By Janet Buchan, BrisSUP Club
Well, that’s a wrap for the 2026 TriSeries with an amazing Race the Bay Weekend with Sunshine Coast Sup Club.
Saturday afternoon Tech Race was good conditions and fast racing. On Sunday we had the 4 km and 8 km distance events and the conditions very quickly got bumpy, rough and with a strong northerly increasing throughout – and that swell ready to tip you off at any moment. Our safety crews were kept busy and did a fantastic job keeping an eye on the paddlers thanks Graham Shield. It took real courage just getting out there and giving it a go, and just finishing the long course was a massive effort. Plenty of swimming practice.
I was honoured to stand alongside Loz Stephenson as the overall King and Queen of Clubs, accruing the fastest times over the three races. Following in the footsteps of giants. Fortunate to be able to get to all three races, but made the most of it when I got there!
Thank you to Scott Michael Sharples from Paddle Queensland for his support for SUP throughout the year and especially with the race, timing and processing results. A special thank you to Sunshine Coast SUP Club for your hospitality and great spirit for our final event of the year.
Special congratulations for winning the Triseries Club of Clubs trophy again. You guys thoroughly deserved it.
My thanks go also to Wendy King and Johnny Zirilli as fellow Club presidents for all the sage advice and hard work and support this year in organizing the tri-series. It’s been a big year but SUP is looking strong.
Special mention for Louise Pengelly, Saturday photographer & who braved the conditions on Sunday. Ruth Fahmi helped out with safety watch in the rib, learning from skipper Graham. And of course Lorinda Swann our support crew. Finally, thanks to Brett Harris for his drone coverage & Julie S Mith in the editing suite, generously sharing their time and skills. A few shots of the day.
Results for Round 3, Race The Bay and the TriSeries are below:
Race the Bay – Tech Race
Race the Bay – Distance Race
Sunshine Coast Boardsports SUP Tri-Series Standings
