Sports
Local Paddles Away With Catalina Crown
Adam Buckley won the 32-mile race to the Manhattan Beach pier on his second try.
The Pacific Ocean has been South Bay native Adam Buckley's playground since the age of 5. And after crossing 32 miles of open surf at the 35th annual Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race on Sunday, using nothing more than his arms to propel forward on a fiberglass paddleboard, it's safe to say that Buckley felt like a kid all over again.
His domination was so thorough that after the obligatory photos and congratulatory hugs, Buckley, 32, took a well-deserved seat on the sand, looked around, and asked if anyone else had finished. The answer was no.
"I was leading from the beginning, coming out of Two Harbors," Buckley said. "For the first five or six miles, Anthony Vela [who took third place] was right with me, but I decided to go north and I lost track of him. I knew I was in the lead after that and I just put my head down and kept going."
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He said he told his escort guys "not to tell me anything that was going on. I just wanted to concentrate on paddling and getting to the finish."
Competing in the unlimited division, Buckley paddled his way to a winning time of 5:34:06. And in the process, he bested his next closest rival by nearly seven minutes. The unlimited division is for boards weighing more than 20 pounds.
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"I never thought I would win this race," he said. "I cannot believe I won the Catalina Classic."
Buckley grew up in Manhattan Beach, attended Mira Costa High School, and now resides in Hermosa Beach. By the age of 12, Buckley knew that he wanted the distinction that comes with being a Catalina Classic finisher.
He credited his victory, on his second attempt, to increased training.
"I started paddling three months earlier than usual, back in March," he said. "I was able to get my technique dialed in, and I became more comfortable everyday. The group of guys I paddle with regularly were also a huge help in pushing me, and I was able to get better and better after every session."
The Catalina Classic is considered the biggest race in the sport of paddleboarding, and Buckley had no trouble describing what it meant to finish first.
"In this sport, for me, this is the ultimate," he said.
