paint which is used add traction to the top. He has lost at least ten pounds for this event and is super fit. His new Hobie carbon fiber race board is ready to go.

Chuck took one look at some of the lighter weight guys showing up,like Slater and Odie Sumi”and got a bit worried. In this race, board size is limited, so all things being equal in the typically calm conditions, a lighter guy should have an advantage.

In order to even out the competitive edge the lighter guys had, Chuck needed some nasty wave conditions. Well, he go his wish and laughed all the way to the bank with his prize money! He earned every cent.

On the eve before the big race, most competitors were either practicing well after dark or psyching up long into the night. But Chuck Patterson just did what he does most every evening: take the dog for a walk, then go home and dream about winning. His dream came true the next day.

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