Over the weekend our team member and marketing girl Sofia Aguirre led the charge as a woman’s finalist in her first downwinder.

Here is what she has to say:

“A day on the water unlike any other, that is how I would describe the Saturday at Downwind – a – palooza. I could have never predicted I would end up on the podium there I was. I was one of two women who finished the 60+ mile race down the FL Keys, and man did it feel good to do so.

I had originally signed up to do the 20 mile short run with my mom. I had never done a downwinder before, so it felt right to take it easy, little did I know I had a lot more in me. 

For the first 10 miles of the race I was kiting with my mom. My mom is a great kiter, but she was struggling like many others, the conditions that day were not easy, big chop and a lot of wind combined with slight off-shore direction made the race very difficult. I would say an estimated 1/3 of the participants or more did not finish, and a lot of people lost their gear,  making this so much more of an accomplishment for me.

Because of this, in those first 10 miles, for every mile I kited downwind, I also did half a mile upwind to wait for my mom. This added at least 5-10 miles to my journey and separated me from everyone else, which would be interesting later on. Eventually I decided to part ways with her, and off I went on my own. This is when my adventure really started.

I kited along the 7 mile bridge and hit the first check point, there I decided I was going to key west. I passed two other dudes pretty quickly, and one of them stayed around my pace. Then for two hours this stranger and I went on together in the desolate keys. I kept looking back to see if he was there, I found comfort in his presence since I had no idea where I was going because I missed orientation.

For the next hour and a half, I did not see a single other person, boat, house or beach. I was completely alone with the birds and the mangroves. I felt so alive. I never felt scared because of the incredible safety team that hosted the race. And although I knew I should be cautious, I may have dropped my kite once or twice trying to record on my iPhone.

Ultimately, I made it to the end where a boat found me and directed me to the finish line. I tried to do a back roll at the end, but my legs gave out and my kite dropped to the water while everyone cheered me on. It was epic, I felt like I had finished a marathon.

Just like that I kited the 60 miles, which I was later told was closer to 80 and I did an extra 10 because of the back and forth with my mom. This made sense since it took me a bit over 5 hours to do this.

Despite dehydration, hunger and exhaustion I felt great and was super stoked to find out I got second place, as the only other woman to finish the race without any help or rescuing needed.

Super proud of myself and very stoked to have this under my belt as the first downwinder I ever did. Absolutely one for the books.

Thank you to the incredible team at grassy flats for putting this event on. Super fantastic and an awesome time.”

With love - Sofia