Field Entry by Jack Bark:
"The whole “why” for this paddle just came about seeing if paddling 100 miles as possible. Wyatt and I have been talking about it and as we started looking for dates availability and time off from work it ended up coming up quicker than we thought. There wasn't much prep time to train. It really became a battle of wits knowing we’d be paddling a lot further than either of us had ever paddled, paddling through the night and different conditions.
From the start, we had amazing conditions that looked like we would at least get to enjoy the first few hours before dark riding down wind with small bumps to push us. Besides the heavy fog on the coast, the first 20 miles until dark are pretty pleasant with patches of sun and steady, light wind the whole way. The night as a whole is kind of a blur, but it was interesting paddling, sometimes completely lost in the fog, not seeing the boat. Other parts we were nearly on the beach, just off the 101 freeway with semi trucks going by less and 50 yards away. We kept ourselves awake during the night drinking red bulls and coffee, fighting off the tiredness. Once the grey light of the morning came around. It was refreshing to stop and just mentally realize that we made it through the night and now looking at about 40 miles left. Even though that’s still a lot, we made it through the cold, dark and mentally draining part. Once the sun was il up it was just getting through the miles. Interestingly, my body was feeling fine. I didn’t feel like I paddled 80 miles so far on my arms, but I did mental. The pace we were going was nice in that since so we weren’t fully destroying our arms and backs.
Overall, it was an awesome adventure to get that personal goal of hitting 100 miles and seeing what the body could handle and even more so, what the mind was able to handle.
I truly believe that those long distances are more challenging on the mind than the body.
It’s been fun to push those limits knowing that we can probably handle it but, do you want to be in that headspace for 15+ hours fighting off cold and hunger? Can you do it? There were definitely times where I had to stop and just take in the surroundings. Remind myself that I love to paddleboard and just enjoy the fact I was getting a paddle with my friend out in the ocean. I can’t thank the guys in the boat enough for being out there, encouraging, supporting, driving the boat and keeping us safe and feeding us. Definitely important to have a good crew alongside on the journey."
Awesome!!
Which boards were they using? Bark paddles Bark, and can pick ANY board(s) for the trip—which did they pick? Thanks
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