La Jolla Racers Paddle for Miles

For 8-year-old Emma Lhuillier, stand-up paddling out to sea for a 5.5-mile race wasn’t about winning or losing. The extraordinary girl simply wanted to finish the course.

Early on Saturday morning, Emma became the youngest person to complete the short course for the Windansea Surf Club Memorial Paddle Competition. She was among 18 other competitors at Big Rock in La Jolla who participated in the 5th annual race.

The race started at 7:15 a.m. with typical June gloom conditions. While waiting for the racers to return, family members and friends listened to reggae on the beach, keeping an eye out for the winners.

First back from the 5.5-mile short track race at 1 hour and 5 minutes was Encinitas resident Shawn Shamlou. He used a stand-up paddleboard to race from Big Rock to Crystal Pier and back. Shamlou’s family ecstatically greeted him at the finish line to celebrate his victory.

Marianne Shamlou and her son Noah were convinced he’d win from the beginning.

“He’s been doing really well, even though he’s new to the sport,” she said. Shawn Shamlou is a lifelong surfer, and has spent the last few months training for stand-up paddling with the King’s Paddle Sports team.

The first woman to finish the race was Kerstin Ouellet, another King’s team member. She has lived in San Diego for 15 years, but only started stand up paddling last year. Six months ago, Ouellet pushed herself to start competing in races. The Windansea race is her fourth since joining the team.

“I tried to catch the guy who was third since we were neck-and-neck at the buoy,” she said, “But he probably thought, ‘I’m not going to get beat by a girl!’” Ouellet ended up finishing fourth overall.

More extreme paddlers went out nine miles, from Big Rock to Mission Jetty in Mission Beach and back. There were four divisions in the two distances: stand-up, stock, 14 ft. and unlimited.

By the time the last paddler swam in, the sun came out just in time for the award ceremony. Prizes were given to all the participants, including gift cards and apparel from local sponsors.

The youngest participant, Emma was given the first award. She has surfed for five years and tried stand-up paddling this last year, but she didn’t train for this event. Her father, Jeff, was on a separate board throughout the morning coaching her through the 5.5-mile race.

“The second I started I was up for it,” Emma said. “But I definitely got tired by the end.”