Already one of the biggest and paramount paddle gatherings in the world, the West Marine Carolina Cup is expanding in 2017 with the addition of a one-day retailer-only trade show, a nine-mile outrigger canoe race with six-person teams, and a 6.5-mile junior championship standup paddle board race for youth under 18.
Supconnect Contributor and media boat driver for the Carolina Cup, Haywood Newkirk, gives his take on the 2016 event and how it all went down. Get the inside scoop from Wrightsville Beach local HERE.
All of us in the Lahui Kai family would like to congratulate Annabel Anderson and Kelly Margetts on their amazing finishes at this year’s Carolina Cup. The grueling 13.2 mile, 2+ hour long paddle board race took our very own Annabel Anderson to yet another 1st place victory, securing that title again for the 4th year in a row! This girl can’t be stopped. Kelly battled hard with the world’s best paddlers and took home a strong 5th place!
Today kicked off the first big race of the 2016 stand up paddle race season and it was more exciting than ever. With an incredible start and lead changes throughout the majority of the race the action was intense from start to finish. In the end Tituoan Puyo and Annabel Anderson both claimed the victory for the 2016 Carolina Cup.
The time has come for the best stand up paddlers in the world to come together and face off yet again at the first major stand up paddle race of 2016, the Carolina Cup. Top athletes in the sport will be there including 3x women’s winner Annabel Anderson, Travis Grant, Candice Appleby, Danny Ching, Connor Baxter, Fiona Wylde and many, many more all going head-to-head aiming to conquer the grueling Graveyard Course.
"Yes, I can confirm that I will be back in Wrightsville Beach to have another crack at the Carolina Cup," said Annabel Anderson, three-time champion in the Cup's elite and grueling 13.5-mile Graveyard Race and top woman in the world in standup paddle board.
2015 was a stand out year for the young Mo Freitas. Mo traveled across the globe and was a top performing athlete in practically every race in which he participated. To get the perspective from a top stand up paddle professional athlete on the best SUP events in the world we called up Mo and talked to him about his top SUP event picks for 2015 and his reasoning behind his picks.
In its fifth edition, The Carolina Cup once again saw massive numbers in participation and probably the most competitive SUP race outside of the BOP. The Carolina Cup is in the books and it will be one to remember. Check out the top racers from around the world battle it out for their spot on the podium. 13.2 miles, over 150 elite racers; 1 Carolina Cup.
Australia's Travis Grant and New Zealander Annabel Anderson took 1st Place in the Men's and Women's divisions of "The Graveyard" at the 2015 Carolina Cup. In its 5th edition, it is now becoming evident that if this is not the world's largest SUP Race (750+ Racers this year,) it is probably the most technical.
In another exciting finish to the highly anticipated Carolina Cup we saw two-time Carolina Cup winner Annabel Anderson make it a three-peat and we saw three-time champ Danny Ching fall short to an in-form Travis Grant.
Tomorrow will be a day to remember. Tomorrow is the biggest day in stand up paddle racing so far this year in 2015. Tomorrow is the 5th Annual Carolina Cup. The Carolina Cup is the largest SUP event on the East Coast of the United States and arguably one of the largest if not the largest SUP events in the world. Here we breakdown the Carolina Cup and what to expect at this year's event.
Joining parents Don and Jenny Alderman in the grueling Graveyard Race will be 13-year-old Dylan, alongside the world's best stand up paddle boarders, navigating the 13.2-mile ocean, inlet, and waterway course encircling Wrightsville Beach.