Wavechaser.com

«First Established in 2002, the Wave Chaser Paddle Series has become Northern California’s première winter racing series for human-​powered watercraft including outriggers, surf skis, kayaks, and paddleboards. The unofficial goal of the series is to promote the awareness of the sport to the greater Northern California community.» — from the website
The folks who run Wavechaser — Mike Martinez, Dave Jensen, Helen Workman and Scott Kelly — are true enthusiasts who promote the sport, fundraise and organize great paddling races year-​round in the Bay Area. They’ve been successful in raising awareness of paddlesports throughout California, drawing paddlers from as far away as SoCal and Sacramento (and, for their biggest race, the US Surfski Championships —
— from South Africa, Tahiti, Hawaii and Australia).
I’m a regular participant in Wavechaser races and am very grateful for the dedication and hard work of the Wavechaser board and volunteers. All the races so far have been safe, fun, and run on gorgeous courses. Dave Jensen should be singled out for sometimes slaving over the stove all night before races cooking his signature chili, setting up the race course, and then jumping into his surfski to show the rest of us how to paddle really fast in the race.
My only complaint is that as a vegetarian that mouthwatering chili, laden with choice meats, is not accessible to me :-)
Helen runs the show on land (and boy, does she know how to crack her whip!), Mike runs the safety boats, making sure exactly as many racers come back as went out, and Scott is an able fundraiser, organizer — and MC for the awards and raffles.
If you enjoy watersports, or just like the spectacle of gaily-​clad athletes racing beautiful boats in the Bay and Ocean, check
for upcoming races and come on out. There’s usually a Novice course and rental boats available for first-​timers!