Ride the Bull Race Summary

The regulation Ride the Bull course weaves back and forth at the south end of Conanicut Island, ensuring paddlers get a little bit of everything Narragansett Bay has to offer – ocean swell, refracted waves, heavy boat traffic, and bizarre tidal currents. On race day, however, race coordinator Wesley Echols was forced by fog to forego the normal route in favor of a safer alternative. The start was moved to Potter’s Cove, just north of the Newport Bridge. The 8+ mile out-and-back course would proceed north along the island’s coast to a prominent dock near the northern tip, then return back to the cove. With the island protecting paddlers from the brunt of the northerly 10 mph wind, conditions were mild.

Perhaps wary of the fog, attendance was thinner than usual. However, two of last year’s podium finishers once again made the drive out from upstate New York – defending champion Ed Joy and bronze medalist John Hair. Additionally, Eric Costanzo made a surprise visit from New Jersey. New Englanders made up the balance of the 11 person field.

To nobody’s surprise, Ed took the lead at the gun. Eric, John, and Greg Lesher held with him. Tim Dwyer had a good start on an outside line, drawing Tim Hacket and Sam Duffield with him. A couple of minutes into the race, Ed threw in a brief interval in a successful attempt to break the diamond draft pattern than he had been leading. Although he didn’t lose anybody with that move, the draftees collapsed to a line behind him – Eric, Greg, and John. A few minutes later, Ed managed to break away completely. On the outside line, Tim and his companions had fallen off the pace of the lead four.

Ten minutes into the race, Greg managed to pull around Eric to move into second. Eric and John held on for a while, but then started to fall back. John passed Eric soon after this, thinking he had dropped him, but finding out shortly before the turn that Eric was still very much a threat. At the dock turn-around, Ed had a 10 length lead over Greg, who in turn had a similar lead over John and Eric. Tim D was perhaps another minute back, with Tim H 10 lengths behind him.

While most racers chose to stay close to the island to avoid the outgoing tide on the downwind leg, there was less agreement on the optimal strategy heading back to the start. Ed stayed landward, while Greg stayed further offshore in pursuit. The latter conceded afterward that the line made little difference either way to the outcome – Ed was going to win pulling away regardless. Paddlers were slightly demoralized to find that even with the tide in their favor, an odd eddy within Potter’s Cove meant they were working against wind and current for the final half-mile.

Ed ultimately took first place by nearly two minutes over Greg. Eric pulled in less than a minute later to claim the final podium spot. Eric had an impressive second leg, passing John and putting more than a minute between the two paddlers by the finish. Tim H likewise shone on the upwind portion of the course, powering past Tim D to claim fifth. Mary Beth Gangloff was the women’s winner. Here are the complete results:

You may also want to check out the SurfskiRacing.com series standings and more detailed race results from SurfskiAmerica.