The Tahoe Cup’s First Stop: Donner Lake

The first stop of the O’Neill Tahoe Cup Race Series at Donner Lake this weekend was burly. As in burr–ly.

The day started out with sunshine lighting up the snow-capped backdrop, but by the time the starting horn blasted snow began to actually fall from the sky. The 5-mile race started at the West End Beach Park where competitors paddled 2.5 miles along the south shore of Donner before making the crossing near China Cove. Once the buoy on the north shore was reached, there was an upwind 2.5-mile paddle back to the West End Beach Park and the finish line.

The Men’s race was a tight two-man show between Jay Wild and Robert Pelkey. They set the pace from the start and eventually distanced themselves from the pack at the China Cove crossing. Heading into the wind for the final 2.5 miles, Jay managed to keep a slight edge on Robert and found another gear to pull away in the final .5 mile to take the Donner Lake Overall and 14’ titles. “The conditions were typical for a Tahoe Memorial Day weekend,” said Wild, “This is a great event in it’s third year running and I am happy to take the win “

The second stop of the O’Neill Tahoe Cup SUP Race Series is set for July 9, 2011. The Jam from the Dam is a 6-mile point to point race that starts at Commons Beach and finishes at Kings Beach. For more event information visit Tahoecup.org.

O’Neill Donner Lake Memorial Results

Men’s Overall:
1. Jay Wild
2. Robert Pelkey
3. Mitchell Kahn

Male 14’ Class:
1. Jay Wild
2. Robert Pelkey
3. Mitchell Kahn

Male Unlimited Class:
1. Rand Carter
2. Seth Springer
3. David Defoe

Male Stock Class:
1. Ben Sarrazin
2. Ronnie Ayres
3. Austin Young

Male Overall Masters:
1. Michael Bond
2. Ken Altman
3. Phil Segal

Women’s Overall:
1. Sky Robbins
2. Jen Fuller
3. Shana Kaplan

Women’s 14’ Class:
1. Connie Altman
2. Whitney Wall
3. Erin Roberts

Women’s Stock Class:
1. Sky Robbins
2. Jen Fuller
3. Shana Kaplan

Women’s Overall Masters:
1. Connie Altman
2. Brenda McGirr
3. Judy Turner

Youth Overall:
1. Elijah Delaunay
2. Julianne Brackett
3. Coleton Hollingsworth

SUP magazine regrets and misspelled names. Please call us out below or write to letters@supthemag.com

Industry News: SUP Magazine Introduces SUP Awards

(SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.) – SUP Magazine is pleased to announce the First Annual SUP Awards in partnership with the Catalina SUP Festival September 30, 2011 at the historic Casino Ballroom on Catalina Island.

The industry has been crying out for a way to honor the sport’s best athletes. SUP Magazine is producing the SUP Awards as the ultimate testament to paddling accomplishment. By visiting SUPAwards.com, paddlers from around the world will have the chance to decide who standup’s top three athletes are and pick the “Movie of the Year”, the “Top Expedition” and “Top Philanthropic Effort.” Voters will also make their choice for the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, given to a legend that has invigorated the sport. All voting will be done at SUPAwards.com starting July 1 and honorees will be presented at the SUP Awards show Friday, September 30, 2011.

“We’re excited to partner with the Santa Catalina Island Company to create the first annual SUP Awards,” said SUP Magazine Publisher, Jim Marsh. “The SUP Awards will become a way to measure standup athletes for years to come.”

Then, from Oct. 1-2, 2011, the world’s finest standup paddlers will converge at the Descanso Beach Club on Santa Catalina Island for two days of races, demos, SUP films and live music. Crystal clear waters, the best spectator course imaginable and a world-class vacation experience will make this the world’s premiere SUP festival.

The Santa Catalina Island Company will provide affordable transportation packages for athletes, vendors and fans to seamlessly transport gear and supplies to the island. They’ve also created dream accommodation opportunities for families looking to make the Catalina SUP Festival a mini vacation. Keep checking back at SUPAwards.com and CatalinaSUPfest.com for upcoming vacation package giveaways as part of the Catalina SUP Festival. Click here for more travel info and packages.

“This event gives us the opportunity to showcase Catalina Island as a major SUP destination,” said Brad Wilson, Santa Catalina Island Company’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Avalon is sheltered from the prevailing wind and swell, leaving flat water nearly year round. That, combined with Catalina’s famous crystal clear water, makes for a unique southern California SUP destination.”

Be sure to follow SUP magazine on Facebook for updates on SUP Awards voting. Also follow the Catalina SUP Festival here.

Industry News: Chuck Patterson Joins Naish

Photo: Chris Bishow

Naish recently announced that renowned waterman Chuck Patterson has joined the Naish SUP Team. Patterson, a gifted standup paddler, surfer and skier, was a longtime member of Team Hobie. “Chuck consistently pushes the boundaries of every extreme sport he sets his sights on,” the company said in a release on their website. “Standup paddling is no different. He has proven himself as an elite racer and big wave SUP surfer, and Naish is stoked to see what incredible feats he can accomplish next on our boards.

Naish went on to interview Patterson on their site. Here are a few nuggets:

How did you get to where you are today?

I got into the whole sports thing when I started skiing at 21/2. My mother was a ski racer and pro windsurfer and I followed in her footsteps – competing in Extreme skiing and snowboarding and windsurfing in the off season. Shortly after moving to Maui to train, I got into wave sailing which transitioned into kiteboarding. I spent the next couple of years competing in kiteboarding and tow surfing during the large winter swells. I’ve always been very lucky to go from one sport to the next and be able to compete at a pro level. A few years later, I watched Dave Kalama and Laird Hamilton standup paddling and I knew that it was my next challenge.

When I moved to Southern California, I borrowed a tandem surfboard, bought a paddle and learned to SUP in the waves. I started racing for fun and got completely addicted. I’ve been competing in races and SUP surfing for the last 4 or 5 years and when I won the Battle of the Paddle in 2008, things just took off from there. Standup paddle racing exploded and a year later the Standup Paddle World Tour was created, bringing the sport of SUP mainstream. Since then I have pushed my racing and SUP surfing to the next level, challenged myself paddling the Molokai channel, explored river paddling and everything this sport has to offer. Moving to Naish has given me a bigger window of opportunity to reach some new goals.

You mention river paddling? It’s not just an ocean sport anymore.

You see it in the magazines too. You know, I have a small circle of good friends who started standup paddling with me in the beginning. A lot of them are kayakers with river knowledge who got into SUP racing and then into SUP surf. For me, I had the surf background first, so it’s nice to explore the other avenues. I think it’s important, as an ambassador, to know every little facet of the sport and what it has to offer everybody.

Are you doing the World Tour?

I’m doing part of it, but it’s tough to compete in both. Racing has been a big thing for me and I have a name it it now. I think it’s important to keep my feet in that world. My goal is to continue growing as an athlete and push the sport internationally – especially now that I am with Naish – and then continue to try new things.

What about your move to Naish suits you and your goals?

I am very excited to have the opportunity to represent and work with Naish and the team. Everyone on the team leads a true waterman lifestyle, standup paddling, outrigger, kite boarding, wave sailing, surfing and tow surfing at a world class level; which really complements my style. Naish offers one of the largest lines of standup paddle boards and products for SUP surfing, down wind & flat water racing and cruising; giving me a huge opportunity to continue pushing every aspect of this sport. For an athlete; it’s extremely important to be part of a great team and stoked with what you are riding, so that you can really focus on training and doing your best in competition.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Love Letters–A Battle of the Paddle Romance

This weekend, paddlers from around the world will gather on Oahu for the Gerry Lopez Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle, Hawaii. In honor of the event, we’re re-running a story from our Winter, 2010 issue at SUPthemag.com where some of the sport’s most passionate female paddlers tell us why they love to battle, and what keeps them coming back for more.

SIX WOMEN BREAKDOWN THEIR BATTLE OF THE PADDLE EXPERIENCE

Standup paddling can involve a leisurely tour, a good core workout, an epic surf, or a whitewater adventure. But twice a year for the sport’s best athletes, it becomes a modern-day blood sport.

In early October, more than 860 competitors from around the world descended on Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, Calif., for the 2010 Battle of the Paddle: California. Viewers in 93 countries tuned in to watch the live Webcast.

The Elite race brought 159 of the sport’s most accomplished athletes to do battle along a five-mile, M-shaped course that included 32 buoy turns, five laps in and out of the 2- to 3-foot surf on carbon-fiber race boards with a 75-foot sand run in between laps. The course requires skill, endurance, and more than a little luck. Waves wreck havoc on the course, clearing out competitors, hurling rider-less boards and rearranging the standings in a single rush of water.

In a sport with a reputation trending more toward Zen, the Battle of the Paddle requires gladiator-like focus. During a stress-free day in beautiful Laguna Beach, Calif., SUP magazine asked six women to break down their races and answer one question: Why Battle? — Jennifer Holcomb

Brandi Baksic
The Battle is the ultimate SUP competition. It’s way too much fun to pass up, and skipping it is not an option if you want to prove yourself as a legit paddler. When I couldn’t race triathlon anymore after I injured my foot, paddling became my outlet, and the Battle my focus. Last year, I’d (only) been paddling for a few months and had no idea what to expect. This year I was way more confident, and just wanted to go out and kick butt. All the work that goes into racing happens beforehand, so the day of the race, I wasn’t stressed out. I was excited.

I took each lap on its own and tried to make sure I avoided people coming at me on their way in and out. It was like a big game of Frogger. [Race announcer] Tracey [Engelking] had the race laid out stroke for stroke: ‘Now Brandi is in the lead. Now Candice Appleby is in the lead.’ I was just as excited to know the outcome. There was one point where I was like, ‘Hey, doesn’t she see that I’m in the lead now? Hey, I’m winning right now!’

Coming around the last outside buoy, I saw the set coming in and knew that Candice was going to catch it. With everything that can happen out there at the Battle, I was just stoked to be on the podium.

Jamie Donnelly
I do most of my paddling solo, early in the morning. For me it’s honestly—and it sounds cheesy—to connect with nature, to exercise outside the gym, and for the camaraderie of the sport as a whole.

I’ll do up to eight miles maybe three or four days a week. And I surf too, when there are waves. I can get really lackadaisical without a goal, so the Battle is that goal.

I’m competitive by nature, but I’ve had some health issues that made me nervous about being able to perform the way that I knew I could. I knew that I wasn’t likely going to be top five, but that I’d still be in there and challenge myself. And I love the Battle format, mixing it up, and the paddle-run.

It was a fun to raise the bar for myself. We got a group together that might not have otherwise done it and proved that we could compete at this level. I could have come in dead last, but I had to see what I could do.

Gillian Gibree
I grew up in Massachusetts and started racing standup this year. I’ve been SUP surfing for about three, though. As a lifeguard on Cape Cod, I competed in ocean events: the beach running, open-water swimming, and prone paddling led me naturally to SUP, and now I teach standup surfing and paddling in addition to training and racing myself.

I love SUP because I can do it in any condition, and it’s a great workout. Sometimes with surf, you feel like you’re just sitting out there, waiting for waves.

The Battle was a completely new experience, but I was hooked immediately on the adrenaline. But I didn’t know it was going to be an obstacle course out there, and I didn’t realize there were so many buoy turns. I really liked that part, though, because with SUP surfing you have to get on your tail and turn your board around quickly. I also didn’t realize there would be so much energy, and the drums … like my heart wasn’t going enough, now I had these Hawaiian drums beating.

It was by far the best race I’ve done. The buoy turns and the waves, the surf, it combines the fitness side of SUP with the surfing and waterman sides, even running up the beach—all of it.

Karen Wrenn
I spent years windsurfing and kiteboarding in big conditions off Maui, so SUP has been a great crossover sport for me now living in Portland, Oregon, and especially the endurance part of racing. The Battle is really an endurance surf race, and the surfing is my biggest challenge, but I love it.

Last year’s Battle was only my third race. It was crazy. I saw what I was about to do, and couldn’t believe it. Coming in to the chute for the first time, and the waves were so big, I said to my husband, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ He said, ‘You don’t have to.’ And then, of course, I’m going to do it. I don’t quit.

I focus first on keeping myself out of trouble in the surf and staying on my board. Then I can concentrate on points like an upwind section, or the sections without the wave riding, and I make up time.

With the Battle there is so much luck involved with timing of sets and all sorts of other stuff, that even though I’m super competitive, I just have to know what my strengths are.

Andie Johnson
I paddle more for the fitness part of it. It’s just fun for me, and it beats going to the gym. Last year I opted out of the Elite race because I got really nervous. I ask myself, ‘Why do I do this if I get this way?’ I know I’d regret it if I didn’t go for it. I still have the competitive edge, even if I’m not a ‘top elite racer.’ I want to give it my best. I want to know where I place, who I’m up against, and how I do.

But I also will take my time during the race, if I need to. Coming in was really funny. I don’t surf. And I especially don’t surf my race board. The sets were tricky, so I asked a friend to help me navigate. We both stopped and he watched, and told me when to paddle. I got in with no problems, paddling hard. My husband, E.J., tells me, ‘Babe, you did so good!’ And I’m laughing, thinking, ‘No I just wanted out of the water before I got wiped out in front of a million people!’ But it was fun, and that’s why I like to race.

Terri Plunkett
At last year’s Battle, I was asked to join a surf relay team. I’d never paddled before. I ended up with seven stitches in my chin after a wave smashed the board into my face. I kind of put the sport away after that. I’ve been an amateur boxer for 12 years. But a surf session on my birthday, May 8, 2010, changed everything.

I was scheduled for a fight on June 26. I was training and was really unhappy. With boxing I’d be looking at the older people and they were kind of haggard. And I would see older paddlers like Mickey and Peggy Muñoz and they’d be laughing. So I left the beach on my birthday, and that was it. I hung up my boxing gloves and haven’t touched them since.

Fast-forward five months and I was on the line for the start of the Elite race, competing again! But there I was, crying. I was struck by so much happy emotion. This was the first time I’d been caught up in something like this. I looked around and I felt it all. I played soccer in college, and then boxing, and I never got that type of support. It’s this community I love. The water aspect attracts me to it, like surfing always has, but it’s about the people.

Industry News: Paddle for Humanity Raises $18,000

Encinitas, CA –This past Saturday, April 30, 182 athletes gathered at Doheny State Beach to compete in the 3rd Annual Paddle for Humanity to benefit SurfAid International. The paddleboarding and standup paddle fundraiser attracted some of the region’s best paddlers, who competed in the 6-mile elite race, and dozens more who participated in the 2-mile fun paddle.

The Executive Director of SurfAid International USA, Randal Schober, said the event would not have been possible without the commitment from the sponsors, most notably Watermans Applied Science. “Watermans has come out year after year to help organize and rally the paddling community in support of our cause,” Schober said.

The event was sanctioned by the World Paddleboard Association and was part of the WPA’s championship points races. San Clemente’s Thomas Maximus was the overall male winner with a time of 54:08 and Brandi Baksic, also from San Clemente, was the overall top female in 1:06:48. Each competitor had a chance at winning raffle prizes that included gear from Rogue, Quickblade, Toes on the Nose, Sticky Bumps, Board Fisher and Hobie.

Special prizes were also awarded to the top three event fundraisers. First place for “Most Funds Raised” went to Mark Carlisle of Team Hobie who raised $2,825 for SurfAid. Mark Pighini of Team Suplove and Jared Varges were also recognized for their individual efforts in raising money and awareness for SurfAid.

The event’s success reaffirms the event’s popularity which has grown from one event in 2010 to a national series this year. SurfAid and Watermans Applied Science are taking the Paddle for Humanity to Deerfield Beach, FL on June 4th and to Washington, DC on August 20th.

To view complete results, or to learn more about SurfAid, visit Paddle4humanity.org.

Peter Stirling, left, handing out the rewards with help from Chuck Patterson

Anthony Vela Pulls In at the Silver Blade

Think paddling 200 meters at sprint speed is easy? Watch Anthony Vela during his heat at the Silver Blade Regatta. Dude kills it. Vela ended up second in the grueling 2,000 meter race and fourth overall. Kinda gets you pumped to go paddling doesn’t it?

Industry News: Kaenon SUPs for a PUP

(Newport Beach, Calif.) More than just a day out for the dogs, Kaenon Polarized, the Newport Beach, CA based Luxury and Lifestyle Performance sunglass brand, is proud to relay the success of the 3rd annual “SUP For a Pup” event held on April 9, 2011. During the one-day event, approximately $11,000 was raised for local animal rescue, A Wish For Animals (AWFA), and 15 dogs found new homes.

“The dog gods were smiling on this year’s event,” said Chris Wyman, founder of the event and Sports Marketing Director at Kaenon Polarized. “It went off, turning out far better crowds than the past 2 years. I am very, very pleased with the results.”

With last-minute sunny skies, energetic crowds flocked to the Newport Beach headquarters to adopt needy dogs and for fundraising sales from Kaenon, OluKai, Naish, Hinano Tahiti, Quickblade Paddles, as well as food from Wahoo’s Fish Taco, VMG (who hung the great sun shades for the dogs), massages from Angell Chiropractic & Wellness, Star face painting and Double Giraffe. The combined effort and contributions from all in attendance brought the success of the event to a new level.

“Everybody was so happy to be here,” said Toni Eakes, founder of AWFA. “There is such a good energy here. We’re happy if we get any dog adopted and if we raise any money to keep our shelter going. Every year just gets better and better.”
Over the past three years, combined, the annual event has raised more than $25,000 to assist AWFA and found quality homes for approximately 45 dogs.

Other contributing companies to the event included Function Drinks, Standup Paddle Magazine, Transworld Surf, Surfer Magazine, ProBar, CamelBak, Lowepro, Race Face, VMG Sail Shades, and DT Swiss, Yuir @ Bike Monkey who donated items for the sale as well as the day-long raffle, raising over $1000, a new record for the event.

To make additional donations and see photos from the event visit Supforapup.com.

# # #

About A Wish For Animals
A Wish For Animals is a 100% non-profit animal rescue for dogs and cats. Run completely by volunteers, they are able to provide funding to low income families who are unable to pay for large medical bills for their pets. Their mission is to help save as many animals as possible from suffering or death and find them wonderful homes to spend the rest of their lives. www.awishforanimals.org

About Kaenon Polarized
Since 2001, Kaenon Polarized has continued in its mission to provide elite athletes and active lifestyle enthusiasts with unmatched polarized optics and high-performance frames, all with superior fit and luxurious style. With proprietary and revolutionary SR-91 polarized lenses, Kaenon Polarized continues to push the boundaries of active optics with award-winning performance sunglass styles, all adaptable in Single Vision and Freestyle Progressive prescription.

Industry News: Olukai Ho’olaule’a to be Broadcast Nationally

(Maui, HI) – The OluKai Ho’olaule’a elite Stand Up Paddle (SUP) and one-man Outrigger
Canoe (OC1) races will be featured on Ocean Paddler TV, airing nationally to over 50 million households
on Universal Sports Network, an NBC Sports Partnership.

The OluKai Ho’olaule’a is a celebration of the ocean and cultures that surround it. During the 2-day ocean
festival, elite watermen, waterwomen and enthusiasts will have the opportunity to paddle race the
legendary Maliko “downwinder” on Maui’s North shore, an eight-mile stretch from Maliko Gulch to the Lae
’Ula O Kai Canoe Club at Kanaha Beach Park.

A $15,000 prize purse will be shared equally between the elite men’s and women’s divisions. The SUP
race begins at 12:00PM on Saturday, May 14th. The OC1 race will launch at 12:00PM on Sunday.

The OluKai Ho’olaule’a race coverage will reach 52 markets nationwide, including the nation’s top 10
media markets, 20 of the top 25 markets, totaling over 50 million households. OluKai and Ocean Paddler
TV are excited to showcase the incredible skill, raw power, endurance and dedication of the world’s elite
paddlers while offering unique insight into the authentic culture that surrounds the Hawaiian ocean
paddling community.

“Telling the OluKai Ho’olaule’a story, the races, music and cultural activities, to a national television
audience offers an exciting opportunity to showcase Hawaii’s ocean culture to over 50 million
households,” say Kerry Konrady, OluKai’s Director of Marketing. “This is a huge success in our efforts to
support the growth of SUP, OC1, and the extraordinary people connected to the sports.”

Paddlers can register online at Olukai.com by May 4 to receive a Premium Race Package including
luau dinner, technical race jersey, and a pair of OluKai sandals. Online registration closes May 10. Space
is limited.

Skills: The Backside Turn

With Chuck Patterson

Every day in the ocean is different, and though most of us prefer to ride waves on our frontside (toe side), conditions don’t always cooperate. “Sometimes, the waves are perfect to ride backside,” explains Hobie team rider Chuck Patterson. And when they are, you’ll want a good backside cutback in your arsenal of surf skills. Standup boards are so fast that you can easily outrun the wave. Chuck’s tips will help you dial your backside cutback and keep you in the wave’s power pocket.

MOVE YOUR FEET. When I initiate a wave on my backside, I like to get my heels close to the rail as I’m dropping into the wave. Standup boards are a lot wider than a regular surfboard, so you need to shift your feet to set the rail. You can slide your feet or take a little step to the center of the board when you cut back to your frontside.

USE YOUR BOTTOM TURN TO TRANSFER YOUR WEIGHT. As I bottom turn on my heel-side rail, I’ll lean more into the wave, then come up and hit the lip and quickly transfer my weight to my toe-side rail. It’s an awesome feeling to go down to the bottom, then come up and snap a turn all the way around. Suddenly you’re looking at the whitewater section in front of you. You can then hit that on your toe side before turning out of the section again on your heel side.

WORK YOUR PADDLE. I like to hold the paddle with my left hand on the top and right hand on bottom. I’m a regular-footer, so that puts my power hand—the one closest to the paddle blade—nearer to the back of the board. That allows me to use the paddle as a rudder, and really snap the turns. As I’m doing the bottom turn on my heel side, I’ll lean hard into the wave with the paddle behind my right hip and the blade trailing behind the board or even slightly on the heel side. As I initiate the turn onto my toe side, I’ll shift my weight to the strong side while driving that right arm forward. The board pivots around the paddle blade, which will be on the toe side as I execute the cutback. This really helps me initiate the turn and feel the rail carve into the wave.

USE THE POCKET. Every wave is different. Some are steep and roll with no lip. When you’re making the bottom turn, you want to be in the pocket or the steeper part of the wave. It’s really easy with standup boards to drive down the line with a lot of speed and get way out in front of the section and suddenly it’s flat. That’s when you want to come off the bottom and carve back into the soup. Again, once you’re in the soup you turn back on your heel side and get back in the steeper zone of the wave.
– as told to Chris Bishow

Shaper Profile: Dragonfly Boatworks

Mark Castlow and Jimbo Meader are just a couple of friends angling for a unique spot in the standup paddleboard lineup. Having pooled their extensive experience in flats boat, kayak and surfboard design, the partners at Dragonfly Boatworks in Vero Beach, Fla., look to produce a pair of interesting, shallow water-ready SUP models.

“We’re a boatbuilding company, and fishing is what we’re all about, but we’re also all about fun,” Meador says of the new models. His motivation is simple—gaining better access to gamefish in the shallows. Castlow says their goal is to create “durable, easy to repair, and relatively inexpensive” boards. They want to provide something that will make water access “do-able,” will fish well, and will also function as a cruising and fitness board.

A nice redfish succumbs to Meador’s fly and Dragonfly 13’6”. Photo by Charlie McLean

After field-testing various evolutions of board designs over the past 10 months—a process interrupted by the BP oil spill, when Castlow and Meador dropped everything to design, build and then donate four shallow-water wildlife rescue crafts in use by various agencies—the result is two Dragonfly SUPs, measuring 13’6” x 32” (42 pounds, $1,900) and 10’0” x 32” (35 pounds, $1,700). The most significant design feature is in the nose and rails, which Castlow describes as “crucial to fishing success,” by minimizing fish-spooking hull slap. A raised bow profile, combined with a low V-shaped deck combing and a rail-top “brow,” assures a dry ride. The deck brow also prevents a stripped fly line from slipping off the deck.

Castlow, who started out producing surfboards in Florida in the 1960s before crossing over to flats boats, has come full circle. Meador, of Point Clear, Ala., is quite a character—a multi-talented “angler/philosopher” who has successfully marketed many hunting and kayak fishing products—and has been Castlow’s friend for over 25 years, collaborating on multiple projects.

Meador and Dixie cruise on the Dragonfly 13’6”. Photo by Fontaine Howard

Their new Dragonfly boards benefit from the shared experience by creating a hollow board, with separate deck and hull components constructed of hand-laid fiberglass and Innegra cloth, plus a wood-look fender edge to cap the seam. An innovative box-mounted skeg design, consisting of an elongated, symmetrical arc, allows the boards to track well and maneuver in only three inches of water.

Two optional seats provide a variety of paddling and fishing positions: a four-legged rectangle with fishing tackle saddlebags, or a sleek cushion-topped pod that can serve as a cooler. Flush-mounted sockets accept adjustable rod holders, and deck plugs forward and aft facilitate gear storage. Designed to be simple, the boards still boast the hull volume that allows anglers to bring along the kitchen sink.  — Tom Fucigna Jr.

Photo by Charlie McLean

Photo by Charlie McLean

SUP Kiting?

New discipline captures the best of both worlds

It was only a matter of time before two of the world’s hottest board sports crossed paths. French kiteboarding pioneer Raphael Salles started SUPing four years ago as a means of salvaging windless days on the water. After getting “more and more hooked” on paddleboarding, he began experimenting with SUPs and kites. The result is the new Source, a simple, two-line kite designed specifically for standup boards and manufactured by Salles’ F-One Kites brand.

Salles believes SUP kiting combines the appeal of both sports and will lead to more people on the water. The buoyancy of an SUP makes it possible to kite in light winds—eliminating the extreme-wind fear factor associated with traditional kiteboarding. The Source kite range comes in six sizes, the largest of which can be flown in barely five knots. SUP kiting requires no modifications to an existing board and uses old-school, and relatively easy-to-handle “unhooked” kite technology, eliminating the need for intimidating foot straps, complicated harnesses and obscure kiting techniques. What’s more, the larger board allows for tandem riding. “It’s a far different sport than classic kiteboarding because you need less wind,” says Salles. “So it can match a much wider range of users. It’s similar to the difference between surfing on a short board and an SUP.”

While some diehard kiters bemoan the Source’s primitive line system, which harkens back to kiteboarding’s early days of the mid-90s, the upshot for SUPers, of course, is that kiting makes paddleboarding less of a sufferfest on windy days. It could open the door to new freestyle moves in surf and on flatwater, says Salles, who likens the fast-paced, on-plane feeling of SUP kiting to surfing a wave. “Making power turns [with a kite] is the same movement as a bottom turn on a wave,” he says. Plus those on inland waterways can improve their wave-riding experience–even with the obvious lack of waves.

For Chris Boyle, a Cabarete, Dominican Republic-based kiteboarder, SUP kiting is a natural progression of both sports. “When I first tried it I had a ‘wish I woulda thought of that’ moment,” he says. This winter, Boyle’s employer, Long Beach, New York’s Cosmic Kites, is launching a series of SUP kiting-specific lessons at its Cabarete instructional center.

And Boyle believes that’s just the beginning. He expects the advent of wind-powered SUPing to create a new genre of endurance athletes, maybe even enabling long-distance ocean crossings via SUP. In the meantime, F-One is designing its own lineup of paddleboards, set to hit the market in the spring. In this, standup paddling’s age of innovation, SUP kiting seems to be the most natural of progressions.

–Conor Mihell

Exploring Catalina – The Backstories

There was a lot more to exploring Southern California’s Catalina Island than the paddling. Tahoe SUP Project: Explore, is the product of a decade long friendship between Tahoe SUP founder, Nate Brouwer and the Fuze Group’s Zac Smith. Having worked together in the past, they were eager to merge the creative vision of capturing standup paddling adventures and sharing their passion with the world.

Catalina was the first location for the project series and the Fuze Group team is busy editing the footage for the episode. Smith, as director on the series, is looking to create an experience that everyone can enjoy. “There are so many places that can be explored only by water,” he says. Standup is the perfect medium for all outdoor enthusiasts to get out there and discover some new places and adventures. Even if we just scratch the surface on what is possible, the Explore Project will be a tremendous success.”

This collaboration Smith and Brouwer is all about the flow of ideas. “I’m a huge admirer of Zac and the quality and creativity of Fuze Group.” says Brouwer. “It was a no brainer to work with them on this vehicle that will not only capture who we are as a company and why our boards are designed like they are but share our vision of standup paddling and the doors it can open to adventure.”

THE INSIDE LINE

Over the course of four days shooting Tahoe SUP Project: Explore Catalina, the learning curve was equally steep for paddlers, camera crew and captain. The logistics involved with shuttling 11 people, piles of camera equipment and four 14-foot boards around on a sailboat took plenty of sorting out. Add into that an impending gale force storm, a large aquatic predator and uncooperative water conditions, everybody on board had a dramatic story to tell.

Brandon Vedder of Fuze Group recounts the morning of the second day when a stiff onshore wind created washing machine conditions along a rugged stretch of coast:

“Three of us were in the zodiac shooting and filming the departure out of Shark Cove because the sailboat had to stay to the outside. The water was really swirling and swells were bouncing off the cliffs. I had never worked in conditions like that and it was getting worse. Dave and Ronnie had paddled around the point and we hung back with Whitney because it was starting to look unsafe. The zodiac started taking water over the back because there was no good direction to face. I’m thinking, shit, we got like thirty grand worth of equipment in this boat! Whitney was making ground so we made our way out to the sailboat to unload. The sailboat was getting slammed, rolling side to side. Pulling up alongside, we would see the keel one second and get almost sucked under the boat and when it lurched on a swell the other way the deck was right in your face. We tossed all the gear up to the guys on deck but when we would try to get ourselves onboard it was less than graceful. Zac grabbed a line when the boat rocked towards us and then was slammed against the hull as it swung 10 feet in the air. The whole thing was replayed when they were coming on with the boards. Good times.”

Captain Okie, owner of the 45-foot perry sailboat “Arabesque”, shares the harrowing scenario of sailing across the channel in the middle on the night. Out of gas and in 25 knots of wind, trying to make the fuel dock inside Redondo Harbor under sail.

“In the rush at sunset in Avalon to get pizza and beer and get out of there as early as possible before the storm, it looked like we had enough gas. It was a fun sail back, big water; good wind on our beam and the blackness was helping out some in the gang who were getting seasick. At the harbor mouth the wind was really on and the first run in was pushing us too close to the docks. We tacked inside the rock pile back out to set up a higher approach line. Ronnie was on deck readying the main and when we tacked again to turn back into the harbor, he got tossed across the deck when wind grabbed the main. He grabbed something because it looked like he was going overboard and then he slammed down into the lifelines. Now we had a good line on the fuel dock, dropped the main and the wind direction pinned us right into the dock. The storm really howled overnight and the whole next day so the decision to rock n roll when did was a good one.” -Ron Ayres

Look for the Fuze Group’s production of the video teaser in early April 2011.

Check out the Catalina Field Notes here.

Field Notes: Exploring Catalina Part III

On the short motor sail out to Little Harbor from where they picked Dave and I up, we had a chance to cool our jets and enshrined the arduous two-hour paddle as “Just Four Miles”. Food also calms the savage beast and smartly I was given a hot sausage sandwich with chips while Dave decompressed with his homemade spirulina hemp balls. Which he better give me the recipe to.

As we babbled on about how good it was to see the boat we quickly approached Little Harbor and could see some small waves breaking on the Shark Cove side of the harbor. The set up looked impossible for getting the sailboat in according to the charts our boat captain, Oakie, had laid out. So we sat outside and dropped the standup boards in to evaluate. The natural cove totally opens up and stays deep. Almost everywhere, the water gets deep fast right off the beach. We were met halfway in by Capt John from the Catalina Fire Department who SUP’d out with warm greetings and confirmed it was duck soup for anchoring.

The tide was running out and the surf was resting, so Capt John offered to set me up with a spear gun to poke around the kelp beds in the harbor that were teeming with life. Bat Rays ruled the joint but we did catch a glimpse of what was assumed to be a Fin Soup Shark? Never heard of em’. But at 8 feet long, the fish had my full attention. It wasn’t much more to our guide than an unusual out of season sighting but my strength was waning, sun getting low and there was still all the camping gear to take ashore and set up.

Little Harbor campground has this Jurassic feeling about it even before you discover the giant dung droppings left behind by the Bison herd occupying the island. Over the campfire burgers and garden burgers sizzled as the hungry crew and paddlers fueled up after the long sunny day. I felt my systems forcing shutdown, a fair reaction to the day’s events. Some local chatter was opening our eyes to the possibility of less than favorable conditions in the morning. You would be a fool not to listen. And it made me even more tired.

The morning was heavy with clouds and a breeze that wanted to talk you out of getting on the water. From the beach the cove was mellow but surging heavier than yesterday. Outside the point the ocean was churning and the sailboat left us behind and pushed out through the narrow passage. Now I’ ve known and paddled with Dave enough to know this was a twist he was going to enjoy as much as me. The question was how was Whitney going to tackle her first experience of water not acting very lake-like. –Ron Ayres

Click here for Episode II.

Check out Tahoe SUP here.

Photos: Fuze Group

Industry News: Imagine Surf Signs Garrett McNamara

(San Clemente, Calf.)– Imagine Surf is pleased to announce the addition of extreme waterman Garrett McNamara to its pro surfing team. Imagine surf, which was founded in 2002 in Canada, began to make stand up paddleboards in 2006 and has since grown into one of the premiere SUP brands in the world, with a line of boards that reaches all the way from high end carbon fiber race boards down to low cost plastic boards for beginners.

“We make some of the most cutting edge designs on the market today,” said Imagine founder Corran Addison. “We want to show this to the world by having some of the best riders out there on them. Garrett is such an icon in the surfing world, and an amazing stand up surfer, that it just made sense.”

Garrett and Corran met at the Stand Up World tour final in Hilo, Hawaii last December, and quickly hit off a friendship. “We were talking design, and rail shape and deck shape, animating turns and cutbacks on the land like two little kids,” Corran went on to say. “I love the way Garrett thinks about design, and his approach to riding, and I knew right then I wanted to work with him.”

In the summer of 2010, Imagine secured funding from the Contrarian Group, headed by Peter Ueberroth, the organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and moved its operations from Montreal Canada to the heart of surfing in San Clemente, California. The Contrarian Group provides investment capital and management support to early stage companies in the services, sports, travel and selected technology fields and is based in Newport Beach, California.

At this time Imagine Surf moved the majority of their production from China back to the USA.

“It’s so nice to be working with a company that understands and knows how to build what I need,” said Garrett. “I have enough risk in my life, so when it comes to my stand up boards I wanted to ride boards I could rely on”.

Imagine Surf is now offering two Garrett McNamara pro models for this season.

“This board is the accumulation of all the ideas I’ve been working on for the last 4 or 5 years, combined with those that Imagine has brought to the table,” Garrett continued. “I think this will be the board that a lot of people have been waiting for.”

Imaginesurf.com

Santa Cruz Paddlefest Celebrates 25 Years!

The Santa Cruz Paddle Festival has long been the kickoff to the paddle event season. Twenty-five years later, not much has changed. Except the party has gotten a whole lot bigger.

This year, along with the kayak and waveski contests, the third annual Surftech Shootout will go off at Steamer Lane March 18-20th, as the world’s finest standup surfers duel it out at one of California’s preeminent surf spots. An Elite field will be on hand including two-time Shootout Champ, Chuck Patterson, Zane Schweitzer, Candice Appleby, Peter Trow, Dan Gavere, Fletcher Burton and John Griffith.

In addition, the Surftech Surf and Sand Duel-Athalon Presented by SUP magazine will add racing to this prestigious event. Competing kayakers and standup surfers can enter the SUP race where they’re surf placings will be combined with their race finish to determine the King and Queen of the Beach.

The race on Saturday starts at Cowells Beach in front of the Dream Inn. Competitors leave the beach, round a buoy beyond the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf, round a buoy at the SC Harbor and back to the beach to end the novice race. The Elite competitors will hit the water after finishing the run and head to a buoy set outside the Lane, then race to the harbor buoy, back to the Santa Cruz Wharf, to the beach with a final half mile beach sprint to the finish.

sends racers on a course to the end of the Santa Cruz Pier, outside a buoy at the lighthouse and back to the Wharf. The 2.7-mile short course ends here with a half mile beach run for recreational paddlers. Elite men and women competitors-vying for $300 in prize money–will get back on their boards for another lap to finish their 6.2-mile race including one mile of running on the sand. “We designed the course to give the crowd the best possible view of the event,” says Surftech’s Duke Brouwer.

Saturday night, SUP magazine is hosting a bash at the Coconut Grove to celebrate Dennis Judson and his 25 years of organizing this fantastic contest. The party includes the race awards before whitewater kayaker, rapper and filmmaker Rush Sturges opens up on the mic for Santa Cruz’s Ribsy’s Nickel, a local favorite. Sunday is the finals for all surf events.

The pre-registration party is Thursday night at Adventure Sports Unlimited. Click here for more info.

Companies wishing to display their products at the event please call 831-425-4887

Check out last year’s contest:

The map to this year’s race sponsored by Surftech and presented by SUP magazine:

Confessions of a Standup Newbie

Full of equal parts intimidation and excitement, I head to Laguna Beach to meet up with four strangers for my SUP Boot Camp indoctrination.

It’s just shy of 0800 as I pull up to Stand Up Paddle Co., and spot the ubiquitous Werner Paddles Dodge Sprinter van. Moments later an extremely fit and cheerful Nikki Gregg emerges and greets me with a smile brighter than her fluorescent pink SUP sweatshirt—helping instantly curb the intimidation factor. The other women fill in and share their own experiences with SUP or lack thereof. Before we know it, we are zipping into our wetsuits, matched up with a proper paddle, and assigned boards to carry down 50 steps to a windswept, menacing ocean ahead.

The women immediately begin voicing their concerns about the waves, especially since two of them have only been paddling on flatwater. I have only one day in the ocean myself, on a windy, choppy day at San Onofre and I begin replaying the blooper reel in my head.

Gregg, 36, goes over safety instructions, but no one volunteers to paddle out first, past the waves to calmer waters. She shows us how to stay on our knees through the surf zone until we try to stand up.

“She makes it look so easy,” a fellow boot camper says on the beach as we watch Gregg glide through the surf.

“She’ll probably stand up,” says fellow Werner Paddles rep and pro SUP paddler Dan Gavere, standing with us on the beach. As if on cue, Gregg pops up to her feet and continues to charge through the waves.

“I’m not doing that,” another attendee notes with wide eyes.

Gregg rejoins us on the beach a few moments later, as if she’s merely gone to retrieve the morning paper.

“Who’s going first?” she asks.

Somehow, I find that two-minute window of courage you discover inside yourself once in a while when faced with something scary.

“I’ll go!” I say, but as soon as the words escape from my lips, my spine tingles with an uneasy fear.

photo Gavere

“The key to paddling out is timing,” Gregg advises. “(Dan and I) will tell you when to go.”

The hardest part is simply getting in the water and tackling the fear. Terror strikes me as each approaching wave appears ready to crush me. However, after the first few, I’m reminded just how invincible an SUP seems through small waves, like a tank driver plowing through everything in its path.

I make it to the calmer waters and, still jittery, look back at the unique Laguna Beach seascape for a serene second.

Standing in the open ocean is mind over matter. You get over the fear of falling in and just allow it to happen—and yes, this happens time after time from wobbly legs riddled with nerves and adrenaline.

But as Gregg says, “If you’re not getting wet, you’re not trying.”

With the group reunited on the outside, Gregg gives us each constructive feedback. (I somehow keep holding the paddle backward.) The next lesson is brace strokes and how to safely drop to your knees if you lose balance—perhaps one of the more valuable beginner takeaways of the clinic.

After this on-water assessment, we paddle in and finish class on land. Always stressing proper technique, Gregg demonstrates the stages of paddling. She meticulously breaks down each stage as well as each of our own individual strokes, reinforcing the proper movement of our hips and shoulders to correctly engage our cores.

“What’s your best advice for beginners?” I ask.

“To hire a reputable SUP coach or instructor to get you going,” answers the reputable SUP instructor, but then she goes a little deeper. “Having to deprogram your brain from bad habits and re-learn proper technique takes longer and is more frustrating than learning the right way the first time. Also, invest in the highest quality paddle you can afford and make sure it’s the right length and blade shape and size. The paddle is your connection to the water and really affects your performance as well as the integrity of your shoulder joint.”

When I get back into the water, I feel like lightning compared to the first time. However, delusions of elite race wins shatter as Gregg effortlessly glides past me.  Her finesse and ease of movement through the water is mind-boggling. I proceed with rote practice to use my hips like I did on land, and begin to feel more power in my stroke as I engage my core.

“You don’t perfect this in a day,” Gregg reminds.

After Gregg displays some yoga poses on her board with flawless grace, it’s hard not to idolize this seeming guru-goddess of SUP. Then when I see SUP/Yoga instructor Julie Roach and film producer Tracee Stanley perfect the poses on their boards, I become conscious of my remedial rank. I attempt some poses myself on the prototype of Gregg’s NRG women’s fitness and recreational race board that’s due out from Starboard this summer. In my mind’s eye, my plank is perfect. No need for a reality check. Gregg’s design is sturdy under my feet and I feel confident to push beyond my comfort zone.

Good thing too, as the greatest challenge of the day presents itself with Gregg’s announcement of our turning lesson. (At this point, I’m happy to just paddle   in a straight line.) I try the 360-degree turn and cross-bow strokes. I’m excited to learn some new turns—starting the day, my turns were extremely long and wide. Gregg easily demonstrates walking around on the board, and we daintily attempt the pivot turn somehow avoiding falling in the drink.

Then the final exam: an obstacle course around the buoys. The necessity of turns, especially in a race is now evident, though I can’t quite see myself jockeying turns in a race quite yet. Still, we all manage to “graduate” from pure beginner-dom with flying colors and a pure sense of accomplishment.

After enjoying four hours of shared physical challenge, nobody wants the day to end. Inspired by the cathartic and therapeutic experience, with Gregg’s wisdom and agility in mind, I cannot wait to get back in the water. Maybe I’ll even try a race. — Allison Sucamele

— CLICK HERE to find out more information on Gregg’s SUP Fitness Boot Camps

SUP Go Pro Flicks (one of our favs)

Plenty of paddlers are getting incredible angles from the Go Pro Camera nowadays, building their own stellar flicks from their home computers. Here’s one of our favorites from the Half Moon Bay, Calif. area. Notice the athletic camera work during the wipe outs.

Thank the Laird from Beasho Free on Vimeo.

Confessions of standup newbie

Full of equal parts intimidation and excitement, I head to Laguna Beach to meet up with four strangers for my SUP Boot Camp indoctrination.

It’s just shy of 0800 as I pull up to Stand Up Paddle Co., and spot the ubiquitous Werner Paddles Dodge Sprinter van. Moments later an extremely fit and cheerful Nikki Gregg emerges and greets me with a smile brighter than her fluorescent pink SUP sweatshirt—helping instantly curb the intimidation factor. The other women fill in and share their own experiences with SUP or lack thereof. Before we know it, we are zipping into our wetsuits, matched up with a proper paddle, and assigned boards to carry down 50 steps to a windswept, menacing ocean ahead.

The women immediately begin voicing their concerns about the waves, especially since two of them have only been paddling on flatwater. I have only one day in the ocean myself, on a windy, choppy day at San Onofre and I begin replaying the blooper reel in my head.

Gregg, 36, goes over safety instructions, but no one volunteers to paddle out first, past the waves to calmer waters. She shows us how to stay on our knees through the surf zone until we try to stand up.

“She makes it look so easy,” a fellow boot camper says on the beach as we watch Gregg glide through the surf.

“She’ll probably stand up,” says fellow Werner Paddles rep and pro SUP paddler Dan Gavere, standing with us on the beach. As if on cue, Gregg pops up to her feet and continues to charge through the waves.

“I’m not doing that,” another attendee notes with wide eyes.

Gregg rejoins us on the beach a few moments later, as if she’s merely gone to retrieve the morning paper.

“Who’s going first?” she asks.

Somehow, I find that two-minute window of courage you discover inside yourself once in a while when faced with something scary.

“I’ll go!” I say, but as soon as the words escape from my lips, my spine tingles with an uneasy fear.

photo Gavere

“The key to paddling out is timing,” Gregg advises. “(Dan and I) will tell you when to go.”

The hardest part is simply getting in the water and tackling the fear. Terror strikes me as each approaching wave appears ready to crush me. However, after the first few, I’m reminded just how invincible an SUP seems through small waves, like a tank driver plowing through everything in its path.

I make it to the calmer waters and, still jittery, look back at the unique Laguna Beach seascape for a serene second.

Standing in the open ocean is mind over matter. You get over the fear of falling in and just allow it to happen—and yes, this happens time after time from wobbly legs riddled with nerves and adrenaline.

But as Gregg says, “If you’re not getting wet, you’re not trying.”

With the group reunited on the outside, Gregg gives us each constructive feedback. (I somehow keep holding the paddle backward.) The next lesson is brace strokes and how to safely drop to your knees if you lose balance—perhaps one of the more valuable beginner takeaways of the clinic.

After this on-water assessment, we paddle in and finish class on land. Always stressing proper technique, Gregg demonstrates the stages of paddling. She meticulously breaks down each stage as well as each of our own individual strokes, reinforcing the proper movement of our hips and shoulders to correctly engage our cores.

“What’s your best advice for beginners?” I ask.

“To hire a reputable SUP coach or instructor to get you going,” answers the reputable SUP instructor, but then she goes a little deeper. “Having to deprogram your brain from bad habits and re-learn proper technique takes longer and is more frustrating than learning the right way the first time. Also, invest in the highest quality paddle you can afford and make sure it’s the right length and blade shape and size. The paddle is your connection to the water and really affects your performance as well as the integrity of your shoulder joint.”

When I get back into the water, I feel like lightning compared to the first time. However, delusions of elite race wins shatter as Gregg effortlessly glides past me.  Her finesse and ease of movement through the water is mind-boggling. I proceed with rote practice to use my hips like I did on land, and begin to feel more power in my stroke as I engage my core.

“You don’t perfect this in a day,” Gregg reminds.

After Gregg displays some yoga poses on her board with flawless grace, it’s hard not to idolize this seeming guru-goddess of SUP. Then when I see SUP/Yoga instructor Julie Roach and film producer Tracee Stanley perfect the poses on their boards, I become conscious of my remedial rank. I attempt some poses myself on the prototype of Gregg’s NRG women’s fitness and recreational race board that’s due out from Starboard this summer. In my mind’s eye, my plank is perfect. No need for a reality check. Gregg’s design is sturdy under my feet and I feel confident to push beyond my comfort zone.

Good thing too, as the greatest challenge of the day presents itself with Gregg’s announcement of our turning lesson. (At this point, I’m happy to just paddle   in a straight line.) I try the 360-degree turn and cross-bow strokes. I’m excited to learn some new turns—starting the day, my turns were extremely long and wide. Gregg easily demonstrates walking around on the board, and we daintily attempt the pivot turn somehow avoiding falling in the drink.

Then the final exam: an obstacle course around the buoys. The necessity of turns, especially in a race is now evident, though I can’t quite see myself jockeying turns in a race quite yet. Still, we all manage to “graduate” from pure beginner-dom with flying colors and a pure sense of accomplishment.

After enjoying four hours of shared physical challenge, nobody wants the day to end. Inspired by the cathartic and therapeutic experience, with Gregg’s wisdom and agility in mind, I cannot wait to get back in the water. Maybe I’ll even try a race. — Allison Sucamele

— CLICK HERE to find out more information on Gregg’s SUP Fitness Boot Camps

Karen Wrenn’s Channel Island Crossings

There’s something special about the first, no matter the context. First descents. First ascents. First love? First kiss? Last week, Karen Wrenn, 39, became the first standup paddler to connect all of California’s Channel Islands, battling sharks, hefty windchop and gnarly sideshore gales intent on knocking her off course. But the mother of three endured, proving again, there’s nothing stopping the pure power of will. –JC

SUP mag: Tell us again where this idea came from.
KW: I was talking to Chris Wyman, sports marketing director for Kaenon, he was my captain when I did Catalina to Dana Point. We were throwing ideas around and he’s like, ‘we can do anything.’ So we came up with this plan.

SUP mag: Give us the lowdown. What was the routine?
KW: There’s eight islands and seven crossings I had to do. The first day was spent motoring to Santa Barbara Island. My first day of paddling was from Santa Barbara to Catalina Island. It was 27 miles and I paddled all day. Then I got in the boat and we motored to a safe spot to anchor. I got up the next morning, did another crossing and slept on the boat every night. The logistics were interesting. You can’t anchor at every island so I’d paddle a channel and we’d motor back to where we could anchor and head to a new starting point every morning. I did seven channels in five days. The northern islands are all close together so I did three crossings in one day.

SUP mag: What was the toughest day?
KW: On the 43-mile crossing there was a ton of side chop and headwind for three quarters of it. I din’t fall off the board the whole trip but this was definitely challenging. I had to push through and be mentally tough.

SUP mag: So sharks. That’s a big deal out there. How was that for you?
KW: The day I did a 28 miler from Santa Barbara to San Nicholas Island, the boat crew saw a pretty big one close to me. It surfaced twice. They didn’t really know what to do. They didn’t tell me until I was completely done because they didn’t want to throw me off. I noticed the boat veered pretty strangely at one point and wondered what was up.

SUP mag: So how do you deal with that mentally?
KW: There were so many seals it was insane. So there’s a lot of food in the area. The first couple days I was always looking. I’d see things and get scared and head back next to the side of the boat. By the third day of paddling I came up with a system. I felt so much better if I knew one person was spotting and I only had to look five feet in front of my board. I tried to keep my focus on the water straight in front of me.

SUP mag: Did you have an aha moment out there all alone?
KW: The most beautiful moment was near San Miguel Island the day I did three crossings. The islands are close together. I woke up really early and started paddling at sunrise. As the sun was coming up the light was amazing. I was able to paddle right along the shore of San Miguel. It was one of those moments when it’s all clear and you realize this is this really happening.

SUP mag: So you’re a pretty stellar racer on the Naish Team. Do you like races or adventures better?
KW: I like them both a lot. Doing solo things like this is a personal challenge. It makes you realize how strong you are and you learn a lot about yourself when you’re out there. Racing satisfies the competitor in me. I love being on a starting line and having something to train for. But the adventure and being on a boat is really special. My husband was looking at Outside magazine and read about a 300-mile kayak route off the coast of Scotland. We’ll have to wait and see.

Wrenn’s Trip By the Numbers

147.7 – Total mileage paddled
43 – Longest day in miles between Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands
12 – Most hours spent consecutively on the water
1 – Number of dorsal fins spotted by support crew
8 – Channel Islands connected in five days of paddling
3 – Kids who were stoked cause their mom’s a badass
1 – Husband who was cool enough to assist
2 – Parents that worried incessantly about their daughter’s safety

Photos by Bishow

Industry News: East Coast SUP Sales

Booming East Coast sales provide hope that standup paddleboards may be more than just a fickle, trend-driven boost to retailers. And while SUP sales may not rival the S&P 500 as an economic indicator, as a non-essential purchase, their sales movements are still telling, and more often, baffling. In a slow, recovering economy, the SUP market somehow continues expanding. To gauge this sustained phenomenon, we went outside the sport’s original strongholds of Hawaii and the West Coast. Here’s what East Coast retailers have to say about this powerful sales performer in their region.  — Tom Fucigna Jr.

Bari Denney, of Florida’s Jupiter Paddleboarding (above) saw a 50-percent board sales increase in 2010. Their customer base was a 50/50 mix of first-timers and crossovers from surfing or kayaking.“They either know what they want and we either have it or get it for them,” Denney said, “or are clueless about what they want but they know paddling is cool, so we interview them about where they will be  paddling, and fit them with the right board and paddle package based on budget, size and experience.” The shop is the number one dealer of YOLO and Jimmy Lewis boards, and it also carries NSP, Surftech, C4, Starboard, Naish, Riviera, Tahoe and Amundson, with SOS, Fanatic, Aipa, KM, Quickblade, Werner, Kialoa and C4 paddles. Multi-use board designs were most popular, with more paddlers “getting into racing and surfing.” Denney commented that “many customers shop the Web for the best price, and we have to match it or lose the sale. This can be a real bummer because margins are narrow.” She remains positive, however, in her belief that interest in SUPs is growing and feels that “Florida is a couple of years away from California and Hawaii in popularity, so we are poised for more growth.”

Ben Butterwei, left, outside Stand Up Paddle Annapolis

Ben Butterwei of Stand Up Paddle Annapolis says the Maryland retailer’s “sales volume more than tripled in 2010.” Butterwei carries YOLO and Amundson boards, with 10- to 12-foot all-arounders as bestsellers for touring the nearby Chesapeake Bay, with racing and fishing use increasing. in the wake of recent local and regional races. SUP-based fishing is also growing. Approximately 60 percent of their customers were new to the sport, with about 30 percent crossing over from surfing and the remaining 10 percent from outrigger canoes. He says paddlers in the “close-knit” Annapolis community “want to buy local and help out the smaller guys,” and that price and quality factor most into which boards sell through, while letting customers “try their boards before they buy them is huge.” Overall, Butterwei says, “It’s been a great year. I think the SUP scene is still growing rapidly. The possibilities are endless.”

"Peter Pan" of Narragansett Surf and Skate (RI), creating another satisfied SUP customer. Photo Joe McGovern

East coast surf legend Peter “Pan” Panagiotis of Narragansett Surf and Skate reported that “sales and rentals increased by 15 to 20 percent.” The Rhode Island shop carries Bic Sport, Oxbow, Hobie and local shaper Dave Levy SUPs. Two Bic Sport Peter Pan models were most popular, with the “almost indestructible” Bic Pan ACS 11’4″ multi-use as the top seller, as well as “a lot of Oxbow Cruiser models.” with the 12-footer as the most popular. About half of new customers entered with no boat or board background, while a third crossed over from paddling and about 20 percent from surfing. Panagiotis thinks “SUP sales are growing and will continue to do so,” but predicts that “legitimate manufacturers” will suffer within the next two years as “the market will get flooded from cheap mass-production model assaults via Southeast Asia … too much will be produced and then dumped on the public at ridiculous prices.”

Mike Oberton of Outside Hilton Head (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) reported “great growth” in sales, with “a lot more growth in programs,” especially in fitness/yoga. Rentals, lessons and touring excursions that introduce new paddlers to the product and sport boosted sales. The shop stocks Jimmy Lewis and YOLO, but Surftech and C4 boards were most popular, which Oberton attributes to a combination of price, design and name recognition.. Twelve-foot all-around boards for flatwater paddling and occasional surfing were the  best sellers and most common purchases, with some customers moving toward the 10’5” range. Oberton, who has been in business for 30 years, foresees great growth down the road in the SUP market.

Coastal Urge

Jeoffrey Nathan of Coastal Urge in Wilmington, and on Bald Head Island, N.C., says 2010 SUP sales were “phenomenal.” Lessons, rentals and tours were “booked the whole summer.” The shop carries Naish and Surftech, with 11’6” to 12’ multi-use boards as the most popular for flatwater paddling, with a growing number of standup surfers and racers pushing demand. Accessories including fishing rigs, bungee systems, kites and even sails (in the Naish system) made SUP use more attractive and promoted new customers. Nathan credits reduced prices with bringing more paddlers into the sport, and believes that the availability of durable, weather-resistant, roto-molded boards also eases storage and even portability issues, allowing customers to leave boards outside or on their vehicles for extended periods. Nathan cited the expansion of local races and events and believes the number of paddlers and retailers will only increase, as the SUP scene has “just begun, and is going to continue to evolve.”

On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Wes Gutekunst of Kitty Hawk Sports reported its sales volume rose 18-20 percent, and rentals doubled. The shop carries Hobie, Laird, Jimmy Lewis, Cabrinha, and YOLO boards. Multi-use boards for “surfing, flatwater, racing, and some fishing” sold best. With only a few locals interested in finding boards made by local shapers, most customers were tourists simply looking for a deal, who “did not want to pay regular retail.” Gutekunst “saw a big increase in interest and awareness” and feels interest in SUPs is “definitely growing. There seems to be at least double interest and awareness as opposed to last year.”

On the supply side, only two dealers reported any problems obtaining the boards or paddles they wanted or “experienced delays in availability, due to manufacturing and shipping times.” Based on this cross section of shops, East Coast SUP sales rose substantially in 2010, and the trend seems poised to continue. Activities and events that introduce new paddlers to the sport proved crucial in fostering sales, and accessories or specialty products can encourage crossover entries from other paddle- or board-sports markets. Maybe the Standard & Poor’s should be replaced by the “Standup & Paddle” Index, as the feedback from these dealers is a bright spot in the past year’s otherwise dreary economic landscape, and we can always use a little sunshine.