by: Shayne Benowitz

Key West is a board sports town, especially amongst those who work on the water. Since the water surrounding Key West is tranquil and shallow, and therefore not conducive to surfing, we have to get creative. During the summer months when the water is especially placid wakeboarding is a fun way to spend a day off. In the winter when the wind is blowing stronger, kite surfing has become a new hobby. Many crewmembers simulate surfing on land by cruising around the island on skateboards and longboards. There is even a website [www.kwsurf.com] whose purpose is to build a community of surfers in Key West and to notify each other when conditions are just right on and off shore to catch a few waves.

Stand-up paddle boarding is another board sport that has been popularized in Key West partially thanks to Marius, our operations manager and Fury Surf Shack owner. Ever since the Surf Shack opened, the stand-up paddleboards have been flying off the rack. The Surf Shack also carries traditional surfboards, skateboards (some of which are originals designed by Fury crewmember, “Dubz”), and a wide array of surf apparel and accessories.

This Sunday was the Quiksilver Edition 11^th Annual Key West Classic Paddleboard Championship, a twelve mile race around the island. Fury represented well with two entrants, Captain Westy and Letty, local artist and Surf Shack partner. What began as a leisurely sport and exercise was transformed into a grueling test of athleticism and endurance.

Westy, who drives the catamarans for Fury, decided to enter the race with the hopes of at least being able to finish. He said it would be hard to predict how challenging the twelve mile sojourn around the island would be because he had never paddled such a distance before. He decided to use the race as an opportunity to raise money for three local charities, the Turtle Hospital, Wildlife Rescue, and Green Living and Energy Education. “I figured since I was doing the race anyway, I might as well do it for a good cause,” Westy told me at the helm of the Pacific Fury one afternoon on the way to the reef.

The race began at the west end of Smathers Beach and paddlers worked their way northwest past Fort Zachary Taylor and through the harbor on a path to Cow Key Channel and then southeast past the airport. Nicole, Fury’s cruise ship liaison, and I had an exciting morning cheering on Westy and Letty at multiple locales from land while Scott, Fury’s owner, followed the paddlers on a jet ski with his daughter. “Going through the harbor was easy,” Westy said noting that the south wind was on his side, “But getting from Sigsby to the airport was brutal. The current and the wind were both against us.”

Westy’s competitive edge was shining through as he raced neck in neck for the number two position. “During the final stretch there was no thinking, ‘Am I gonna place?’ I was just thinking, ‘Please get done.’” When he crossed the finish line at the jetty, he collapsed onto his board, thankful to be finished with the arduous course. He secured a second place finish with a time of 3:05 and Letty, the sole female competitor finished the race in 3:19.

Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer who is working on her debut novel. Shayne can be reached at sbbenowitz@gmail.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Water Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.