The St. Johns River challenge features an 8(ish) mile elite course and an 3 (ish) mile recreational course along the St. Johns and Arlington rivers in Jacksonville, Florida. Racers in the long course will get to circumnavigate Exchange Island and see views of the downtown Jacksonville Skyline. Lucky racers will also see pods of dolphins and the occasional manatee.
The race will be held on Saturday, March 21, and is open to a variety of craft including (but not limited to) OC1’s, OC2’s, Va’a, Surf Ski, SUP, Prone Paddle Boards, Canoes and Kayaks. Awards will be given to the top 2 male and female finishers in each category. For those registering as either a surf ski or kayak, we will be defining <20″ beam as a surf ski and anything wider as a kayak.
Register by February 23 to be guaranteed a shirt.
For all racing categories:
Must have 3 in a division to be awardable.
Divisions are subject to be combined by craft and gender (regardless of age division) to make division awardable on race day.
Age categories are as follows:
Youth = 16-18
premier = 19-39
senior = 40 – 60
grandmaster = 61+
New for 2026, OC1 and OC2 Paddling Clinic with Puakea Coach Paolo Ameglio on Friday, March 20
Two half day sessions available:
- 9:00 am to Noon, or
- 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Clinic Agenda:
Brief Intro
Water session #1 (includes getting video of each participant)
Video Review to break down each paddler’s stroke
Cover drills and corrections
Water session #2 (includes 1 on 1 coaching to implement corrections)
Q&A
Register Now