200 paddleboarders race around Mercer Island

SEATTLE – Three years ago, people would spot John Adamski standing up on a surfboard, a long paddle rhythmically dipping through the waters of Lake Washington, and wonder what the heck he was doing.

Sunday, the Kenmore man joined about 200 other stand-up paddleboarders in a 13-mile race from Seward Park in Seattle around Mercer Island and back.

Organizers say the activity is the fastest-growing water sport in the world and so physically demanding that their T-shirts proclaim, “If it was easy they’d call it kayaking.”

The second annual “Round the Rock” race featured chilly, gusting winds that propelled competitors down the lake to the Interstate 90 floating bridge, but presented stiff head winds for the six-mile paddle up the east side of Mercer Island.

“From here to the bridge, you could surf all the way, but that was a long paddle into the wind,” said Adamski, one of the oldest competitors at 68, who finished in 3 hours 34 minutes.

Adamski said the sport is gaining popularity in the Northwest because it’s largely hassle-free. “You take your stuff, throw it in the water and you’re doing it. It’s a lot of fun.”

Thomas “Maximus” Shahinian, a California real-estate salesman, won Sunday’s race with a time of 2 hours 18 minutes. He said the sport originated in Hawaii, where surfing instructors stood up on their boards to get a better view of their pupils and the oncoming waves.

He took up the sport two years ago, after 15 years of paddling outrigger canoes. His passion has taken him to competitions in Brazil, Indonesia, Hawaii and New York. Prize money for the events can reach $25,000, he said.

He won $1,300 Sunday in a race he dedicated to a friend who died two weeks ago of cancer.