By Kyle Terwilliger
Variety News Staff

THROUGH the first 2 races of the offshore MOC1 Race Series, the point standings show some familiar faces at the top of their divisions, but some surprising newcomers are either leading the field or within striking distance of the top. In the OC1 Open Men, Shuka Landin leads all the men with a perfect 40 points. Novice Sara Callahan leads the Open Women with 36 and Master Dick Soriano is undefeated in the Master Men, also with 40 points.
The top 2 Masters Women Leilani Appleton and Donna Cruz are deadlocked at 20 points apiece.  In the white hot OC2 races; Tom Strohmeyer and Colin Smith are undefeated in the Open Men, as is Masters Male Rick Appleton. In the Open Women the race is the best with Michele Cerizo leading with 38 points, while Nat Calvo, Annie Gaye and Catia Garrell are all right behind with 36 each. Behind them Leilani Appleton, Jubilee Estes, Pooch Kakas, Donna Cruz and G’nette Datu are all also tied with 20 points each.
The final standings will be determined after the grueling West Side Relay on May 12 where the paddlers will race from Tumon to Agat in 6 stages. At almost 30 miles long, this race is a true test of the paddlers’ strength, courage and endurance. The paddlers will start in Tumon Bay and change first at the Hagatna Boat Basin. The 2nd paddler or crew will then race to USO beach in Piti and swap out again heading around the glass breakwater into Apra Harbor and exchange again at Family Beach.
New for 2007, another leg has been added where the paddler will go from Family Beach across the harbor to the Marianas Yacht Club and back to Family Beach. Then exchanging once more the paddler or crew will go around Orote Point to Inn on the Bay in Agat where the final change will take place for the last leg and the finish at Nimitz Beach in Agat.
Hosted by MPRA, all paddlers who did all the races will receive a special completion award, while medals will be awarded to the top 3 places in each age division for both OC1 and OC2. For final point standings to be official for this last race crews must be only 2 for OC1 or 4 for OC2.
Paddlers may have more than that on their team, but they will be racing unofficially on overall point standings. Information provided courtesy of Rick Appleton.