Stand-up: the Showdown

 Stand up paddlers gathering at Cardif-Reef in San Diego, CA for a morning with Brian Keaulana and several C4 Waterman Board models

On January 22, stand-up paddle surfers held a showdown at Cardiff, leading many to believe (and some to worry) that the stand-up movement is an inevitable reality for the present and future of SoCal surfing. As part of a surfboard demo put together by C4, a company that specializes in the sport, surfers came down from all parts of San Diego, Orange, and LA county to try different board designs and constructions. Compared to the last event, on November 27, this event witnessed an even larger number of surfers, despite the fact the weather and surf forecasts were bleak – something that wasn't a worry for the previous gathering.

Putting the question of the stand-up reality aside, the event saw some prominent faces – thanks to the coincidence of the board demo with the ASR Trade Show 2008 (see upcoming report). Big wave rider, ocean survival specialist, and highly respected waterman, Brian Keaulana showed up at Cardiff and stood in the morning cold, later to get wet after the sun turned up the heat (stay tuned to watch his interview). Dave Parmenter, Surfer Magazine contributing writer, accomplished surfer, and shaper of the C4 boards, joined Brian on the parking lot and then in the water, where he showcased several of his tricks (check back for his interview). And riding his shortboard among the stand-ups, but not officially a part of the event, Sunny Garcia was tearing apart every little wave that came his wave.

Now of all the notorious faces that day, arguably no one impressed more than a relatively unknown surfer from LA County, called Vince – aka "Steamroller". The nickname suits him well. Starting his session around 8am and riding waves incessantly until an unknown hour (last seen riding past 1:30pm), the LA surfer had everyone "suspending their belief to believe" the non-stop energy of the steamrolling machine - to put it in Hillary Clinton's terms. And to vindicate his nickname, Vince not only rolled on for numerous hours, but also steamed the winter cold water by trunking the whole session - wearing simply a pair of shorts and a bright orange hat! And if that wasn't enough, his surfing was certainly amusing, especially in light of his equipment. Undoubtedly one of the best surfers in the water, Vince put on a show with what some deem to be one of the lowest performing surf equipments there are: an inflatable surfboard. As a result of his feat, certainly many in the crowd left the event questioning their preconceived notions of inflatable technology. In conclusion, the unexpected high turn out, the prominent faces in and out of the water, and the steamrolling machine all made that Tuesday unquestionably a remarkable day.

PHOTOS OF EVENT    VIDEO OF EVENT