Done. What an epic race that was. Congratulations to Travis Grant and Annabel Anderson – 2015 Carolina Cup CHAMPIONS. Absolutely amazing performances from these two. Trav and Annabel have triumphed over one of the most competitive fields ever assembled, and in convincing fashion.

Annabel had company from Fiona Wylde for the first few miles but pulled away in the flats to eventually win by a commanding five minutes. The Kiwi now has three Carolina titles in a row. Some would say the Lahui Kai team rider’s win was predictable, however that would undermine both Annabel’s intense work ethic and competitive drive, as well as the extremely high level of talent the next half a dozen girls possess. This was a big win.

Travis led almost from start to finish, matching Connor Baxter in the opening three mile downwind leg before settling into the lead pack along with Danny Ching through the flat water stretch. With one mile to go these three were still right next to each other, however the Aussie pulled away on the final stretch of open ocean to claim an amazing win. This will be one of the sweetest victories of Travis’ career, alongside his Molokai title and victories in the BOP Elite and Distance races.

Massive efforts also from Danny Ching and Sonni Honscheid to claim the runner-up positions, then Georges Cronsteadt (the raging bull!) and Lina Augaitis for 3rd place. Though really any paddler in the Top 10/Top 20 deserves a medal. That was hectic out there.

This race was huge. Don’t even know where to start. Second most competitive race of all time? Check. One of the largest races ever by participation (*the* largest perhaps)? Check. One of the most demanding race courses in the world? Check. Excitement, intrigue, heroics, drama, heartbreak, dark horses rising, big names falling, pure athleticism. The Carolina Cup had it all this year.

Many of the big names got the job done and lived up to their status, however several of the the dark horses really stood up today – Vinni, Boothy, Niuhiti, Bicho.

Huge performance from Titou to claim 4th in the men’s and likewise Terrene in the women’s. Connor Baxter (5th) and Fiona Wylde (6th) leading early but having to fight and hang on til the finish. Angie Jackson battling to the line as five women fought for the runner-up spot. Angie had worked tirelessly with Sonni, Lina and Terrene to reel in Fiona through the flats and setup the tight finish.

Massive efforts all round. I’m sure there will be plenty of interesting stories to come out in the wash. But now: Time for a drink at the after party.

Special thanks to the event organisers for growing such a great race. This is the kind of event the sport needs to look to for the future. It’s massive. Everyone was here. And I couldn’t have been happier with my seat in the front row on the media boat. That was an awesome race to watch up close. Hope the live blog gave you a small taste of the action.

We’ll have a full recap (and tonnes of cool photos) tomorrow, but in the meantime here are the essentials. Scroll down below the full results for our Live Webcast replay. Scroll down even further to relive our play-by-play live blog.

>> UPDATE: We’ve just refreshed the SUP Racer World Rankings Top 100 Men and Top 50 Women leaderboards with results from Carolina.

2015 Carolina Cup – Elite Graveyard Race Results

Below are results from the main event – the 13.2 mile Elite Graveyard Race. But there were also hundreds of amateurs and weekend warriors in the 3 and 6 mile races. For full results from all the races (including Graveyard prone) click here.

Men’s Elite Graveyard Race

Course: 13.2 miles
Conditions: Good downwind start, flat middle stretch, mild downwind finish
Grueling factor: 8/10
SUP Racer World Rankings “Race Index” score: 63.5%

#	Name	Time	Class	#	Division	#	Age	Points
1	Travis Grant	2:04:42	14'	1	18-49	1	32	63.50
2	Danny Ching	2:05:37	14'	2	18-49	2	31	47.63
3	Georges Cronsteadt	2:06:31	14'	3	18-49	3	34	38.10
4	Titouan Puyo	2:06:53	14'	4	18-49	4	23	31.75
5	Connor Baxter	2:07:10	14'	5	18-49	5	20	26.99
6	Jake Jensen	2:07:43	14'	6	18-49	6	20	22.23
7	Bicho Jimenez	2:08:04	14'	7	18-49	7	20	19.05
8	Michael Booth	2:08:56	14'	8	18-49	8	24	15.88
9	Niuhiti Buillard	2:09:00	14'	9	18-49	9	23	14.29
10	Eric Terrien	2:09:12	14'	10	18-49	10	33	12.70
11	Beau O'Brian	2:09:36	14'	11	18-49	11	31	11.43
12	Ryan Helm	2:10:21	14'	12	18-49	12	41	10.16
13	Chase Kosterlitz	2:10:23	14'	13	18-49	13	28	9.53
14	Vinnicius Martins	2:10:24	14'	14	18-49	14	19	8.89
15	Chuck Glynn	2:10:26	14'	15	18-49	15	26	8.26
16	Zane Schweitzer	2:10:34	14'	16	18-49	16	21	7.62
17	Paul Jackson	2:10:41	14'	17	18-49	17	38	6.99
18	Kelly Margetts	2:11:03	14'	18	18-49	18	42	6.35
19	Noa Hopper	2:11:23	14'	19	17U	1	16	5.72
20	Toby Cracknell	2:12:59	14'	20	18-49	19	20	5.08
21	Josh Riccio	2:13:03	14'	21	18-49	20	25	4.76
22	Branislav Sramek	2:13:31	14'	22	18-49	21	39	4.45
23	Casper Steinfath	2:13:51	14'	23	18-49	22	21	4.13
24	Kenny Kaneko	2:14:20	14'	24	18-49	23	27	3.81
25	Giorgio Gomez	2:14:30	14'	25	18-49	24	19	3.49
26	Kieran Grant	2:14:52	14'	26	18-49	25	22	3.30
27	Jeramie Vaine	2:15:11	14'	27	18-49	26	35	3.11
28	Larry Cain	2:15:29	14'	28	50+	1	52	2.92
29	Tommy Buday	2:16:38	14'	29	18-49	27	39	2.73
30	Belar Diaz	2:19:23	14'	30	18-49	28	37	2.54
31	Billy Jr	2:19:27	14'	31	18-49	29	26	2.41
32	Chance Fielder	2:19:36	14'	32	18-49	30	42	2.29
33	Michael Tavares	2:19:54	14'	33	18-49	31	32	2.16
34	Cyril Burguiere	2:20:04	14'	34	18-49	32	35	2.03
35	Greg Jaudon	2:20:13	Unlim	1	50+	1	54	0
36	Billy Miller	2:20:23	14'	35	18-49	33	30	1.91
37	Daniel Russell	2:20:38	14'	36	18-49	34	18	1.78
38	Garrett Fletcher	2:20:52	14'	37	18-49	35	23	1.65
39	Brad Ward	2:21:10	14'	38	18-49	36	24	1.52
40	Bill Kraft	2:21:22	14'	39	18-49	37	46	1.40
41	Corey Taylor	2:21:41	14'	40	18-49	38	29	1.27
42	Brian Meyer	2:23:15	14'	41	18-49	39	27	1.21
43	Jim Terrell	2:23:25	14'	42	50+	2	50	1.14
44	Quintin Chiapperino	2:25:13	12'6	1	18-49	1	18	1.08
45	Jesse Kautz	2:25:15	14'	43	18-49	40	34	1.02
46	Christian Goerloff	2:25:30	14'	44	18-49	41	45	0.95
47	Tucker Ingalls	2:26:07	14'	45	18-49	42	18	0.89
48	Jeremy Whitted	2:26:31	14'	46	18-49	43	40	0.83
49	Christopher Norman	2:26:39	14'	47	18-49	44	26	0.76
50	Jason Chew	2:26:45	14'	48	18-49	45	40	0.70
51	Spencer Lacy	2:27:22	14'	49	18-49	46	23	0.64
52	Steve Dullack	2:27:34	14'	50	18-49	47	40	0
53	Andrew Skeoch	2:27:44	14'	51	18-49	48	42	0
54	Adam Cole	2:27:49	14'	52	18-49	49	33	0
55	Joe Laundrie	2:28:06	14'	53	18-49	50	29	0
56	Tom Pace	2:28:20	14'	54	50+	3	54	0
57	Macrae Wylde	2:28:56	14'	55	50+	4	51	0
58	Tony Shafer	2:29:16	14'	56	18-49	51	36	0
59	Barry Blackburn	2:29:27	14'	57	18-49	52	42	0
60	Robin Delgado	2:29:44	14'	58	18-49	53	30	0
61	Zach Rounsaville	2:29:45	14'	59	18-49	54	25	0
62	Matthew Campbell	2:29:46	14'	60	18-49	55	41	0
63	Joseph Cerdas	2:30:20	14'	61	18-49	56	27	0
64	Reid Harrell	2:30:37	14'	62	18-49	57	40	0
65	Michael Richards	2:30:41	12'6	2	18-49	2	45	0
66	Eric Carter	2:30:46	14'	63	18-49	58	43	0
67	Connor Bonham	2:31:03	12'6	3	18-49	3	19	0
68	Josh Smart	2:31:03	14'	64	18-49	59	32	0
69	Tony Paul	2:31:22	14'	65	18-49	60	44	0
70	Andrew White	2:31:29	14'	66	18-49	61	32	0
71	Mike Evatt	2:31:48	14'	67	50+	5	54	0
72	Anthony Abraham	2:31:51	14'	68	50+	6	55	0
73	Kevin Rhodes	2:32:57	14'	69	18-49	62	49	0
74	Andrew Glidden	2:33:09	14'	70	18-49	63	20	0
75	Trip Saunders	2:33:35	14'	71	18-49	64	33	0
76	Christian Prado	2:33:40	14'	72	18-49	65	35	0
77	Troy Gossard	2:33:59	14'	73	18-49	66	40	0
78	Keith Merker	2:34:03	14'	74	18-49	67	42	0
79	Brian Szymanski	2:34:21	12'6	4	18-49	4	47	0
80	Trevor Motz	2:34:21	14'	75	18-49	68	36	0
81	Wesley Stolp	2:34:57	14'	76	18-49	69	37	0
82	Joey Huempfner	2:34:59	12'6	5	17U	1	17	0
83	Damon Licari	2:35:00	14'	77	18-49	70	42	0
84	Kevin Baum	2:35:05	14'	78	18-49	71	39	0
85	Greg Lew	2:35:26	14'	79	18-49	72	45	0
86	Matthew Vance	2:35:37	12'6	6	18-49	5	44	0
87	Russ Scully	2:35:38	14'	80	18-49	73	45	0
88	Chad Gallagher	2:35:49	14'	81	18-49	74	41	0
89	John Sekas	2:36:01	14'	82	50+	7	53	0
90	Edoardo Naggiar	2:36:02	14'	83	18-49	75	46	0
91	Brian Schmid	2:36:10	14'	84	18-49	76	26	0
92	Jake Clement	2:38:05	14'	85	18-49	77	20	0
93	Stephen Chase	2:38:30	14'	86	18-49	78	37	0
94	Ed Pierce	2:38:33	14'	87	50+	8	61	0
95	Chip Boggs	2:38:45	14'	88	18-49	79	42	0
96	David Dean	2:38:51	14'	89	50+	9	57	0
97	Joey Kolisch	2:39:13	14'	90	50+	10	59	0
98	Jim Misiewicz	2:39:16	14'	91	18-49	80	47	0
99	Erik Bigsby	2:40:16	14'	92	18-49	81	23	0
100	Jeff Cook	2:40:20	14'	93	18-49	82	38	0
101	Austin Grippo	2:40:32	14'	94	18-49	83	26	0
102	Kenny Balcerski	2:40:35	14'	95	50+	11	51	0
103	Mark Colino	2:40:52	14'	96	50+	12	51	0
104	Steven Bernstein	2:41:02	12'6	7	18-49	6	43	0
105	Brett	2:41:26	14'	97	18-49	84	37	0
106	Daniel Willis	2:41:40	14'	98	18-49	85	42	0
107	Dylan Alderman	2:43:18	12'6	8	17U	2	13	0
108	Chris Lightbound	2:43:25	14'	99	50+	13	59	0
109	Don Alderman	2:43:27	12'6	9	18-49	7	45	0
110	Will Lathan	2:43:31	12'6	10	18-49	8	38	0
111	Mac Barnhardt	2:44:06	14'	100	18-49	86	46	0
112	Brad Hardee	2:45:05	14'	101	18-49	87	37	0
113	Matt Cesmat	2:45:16	14'	102	18-49	88	49	0
114	Otto Liipfert	2:45:24	14'	103	18-49	89	37	0
115	JM Kostallas	2:45:32	12'6	11	18-49	9	29	0
116	Mike Kirk	2:45:39	14'	104	18-49	90	43	0
117	Burr Tupper	2:46:16	14'	105	18-49	91	47	0
118	Scott Baste	2:46:56	14'	106	50+	14	54	0
119	Bob Arnot	2:47:03	Unlim	2	50+	2	67	0
120	Andrew Dima	2:47:24	14'	107	18-49	92	27	0
121	Henry Willett	2:47:33	14'	108	18-49	93	42	0
122	Camilo Marmol	2:47:38	12'6	12	18-49	10	44	0
123	Adam Clark	2:48:38	12'6	13	18-49	11	44	0
124	Jack Egan	2:48:49	12'6	14	50+	1	50	0
125	Brent Brown	2:48:49	14'	109	18-49	94	47	0
126	Chip Bock	2:49:34	14'	110	18-49	95	47	0
127	William Sodano	2:50:00	14'	111	18-49	96	47	0
128	Kevin Cullen	2:50:10	14'	112	18-49	97	29	0
129	Kenny Lambrecht	2:50:27	14'	113	50+	15	60	0
130	Robbie Drink	2:50:58	14'	114	18-49	98	27	0
131	Chris Cannavaro	2:51:41	14'	115	18-49	99	44	0
132	Alex Hedman	2:53:38	14'	116	18-49	100	36	0
133	Lars Siegfried	2:54:13	14'	117	18-49	101	36	0
134	Bobby Nelson	2:54:54	14'	118	50+	16	58	0
135	Will Pollard	2:55:19	14'	119	18-49	102	32	0
136	Mark Sumner	2:56:23	14'	120	18-49	103	30	0
137	James Gregorio	2:56:31	14'	121	18-49	104	43	0
138	Rob Kernahan	2:58:54	14'	122	18-49	105	41	0
139	Jeff Henderson	2:59:08	14'	123	18-49	106	49	0
140	Jasper Jarden	3:00:14	12'6	15	18-49	12	25	0
141	David Widmer	3:01:17	14'	124	18-49	107	47	0
142	Jason Howell	3:01:31	14'	125	18-49	108	35	0
143	Danny Stacey	3:02:00	14'	126	50+	17	58	0
144	Al Simmons	3:02:18	12'6	16	50+	2	67	0
145	Ethan Luppert	3:02:55	12'6	17	18-49	13	26	0
146	Erik Kauffman	3:03:32	14'	127	18-49	109	43	0
147	David Bartynski	3:05:58	14'	128	18-49	110	32	0
148	Ray Dente	3:19:13	14'	129	50+	18	54	0
149	David Kralik	3:21:51	14'	130	18-49	111	45	0
150	Robert Love	3:54:31	12'6	18	18-49	14	47	0
151	Andr van Essendelft	9:23:00	14'	131	18-49	112	29	0

Women’s Elite Graveyard Race

Course: 13.2 miles
Conditions: Good downwind start, flat middle stretch, mild downwind finish
Grueling factor: 8/10
SUP Racer World Rankings “Race Index” score: 48.0%

#	Name	Time	Division	#	Age	Points
1	Annabel Anderson	2:21:49	18-49	1	33	48.00
2	Sonni Honscheid	2:26:48	18-49	2	33	36.00
3	Lina Augaitis	2:27:03	18-49	3	34	28.80
4	Terrene Black	2:27:20	18-49	4	32	24.00
5	Angela Jackson	2:27:30	18-49	5	38	20.40
6	Fiona Wylde	2:27:56	18-49	6	18	16.80
7	Rachel Bruntsch	2:32:02	18-49	7	31	14.40
8	April Zilg	2:32:32	18-49	8	28	12.00
9	Kelsa Gabehart	2:32:43	18-49	9	34	10.80
10	Shannon Bell	2:33:08	18-49	10	40	9.60
11	Shae Foudy	2:34:48	17U	1	16	8.64
12	Shelby Taylor	2:35:03	18-49	11	22	7.68
13	Seychelle Hattingh	2:35:06	18-49	12	28	7.20
14	Kimberly Barnes	2:35:28	18-49	13	38	6.72
15	Jennifer Fuller	2:41:16	50+	1	51	6.24
16	Joann Hamilton-Vale	2:41:41	18-49	14	48	5.76
17	Mini Crash	2:48:06	18-49 (14')	1	42	5.28
18	Jenny Alderman	2:48:44	18-49	15	43	4.80
19	Milla Navarro	2:48:53	17U	2	16	4.32
20	Corrine Banks	2:49:04	18-49	16	35	3.84
21	Evelyn O'Doherty	2:49:13	18-49	17	46	3.60
22	Mary Scheerer	2:50:07	50+	2	56	3.36
23	Mary Anne Boyer	2:50:29	18-49	18	49	3.12
24	Karen Wilson	2:54:43	50+	3	58	2.88
25	Kim Hillhouse	2:54:57	18-49	19	45	2.64
26	Trish Miller	2:56:52	18-49	20	32	2.50
27	Kimberly James	2:58:16	18-49	21	39	2.35
28	Wendy Anderson	3:01:06	50+	4	54	2.21
29	Danielle Goldston	3:04:36	18-49	22	36	2.06
30	Anna Yurchenko	3:08:22	18-49	23	34	1.92
31	Claire Condie	3:08:38	18-49 (14')	2	41	1.82
32	Fennel Blythe	3:09:16	18-49	24	46	1.73
33	Christine Sanchez	3:11:40	18-49	25	37	1.63
34	Margo Pellegrino	3:21:04	18-49	26	47	1.54

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Relive the race with full replays of the 3x live streaming sessions we did earlier today. At the last minute I figured out I could stream live direct to YouTube from my phone, so we banged together a last minute live webcast. Thanks to Mitch and our boat crew for helping me get it done! Keep in mind I was streaming all this live through my phone, so apologies if it’s not broadcast quality. Hopefully it gave you an insight into how awesome/epic/crazy this race is! It was definitely a lot of fun watching from the lead boat…

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# PART 1: The Hectic Start (yeah it was windy on the boat…)

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# PART 2: The Grueling Flats

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# PART 3: The Epic Finish

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