Outdoor water sports are not typically associated with mid-January. But that is the reason Coastal Urge co-founder Jeoffrey Nathan decided to create the Cold Stroke Classic seven years ago.
“We brought in paddleboards in August and a bunch of people bought them … and then put them away in the garage for winter,” Nathan said during a Jan. 12 phone interview. “I figured, let’s do something like this so we can keep the boards out of the garage and on the water during the wintertime.”
The race was the first flatwater paddleboard competition on the East Coast, Nathan said. In the subsequent years Wrightsville Beach has become an epicenter for the sport.
During the 2015 race, to be held Jan. 17, competitors braving the frigid waters around Harbor Island will have the option of entering the 3.5-mile recreational course or the 7-mile elite course.
The 2014 elite race offered a photo finish with Jeremy Whitted battling through cold 25 mph winds to barely hold off competitor Ron Gossard. Whitted said the chilly weather wouldn’t deter him from traveling from Charleston, S.C., to compete again this year.
“The cold just adds a little bit of excitement,” he said during a Jan. 9 phone interview. “You don’t want to fall down so that adds another element of apprehension.”
Whitted said he frequently makes the four-hour drive north to train alongside some of the local paddlers in the thriving Wrightsville Beach paddleboarding community.
“The water [has] bigger swell and moves quicker,” he said. “I hang out at the [Carolina PaddleBoard Company] shop like a barnacle, they say.”
That community atmosphere is the emphasis of the Cold Stroke Classic, Nathan said.
“Our race is a fun race for the whole family,” he said. “It’s about the paddling camaraderie. … People come to this race and make lifelong friends.”
Proceeds from the race benefit the Community Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington. For more information, visit www.
coldstrokeclassic.com
email [email protected]
