FIELD NOTES: 2025 CATALINA CLASSIC

Photo: Ken Pagliaro

The Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race has long been the proving ground for watermen and women willing to take on the channel. Now in its 48th year, the 32-mile course from Catalina Island’s Isthmus to the Manhattan Beach Pier delivered everything the race is known for: difficult conditions, iconic performances, and a community that continues to prove the sport’s vitality.

This year brought a record number of participants, including 51 first-time racers, a clear sign of the sport’s strength and the resurgence in ocean challenges like the Classic. The race also saw a record women’s field, a historic win in the stock division, and the return of defending champion Jack Bark, who once again showed why his name is etched in the tradition of this channel crossing.

For Bark, the defending Unlimited champion, the morning felt different than last year before the race even began. “Right away, waking up in the morning, you could tell there was some wind on the water,” he said. “As we started paddling out of the Isthmus, it was clear it was going to be a little bumpier. From miles 2 to 15, we had whitecaps coming from the north, which forced you to alter your course and made paddling more challenging. Overall, though, our times were still pretty quick.”

Photo: Tony Wodarck

The chop created an unpredictable rhythm that defined much of the day. “When we get conditions like that, you can’t settle into the rhythm you normally would in flat water. You’re taking strokes, trying to rest, trying to create rhythm, but the waves are constantly jarring you. You just have to adjust to what the ocean is throwing at you and basically find rhythm in what the waves are doing and how your board fits into the swell.”

As Bark explained, this year’s conditions fell somewhere in the middle of the Classic’s long history. “The conditions we had this year in the Catalina Channel were pretty average for what we get every year. There’s always going to be a worse year with more wind and chop. There are going to be better years like we had last year with the records. But overall, it was pretty spot-on for what you’d expect out there. We had chop for the first 15 miles, whitecaps coming over our left side from some north wind, and then as we approached Palos Verdes it glassed off. That’s when you start to get some current pushing against you. From the R10 buoy in, that last eight miles, you’re just trying to catch little runners that the ocean is offering, quartering them when you can, and just holding on to get to the pier.”

Despite the added chop and pressure, Bark rose to the occasion, taking the lead early and holding it across the channel to claim his second consecutive Unlimited title. “I’m really happy with how I did this year,” he said. “Being able to back up a win is definitely something everyone wants to do the year after they get a win. But it’s challenging—the pressure you put on yourself and the pressure I was feeling to try to back it up.”

He admitted the nerves were real. “I definitely had a lot of nerves going into the race, but once you push off the start line, you just rely on your training and all the work you’ve put in. I was able to get an early lead, do my best to keep pulling away, and luckily I held it across the whole channel.”

While Bark’s repeat victory was a highlight, the day also belonged to the next generation. Just weeks after placing 2nd overall in the Moloka’i 2 O’ahu World Championships, 16-year-old Test Pilot Toa Pere crossed the channel to win the Stock Division, becoming the youngest winner in Catalina Classic history. “I just tried to stay focused and use what I learned in Hawai’i,” Toa said. “It was incredible to come across the line first at a race with this much history.” His performance marked not just a personal milestone, but a clear indicator of the bright future ahead for paddleboarding.

Photo: Tony Wodarck

The women’s field also carved its own history, with a record-setting 13 competitors, the largest group ever. Among them, Florence Test Pilot Emily Bark—continuing the family tradition—finished 2nd, while Florence’s own Kayla Coscino placed 3rd, rounding out a podium that reflected both talent and depth. “It’s inspiring to see the growth in the women’s field,” Emily said. “Every year more paddlers are showing up ready to race, and it pushes all of us.”

Photo: Tony Wodarck

If the race itself tested the mettle of every paddler, the finish line in Manhattan Beach celebrated them. With light winds and late-summer heat, the sand was packed shoulder to shoulder with friends, families, and fans. The beach was dripping in Florence gear—a visible reminder of how deeply the paddleboarding and waterman community has embraced purpose-built equipment designed for these types of endurance races. There is no comparison to the support shown by this community, which continues to expand while staying rooted in tradition.

As competitors made their way to the pier, they were met by roaring cheers, emotional embraces, and the unmistakable sense that the Classic is more than just a race—it’s a gathering of a community. After securing his win, Jack Bark didn’t retreat into his own victory. Instead, he stood at the finish line, waiting to congratulate his friends, family, and fellow paddlers as they crossed, one by one. It was a genuine display of love not just for the sport, but for the people who devote themselves to it.

The Bark family’s presence underscores this spirit. For decades, they’ve been the glue of the paddleboard community, shaping boards, racing them, and supporting athletes on the sand year after year. At the 2025 Classic, that tradition carried forward in a way that honored the past and celebrated the future.

Photo: Tony Wodarck

The 2025 Classic showed that the community is stronger than ever.