Kerama Blue Cup at Zamami Island, Japan, has been by far one of the most professionally run and broadcasted events I have ever entered. There was the national Sport television doing a full live show, with complete 6 person camera crew, 2 drones flying around, and 2 famous MCs (comedians) to make it exciting for everyone! Interviews before and after the race, exciting footage, great atmosphere on the beach! Good music, good food and heaps of smily faces!
![Kerama Blue Cup SUP Race logo](http://star-board-sup.com/2017/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Kerama-Blue-Cup-SUP-Race-logo.png)
Taking the big flat water section into account, I chose to race with my favourite board, the SPRINT 12’6 x 23. Despite the incredibly choppy waters, the SPRINT performed amazingly and almost managed to close the gap with Jake’s “Ace” shaped ocean board, which has showed great potential of our flat water missile! Jake drew on his ocean experience, while I flexed all my flatwater muscles and the outcome was a big smily 1st and 2nd place after an intense battle with the elements! A huge Congrats to everyone who has finished the race! Especially the girls, they did an amazing job in trying conditions! And even more a massive congratulations to Yuka Sato, for smashing 1st place in the Woman’s division, leaving Angie Jackson (who has hit a big wall on the upwind leg, where even us with Jake where averaging around 5km/h) behind her!
Long Distance Race Results:
- 1st Jake Jensen
- 2nd Daniel Hasulyo
- 3rd Kenny Kaneko
I felt good in the morning, snorkling around with my girlfriend, Sai, we discovered an incredible amount of fish, corals, shells and turtles, which really gave me a positive charge. Now I only had to do what I love the most! The board was flying, my muscles where pumping and the crowed went crazy at the last sprint of the Final. The line up included Paul Jackson, Kenny Kaneko, Jake Jensen, current Japanese Champ Ryohei Yoshida, Kota Kayashima and myself. I went out with everything I had from start to finish and managed to secure 1st place on the podioum! At the back of my mind I knew that Bruno was 1st at the Golden Bouy at Carolina Cup, among 150 elite Paddlers, so I had to paddle at least as fast as my little brother to conclude the weekend with a great Sprint SUPBROz Style!
Beach Sprint Race Results:
- 1st – Daniel Hasulyo
- 2nd – Jake Jensen
- 3rd – Kenny Kaneko
- 4th – Ryohei Yoshida
- 5th – Paul Jackson
- 6th – Kota Kayashima
Thank you very much to the Kerama Blue Cup organisers and all the sponsors for this great weekend! Mark your calendars for next year if you want to participate to the MOST BEAUTIFUL RACE OF THE YEAR and never forget to love the Ocean, because that’s where we’re all come from!
Kerama Blue Cup SUP Race Photo Gallery: