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Sunset got too big to hold the Big Wave SUP Sunset Contest -- ironic?, maybe not. Check the objective measure of assessing wave height. Leleo Kinimaka calls it 17ft on the buoy. Then, moving to a less objective but equally reliable source, you have the locals' locals calling it "mental." At that point, it sounds like there is no doubt that the surf is up.

Congratulations to Slater Trout for winng the trials.

Kainoa Beaupre brought some friends from Hawaii to visit with Ron House, Drew Brophy, Mek Stavron from O'Fishl fins.  Kainoa is pushing the limits in and out of the water by riding really small high performance surfboards.  His "short board" is 4'7" and looks like a wake board.  He is working with Ron House to build a 6'5" stand up board.  He also is a world class racer and a nice guy.  See him in action in this 

The trials took place, but then it got too big to hold the contest (evidenced by the three broken boards during the early free session), and now the final day of the event will likely be held tomorrow. Here is a teaser.

It looks like the swell might stop for a few days so I can finish my movie.  I have too much good footage.
I can't believe how good it's been this Winter.
Kainoa B. will be in the next video on his 6'5" SUP

As part of a shoot for Stand Up Paddle TV, we hooked up with Jeff Warner (left), owner of Legends Surf Shop, and Chuck Glynn (right), King's Paddle rider, for a tour of the Carlsbad Lagoon in north county San Diego.

The lagoon, albeit relatively small when compared to Mission Bay or San Diego bay, has a charm of its own, featuring a marsh that on high-tide can take you under El Camino Real and other bridges westward that take you under highways and toward a power plant.

On the background, we see the bridge for I-5, which leads to the mid section of the lagoon, where the YMCA conducts all its sports activities. Going even farther west, one comes across a glowing pond that serves to cool off the power plant -- it takes special sunglasses to see the glowing.

Also along at the Lagoon is a fairly small, but unquestionably quaint marina, with both condos and houses leading straight to the docks. If you do go out at the Lagoon for a paddle, make sure to stay close to the shoreline, since there are some recreational boats zooming by, especially some wake boarding.

Rule #1 - Respect the pecking order.
Rule #2 - Sit (or stand) inside or off to the side of the pack.  Don't compete with crawlers. Give them every wave they can catch.  Leftovers are fine.
This simple rule will eliminate most of the hostility towards SUP.
Rule#3 If you see someone violate these rules give them some gentle coaching.
Aloha,
Tom English

  

 

 

A bunch of stand up paddle standouts, from Hawaii to California and abroad (but with a heavy Hawaiian bias to the crew) traveled to Teahupoo to push the limits (or test the limits, however you want to put it) of stand up. Ekoly Kalama received the most online votes for Best Rides. Here they are:

Rain or Shine, Paddling On!

The race began with light rain (okay!, not rain but drizzle), which just a few minutes later turned into the all too familiar Southern California Sunshine. So, as you can imagine, those who suit up to fight the chill factor early on reached a boiling point fairly quickly, just moments into the race.

There was a turnout of about 200 prone paddlers and 100 stand up paddlers, with age groups all over the map, although the male showdown accounted for most of the contenders, with a few divas offsetting the testosterone dominance.

 

Mens Results

The winning lineup was comprised of the usual suspects. In the stock division, Byron Kurt (1st), EJ (2nd), and Danny Chin (3rd). And in the unlimited, Rob Rojas (1st), Diali (2nd), and Dick ? (3rd). From left to right: Rob Rojas, Diali, Dick (?), Byron, Danny, and EJ.

 

Womens Results

In the womens' lineup, Brandy confirmed once again her dominance among the stand up paddling divas, coming first, followed by Andy and Meggie, in the stock division (Vicky came 1st in the 14' group). From left to right: Meggie, Vicky (?), and Brandy.

 

The Race Aftermath

Then, once the paddle jousting was over, there was even more fun in the arena. Breakfast provided by Wahoo's, tons of raffle prizes, and some delicious chocolate cookies to satiate the glucose craving after all the caloric anihilation.

There are several shots of the race here, many of them are courtesy of Nino from Ilovemusibi.com, plus there are also some other images from Mylocallineup.co contributors -- HanoHano 2010 Photo Gallery.

During the final summer days of 2009, Andre Niemeyer, your humble correspondent, went out at La Jolla Shores in San Diego, CA for a session on a 9'0" Rusty stand up paddle (sup) surfboard.

Related: Andre Niemeyer on another summer day in San Diego, CA this time not at the Shores, although still in San Diego -- click here to watch.

Setting Up for a Trip

Over the holidays, I traveled to Conroe, Texas to spend sometime with the inlaws. And just like any other sea-bound creature, I would dreadfully miss my water-time, so an alternative was in order. Conroe, which is 40-miles north of Houston, has a beautiful lake, perfect for stand up paddling.

But hauling an awefully large board through the airport wasn't going to cut it, especially in light of the ridiculously high over-size fees. That's when I decided to get a hold of an inflatable and put it to the test. There it is, above, completely folded up in a duffel bag, packaged together with its pump, my wetsuit, and a few other things -- everything TSA approved, for those wondering. 

Above is the stand up paddle board, out of the bag in my father-in-law's garage and about to be inflated. And in all honesty, I thought I would end up spending hours getting it all setup. But it took me only about 10 minutes. Oooph!

 

Paddling on Lake Conroe

Having arrived there shortly before sunset, the quick setup gave me a few minutes before all the lighting went out. Freezing cold weather (at least that's what it felt like for a spoiled San Diegan), full 4/3 suit, and there I went.

When stepping on the iSUP -- that's C4 Waterman's name for its inflatable -- straight out of the deck, I almost went down, for the flex was something radically different. But after I few strokes I had it down, no problema! 

Between the before-sunset photo and the one above there is one sad (and probably for some, entertaining) story. The day after the sunset paddle, I went on a 9-mile crusing trip, with very strong head-on winds. Having absolutely no clue how to suit up for that weather, the next day I was down with a cold and completely beaten down. The photo above was taken about one week later, once I had garnered enough energy to get back in the water for a photo shoot for this piece.

As the pictures make it quite plain, Conroe, Texas is simply gorgeous for stand up paddling. The lake has several different sections and there are parts that cut righ into a reserve. Alligator land anyone?

But despite of the quiet activity in the lake, with only a couple of boats cruising by, I was told that during Spring/Summer the place gets chaotic with speedboats, jetskiis, and the like. Now if you're willing to take on the cold weather, winter time in this man-made water expanse is nearly altogether vacant.

 

A Worthwhile Inflation

So, was it worth it to take the iSUP to Lake Conroe, TX? Yes, by all means. Even though I didn't get as much water-time as I wanted, taking the board there cost me only $20 each way and I was able to spend several ours on the lake, coasting beautiful homes, golf courses, and alligator-filled swamps -- just kidding about the alligator part, or maybe not.

Improvements can be made on a travel bag for the gear. The bag has to be more durable and able to carry not only the board and the pump, but also the paddle. That will help you save an extra $20, for you won't need to check in the paddle. I want to thank Boardworks Paddle Division/C4 Waterman for the gear and congratulations on the equipment. (If you want a likewise feature/review on your equipment, contact info@mylocallineup.com)

 

   

Gordon and Smith made history a few months ago when Debbie Gordon announced the 1st stand up paddle board coming from the G&S powerhouse. The Gordon and Smith label has been one of the most influential and iconic brands in the surf world, especially given its place in history transforming the board building market into an industry in the early 1960's.

Note that the board comes with all the works. Here is the first G&S model, which is without a doubt a collector's item, currently in Bob's possession at Bob's Mission Surf Shop. As you can see, Bob even took the time to craft a traction pad featuring the G&S logo.

Without focsuing too much on Bob (as if he didn't get enough attention already), here you can see the nice three-stringer layout, with a beautiful tail block.

There it is: the tail block. By my guess, it's made of a combination of red wood and maple, giving you the dark and light colored contrast. The Mission Surf logo, if you haven't noticed yet, is carefully placed at the end of the traction pad.

And as a final comment, I simply love the cut lap of the fiberglass giving that subtle contrast around the board's edge. So, there you have it: a historical blog entry for a historical board. This is definitely an important chapter for the board building industry, not only in terms of stand up boards but boards period.

The stand up paddle crew down at Sunset Cliffs has all my admiration and respect -- or should I say, "at least for their effort to get to the water"? The Cliffs are already tricky enough for surfers with a shortboard or a longboard in tote. Add to it 10 extra pounds, a paddle, and 5 more inches of width to the board and the task becomes all the more onerous. Maybe the old-school crew is sharing in on my admiration.

Chuck Glynn (below), not a local at the Cliffs by any means but a great stand up paddler, decided to drive down from Carlsbad for a cliff climbing and point breaking session.

North of him, there was an older felow catching some nice cruisers and (while I was there) safely steering clear of the crowd and keeping that good vibe around the lineup.

To his credit, Chuck was not only ripping, but also working the insde and the shoulders of the break, letting the outside and regular-board crew to dominate the main peak -- here is a lesson to learn.

And now since I've touched on the SUP Ethics Manual, here it goes. Stand Up Paddlers! There is absolutely no need for you to stand at the main peak of most (if not all) of the breaks. Your paddling and gliding advantage allows you to have a blast out of the inside and shoulder-waves without having to chip away the wave account of those sitting on the main peak. That's my word of advice for the day.

Once hearing about the forecasts for the January 2010 swell, the Nectar team (Gary MacNabb and Jeff Warner) got all geared up and headed south of the border for some climbing expedition and, yes, some waves, too. WARNING! Do not attempt this at home! One thing we must say, though: that's a lot of dedication. Photos: Shawn MacNabb.

 

For a change of venue, which once in a while doesn't hurt, here is some nice stand up paddle footage directly from Iberaquera in Santa Catarina, Brazil, located at the south-end of South America. Check out the talent and enjoy the ride. The clip was shot at a stand up paddle contest, featuring Kauli, Saraiva Leco Salazar, Tremembé, among others, on what probably is considered a regular, borderline small day at that break.

Here is a sneak preview of one of the segments in the upcoming Stand Up Paddle TV episode on My Local Lineup Television, iTV San Diego Channel 16. Yesterday, we had the final shoot with Gillian (right) and Katelyn (left), who will be featured in the women and fitness segment coming up Monday, Jan 18th.

Gillian, who has a strong background in lifeguarding and fitness, has become a stand up paddle enthusiast and can be constantly spotted along the San Diego coastline. She will be talking about how stand up paddling translates into different fitness exsercises, including yoga routines.

Her friend Katelyn has recently been introduced to the sport and now is already talking about participating in races and all. Gillian and Katelyn exemplify the explosive popularity of the sport, especially among women, who look at stand up paddling primarily from a fitness angle.

We had this TV shoot yesterday at Mission Bay in San Diego, right next to the south jetty, at the end of Mission Blvd. As you can tell, there was a beautiful sunshine, temperatures were in the 70's, and winds were fairly calm.

Make sure to tune in to My Local Lineup Television, starting Monday Jan 18th at 7pm on iTV San Diego Ch. 16, for the full episode on Stand Up Paddling in Flat Water, featuring Gillian and Katelyn, Nicky Gregg, Dan Gavere, Jeff Warner, Chuck Lynn, and more.

STAND UP PADDLE TV

Stand Up Paddle TV airs every 3rd week of the month on My Local Lineup Television, iTV San Diego ch. 16, during the following times: M 7pm, F 6:30pm, Sat 8am, Sun 5pm in all San Diego County, plus M-F at 12am in all San Diego but North County.

STAND UP PADDLE TV VIEWING PARTY

On January 22nd, Friday 7pm at Legends Surf Shop in Carlsbad, there will be a second viewing party for Stand Up Paddle TV. All are invited to come for a good time, some raffle, and a few drinks. Several of the Stand Up Paddle TV stars will be on hand, as well.