Stoked to finally have some swell on the way. An increase in surf is expected through the coming days, bringing more activity in the water. As conditions build, stay aware, check conditions, and always swim near a lifeguard.
PC: @andrewaller
#Malibu #LeoCarrillo #IncomingSwell #Lifeguard
Hopped on the Tracey J, a boat Brendan Donahue had bought just two days before the Catalina Classic. He and his wife Sarah sea-trialed it the day before and deemed it fit for the crossing. Our crew—me, Mason Alford, and Sarah—were fired up. The engine purred as we cruised out of Marina Del Rey, laughing and stoked… until it sputtered out and went silent at the harbor mouth. Was the trip over before it started?
We popped the hatch and found the culprit: two fuel tanks, one tiny and empty, one full. A quick switch and the Tracey J roared back to life like nothing happened. From that point on, nothing was going to stop us.
We arrived at a buzzing Two Harbors—150+ paddlers, most lifeguards, firefighters, water people. One of the coolest sporting communities I’ve ever seen. After a big pasta dinner, everyone drifted off to bars, boats, or beach camps. I crashed on the sand with Chase, Fin Kelly, and a few others. Woke to high tide licking my sleeping bag and the scream of a woman mixed with the snarl of… a drowning house cat. Chase and another paddler made the rescue and found someone to take the soaked stray off their hands.
Race morning was pure chaos—boats peeling out in the dark, crews scrambling to link up with their paddlers. Somehow we found Brendan within the first hour, then settled into rhythm: hourly check-ins, passing him goo and electrolytes. Eventually, he ditched the packets for straight grapes.
Brendan paddled 32 miles across crosswind conditions without a single downwind glide. Afterward, he told us it was the hardest day of his life. Watching him channel that grind, never frustrated, just harnessing it and doing the damn thing.
Can’t wait to be back next year.
