Vancouver Island SUP Expedition

Dave Collins is an accomplished paddler, in both whitewater and ocean setting.  Here he shares with us a little bit about a Stand Up Paddling expedition he recently undertook….

I recently paddled my stand up board solo around Cape Scott, the northern tip of Vancouver Island.  The 100 km. expedition took me four and a half days.  The few people I met along the way seemed awed and perplexed:  “What is the advantage of that?” asked a backpacker on the North Coast Trail.  The question caused me to pause… “It´s challenging and fun… and the view is unbeatable.”

I have the right of way…theoretically

There are no obvious pragmatic advantages to SUP touring versus sea kayak touring.  I went half the speed as I would have in a fast sea kayak.  But, I had twice as much fun because: I saw more wildlife—whales, bears, otters, dolphins, sea lions—than I would have sitting in a kayak; my back didn´t hurt at the end of the trip; and I got to surf waves that wouldn´t have been surfable in a sea kayak.

Sea Lion Serenade

Ultimately, the challenge of paddling standing up with a loaded board proved the most rewarding aspect of the expedition.  Self-contained, multi-day touring on a stand up board is yet another niche of this burgeoning phenomenon which is sure to take off soon.  Here´s just a few of the most important things I discovered along the way which may be of help to others planning similar expeditions.

The Orca and the Tourists

The SUP Touring Set-Up
This was a highly experimental voyage; I had never tried to pack gear on an SUP before.  I started by gluing six leash plugs (E-Z plugs) with marine epoxy along the top sides (just inside of where the deck starts to slant downward toward the rails) of the front third of my board.  So that´s three plugs on each side of the board, leaving about two feet of free space from the front of the load to the tip of the board.  I had to estimate all of this, and decided correctly that I would be standing one to two feet further back on the board when it was loaded compared to my normal stance on an unloaded board.

Yeah, it’s a load

And the paddling wasn’t always easy

The board I used was a Surftech 12´1” Laird.  I recommend going as big as possible.  I definitely could have used some extra flotation (I weigh 200 pounds and was carrying between 60-70 pounds of gear).  The extra weight causes the board to float lower, making is more unstable and slower.  This takes some getting used to—therein the extra challenge.

Getting the load in the right place is critical

I carried everything I would have carried on a sea kayak expedition minus several superfluous items.  Weight is a much bigger issue, so the lighter the better.  I stuffed three main dry bags into one big dry bag which has backpack straps on it.  This is for two reasons: 1) to extra insure dryness of my gear because the load on the board is constantly exposed to the water; 2) in case I had to walk out, I had a backpack.

Then I lashed the load down with thin nylon cord.  Cam straps or bungee cords would have been better, but the eyelets on the leash plugs are too small to allow for them.  I did use small bungee cords to secure some of the more accessible gear on top of the main load, and these I attached to the nylon cord, and/or to the straps of the main dry bag.  The marine chart and compass go on last, on top of the load, so that you can see them easily and are able to navigate from a prone position.

The Breakdown Paddle
About 200 meters offshore, on a forward stroke, I hear a slight cracking noise, but convince myself that I did not just hear a cracking noise.  About halfway across bumpy Blackfish Sound, dividing Cracroft Point and Hanson Island, I feel exposed as I take another forward stroke… crack followed by snap…  and there I am, bobbing south now, holding two useless pieces of carbon fiber in my two hands.  My initial reaction of, “!?$*, that was a $300 paddle!” rolls off of me like the water off my deck as I realize the blessing of the break: I now get to use my break-down Werner Spanker (the broken paddle was not a Werner!).

This happened to me on the overnight pre-expedition trip I took around the Johnstone Strait area, and it really was a blessing in disguise.  Not only because I got to use my Werner, but also because it left me with only a breakdown sea kayak paddle that I fortunately found in the back of my truck.  Otherwise, I would not have thought to bring a sea kayak paddle along as a breakdown.

Up close and personal with Mr. Whale (or is it ms?)

And why bring an extra sea kayak paddle?  Because trying to paddle standing up in a significant headwind is useless!  You won´t make any progress, so you´ll just have to sit out the headwind.  With a sea kayak paddle, though, you can sit down on the board, paddle it like a kayak, and move forward.  This works especially well with a loaded board because you can place your feet against the load, giving leverage, just as if it were a bulkhead.  As well, I sometimes paddled the board in a kneeling position to give my back a rest.

The added benefit of carrying a sea kayak paddle is that it also allows you to switch positions, use different muscles, and give your legs a rest, as well as your mind—when you´re paddling standing up there is no room for daydreaming.  On future expeditions I will carry two breakdowns—one a SUP paddle, and the other a sea kayak paddle.  That way I´m covering all the bases in case of a broken paddle.

Camping

Navigation, Take Offs and Landings
Navigating on an SUP is really no different than in a sea kayak.  I remained about the same distance from shore as I would have in a sea kayak—relative to the conditions and my comfort zone—and I navigated using a marine chart, compass and GPS.

Landing and taking off, however, can be a bit trickier.  On an SUP you have to jump off the board first when landing and control the board by shortleashing it (grabbing the leash at the very base).  Conversely, when taking off, you have to wade out into the water a bit before mounting the SUP.  Here also it´s best to control the board from the rear, making sure to have a hand on the base of the leash so that it doesn´t get away from you.  Launching in surf, it helps to weight the back of the board before a wave hits it so that the board will ride over the wash.  It´s also especially important to find sandy take offs and landings where you can slide the board because you don´t have the luxury of picking it up and dragging it by a bow or stern grab loop as you do with a sea kayak.

The Surf Zone
Paddling into the surf zone—finally!—and there´s no one in the lineup.  I´m not looking to surf any big waves with a loaded board, though.  I wait for a big set to pass and power in to the beach behind the last set wave.  Unloaded, the board feels like balsa.  I am skipping across the water now and waiting for a set to arrive.  As well, I feel even more stable than usual because I have gotten so used to paddling a more unstable loaded board.

The first roller picks me up as I dig in with some deep forward strokes, and I slice a rudder with my paddle as I head left down the line on an overhead wave.  Getting lower and picking up speed I rocket toward the end of the wall, and toward the beginning of an epiphany—there is no better way to travel than this.

Originally posted to the Werner Blog:

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SUP in U.S. National Publications

I’ve noticed SUP articles in the international press for years, but not in U.S. National press. That’s no surprise,  the U.S. press is stunningly provincial (the standard media joke about this is the headline “New York Man Killed In Paris Nuclear Holocaust”) and they are stunningly slow to follow anything that isn’t dead center mainstream. NASCAR vs. Formula 1 is a great example–one of the worlds most popular sporting events is rarely mentioned while NASCAR gets huge coverage.

But here’s two recent exceptions:

National Geographic’s popular Adventure Editor Steve Casmiro’s blog:  http://ngadventure.typepad.com/blog/2008/06/the-adventure-1.html?cid=128162614

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=176630&title=pierce-brosnan&byDate=true

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Training with a GPS

I ordered a GPS training system to help me optimize my paddle workouts. After reading a thread on best GPS units on the Standup Zone I decided on the Garmin Forerunner 305. So far I’m very pleased. I tried it out today on the course I’ve been using to train for the Battle of the Paddle. Only problem is that I have no way of knowing if this is fast or slow. I suspect fairly slow. I have a month to work on the speed and now I have a good baseline. Here’s today’s workout.

I got the version with the heart rate monitor. I used to do my bicycle training with a heart rate monitor and it was very useful. Looks like I’m staying at about 85% of max for my age. My max heart rate is supposed to be 159 (you find max heart rate by subtracting your age from 220)

You can see that I stopped twice–one time when I realized I forgot to put my iPod earphones in (gotta have that music) and once when I hit a log and thought I might have lost my fin. It was just shoved to the end of the fin box, I pushed it back towards the front and it felt good again.

This Garmin 305 has lots of features, most of which I’ll never use. One that looks like it might be useful is the Virtual Partner. You can set up a course and pace and the watch shows you when you are on, ahead, or behind the pace. The Forerunner is really made for running or cycling, and I’ll probably use it with my bike. I think the GPS will also be handy for doing some long open water paddles. I’ll keep you posted as I play with this thing.

One good thing, it says I burned an extra 726 calories paddling. I guess I can have that beer.

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No SUPs at Chun’s

This was originally posted in the Forum section in Tips and Tecniques, but I think it deserves to be on the front page. I pasted in both the poster’s and my responses. He makes some great points that I think are important to consider, albeit in a Dennis Miller persona that may rub you the wrong way. 

Kliner:

 the upcoming winter season fast approaching, the buzz on the north shore is not how this winter will compare with last winter or how big the waves are going to be but if a SUP guy will get killed or worse, kill someone in the line up.  It seems alot of people are getting into SUPs; some with a surf background and many with little or no surf experience.  The water is crowded enough with the surf schools and surf contests hogging the best spots during the best time of year (go somewhere else to sell your t-shirts and sport drinks… sorry different rant for a different day) without some SUP kook paddling out to the lineup.   Too many of your SUP kooks (oops, I mean brethren) think if it looks like a surfboard and I ride it, I must be a surfer.  Wrong.  You’re a dude that is willing to shell out $1500-$2500 for a over-weight, over-priced, oxymoronic (come on, you got to admit “High Preformance SUP” is an oxymoron) symbol of the evil comercial surf industry (It was sad to see super waterman Dave Kalama doing a SUP instruction video aimed at middle America - that’s proof enough that the “MAN” is behind the whole SUP craze when Kalama sells out… expect Naish to sell out but not Kalama).  There was a reason why standup paddling died out in the past - evolution (and the ire of the lineup).

So do us all a favor and SUP responsibly.  Educate non-surfer SUP dudes.  Work on your core muscles like a fat man on an ab lounger.  Create a new economy and business model by making the “surf” culture accessible to every non-surfer and land locked american with a credit card.  Paddle, paddle, paddle… just don’t paddle into the lineup at Chun’s.  

Aloha

ps  if you’re asking yourself “Where’s Chun’s?”, definitely, definitely stay out of the lineup.  Any lineup.

 

PonoBill:

PonoBill said:

I think you’d be surprised how many SUP surfer’s agree with you, even given your ill-mannered approach. I know that I have no business in any serious lineup, or any crowded one. I drive past Ho’okipa every day on my way to surf, give it a longing look, and keep driving.

Part of the draw is that you don’t need to crowd the usual breaks–you can go further and surf places that no one bothers with. I’ve found places on the Oregon coast that are within sight of crowded breaks (or as crowded as that half-frozen water ever gets) that are not only empty, but fit my geezer skills a lot better. I expect this year in Maui that I’m going to find all kinds of new spots, because I now consider a five mile paddle to be a nice warm up.

All the same, don’t expect the good guys to take you seriously if all you do is rant.

---

Kliner:

 

Ill mannered approach?   Rant… yes but ill mannered… come one, dude… a little humor about a topic that I don’t expect the “good guys”  to take serious anyway…

As with other new water activities, self regulation and education will go along way… one just has to review the past history of other emerging water sports (e.g. jet skiis, windsurfing, kite boarding), the subsequent clash with existing, traditional water use activities, and the resulting regulation (depending on your water activity of choice - banning might be a more appropriate word) of water use activities at particular beaches… so if SUP dudes (& wahines) wish to continue to have access to all beaches and live in harmony with others, a good base of what is “pono” and what is not will go a long way for a sport that is experiencing exponential growth…

Aloha

ps  I do SUP myself but only with a bag over my head and in the dark so no one sees me…

PonoBill:

You’re damned good writer. Take that bag off and write some articles for Ke Nalu. Or leave it on and help us spread the word that SUPers need to be pono, or at least strive for it.

New Werner Paddles

I received this news release from Werner Paddles yesterday and asked for pictures. They look pretty interesting, the shapes are unusual, I wish the picture showed the shape from the side and back as well, but here’s what I have:
For Release: Trade: August 25, 2008

Werner Expands Stand Up Paddle Offerings
Werner Paddles has announced the introduction of two new Stand Up Paddles: The Werner Advantage and the Werner Carve. Both paddles will be available to ship beginning September 01, 2008.

As participation explodes in the Stand Up Paddle category, Werner is responding with new paddle designs that focus on the two aspects of the sport, touring and surfing.

The new Werner Advantage
The Advantage is a Premium fiberglass laminate construction blade with a modified tear drop shape designed to optimize straight ahead efficiency for touring.

The new Werner Carve

The Carve consists of the same construction as the Advantage but the shape is smaller, longer and more slender, specifically designed for dynamic surfing and turning.

Both the Advantage and the Carve come with a fiberglass oval indexed shaft and ABS Palm-grip. Werner offers three shaft configurations. The 1-piece is the lightest weight option and is least expensive ($219).

The 2–piece is perfect for paddlers who travel with their paddle ($234). The Adjustable length telescopes with four settings, each 1.5 inches apart; perfect for those individuals who move between touring and surfing ($259).

“Stand Up Paddling is a real growth opportunity for surf and paddle sports dealers. We are excited to expand our Stand Up Paddle offerings to respond to the specific demands of the market,” says Jim Miller, Werner’s Marketing Manger.

Werner Paddles is the leading manufacturer of high quality kayak, canoe, and stand up paddles, operating near the banks of the Skykomish River in Sultan, WA. For more information call 800.275.3311 or visit us at www.wernerpaddles.com

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Caught Inside

It’s inevitable, some day you’ll paddle into a wave and not make it, and as you start your turn to paddle back out you suddenly realize you can’t see the horizon. Or you’re waiting for a wave and suddenly realize the head-high wave you thought was close is actually far away, and it’s not head high, and it’s already feathering

Uh oh.

Prevention
The best solution is to not get caught inside to begin with. There are a couple of things that can help a lot. First be aware of your situation all the time. If you’re paddling after a wave, is it likely to have a big brother right behind it? If you miss the wave you’re after, which way do you need to turn to have the best chance of making it over big brother. For that matter, if there’s no one going for that second wave, then a Mulligan may be in order. Even riding a wave into a closeout is better than going over the falls.

If the waves are stairstepping, or some of the sets are really big, consider starting farther out, or at least doing your time waiting for your turn out further where you’re less likely to be taken up by the “Clean Up Woman”. Face out to sea so you can see the big mommas coming early, and start paddling for the horizon sooner. Sure, it’s cool to be casual in the big waves, and I know you want to hang out with the guys and talk story, but if they’re sitting in a bad spot you might not want to get worked with them. Maybe they like it. Maybe they’re a lot faster than you.

Caught
So what are you going to do? You can sprint for the top and try to push over, but if you’re certain that you’re not going to make it over, paddling up the wave until it takes you over the falls backwards is a terrible idea. Lots of opportunity to be smacked by your board and a much worse thrashing than is necessary.

On a Sup board you have the advantage of being in position for an effective dive. Aim for the base of the wave and dive deep. Arch your back and time it right and you’ll pop out the back of the wave like an otter, though this otter is tied to a big board that’s turning into a speedboat on the other side of the wave. Catch a breath on the backside if you can, but don’t fight the sleigh ride. At least you’re not under the lip getting worked. It will all be over soon. If you have a chance, look at the next wave to get an idea of what’s coming. You might have as much as ten seconds before the next wave hits. That’s enough for three or four fast hard breaths. Doing this will hyperventilate you a little bit and give you more oxygen in your bloodstream. You can hold your breath longer and with more comfort.

If that didn’t work out, and now you’re bouncing around in ten feet of whitewater there’s really only a few things that can help you. First, stay calm. If you panic and try to swim against the currents, you’re hosed. You can’t do it. Tons of water are swirling you around and you’re trying to overcome them with a few pounds of muscle. Ain’t happening.

Pull yourself tight (arms in and crossed across your chest, knees bent, eyes open) and wait it out. A long hold down is thirty seconds. If you’ve been doing some hypoxic training you can hold your breath that long while you’re doing jumping jacks. If you haven’t done any training then you can still hold your breath that long if you’re sitting on the couch. So relax, be one with the currents, wait for the bubbles to begin floating upwards and follow them up. Pull yourself up your leash if you need to.

Watch for approaching boards as you break the surface. Get a big breath of delicious air right away–there might be another wave about to drop on you. Assess your situation. If you can hug the tail of your board the next wave might push you in a bit, but if it’s macking on your head, go back down to the blue room and try again.

Above all, stay calm. The more often you’ve done this, the calmer you’ll be. Hopefully all your surfing progression has been from small waves to bigger, and you’ve learned a lot along the way. If you’re relatively inexperienced and you’re in big waves, then all I can do is wish you well.

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Cool Video: River Surfing–Strapped in on an ULI

Nice stuff, though I wonder about the strapped in part.

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How-to articles

Time to fire up the How-To section again.

SUP Surfing How To Articles:

Over the next couple of weeks I plan a number of surfing how-to articles. I’m lining up interviews with some very experienced SUP surfers, aimed primarily at creating articles that help the intermediate SUP surfer take the next step. But first I’m going to revive some articles that appeared last winter in Ke Nalu that most readers haven’t seen–they were kind of buried in the archives. These aim at beginner SUP surfers and cover basic technique and some survival issues. The first in that series is Caught Inside, some fundamental words of advice on a situation we all face but beginners seem to encounter more than they should. I’ve added some preventative advice to the article.

I’m also working on a long article titled How to SUP surf, which covers everything a beginner should know before paddling out into anything more than ankle-biters.

SUP Distance How To Articles:

Interest in downwinders and distance paddling is growing fast, in fact it looks to be the fastest growing segment of SUP. The basics are obvious–get on a board, point it towards the horizon, and start paddling. But if you’re going to spend all that time paddling, it ought to deliver as much as it can. Choosing the right board, the right paddle, finding the right technique, learning to ride swells, setting up your board, choosing a fin and placing it properly–all can add greatly to the experience. We’re working on articles about the right equipment, proper paddling technique, weight placement, engaging the core and legs, and general preparation for distance paddling.

SUP racing:

It’s a whole different deal from just doing a downwinder. Race pace and paddling requires different training and techniques. I found that out first hand when I started working on my own pace. I thought the training I did for the Cape Cod Bay Challenge would prepare me for racing. NOT. If anything it made my stroke lazier. Cranking out thirty miles is mostly a matter of having the time to do it. If you want to travel ten miles in minimum time, that’s a whole different deal. We’ll cover racing technique, board choice and board prep, and talk to some of the best racers in the world.

It’s all coming, stay tuned.

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Cool new videos

Things sure have changed, used to be we’d get excited to find any SUP videos on Youtube, now we’re spoiled for choices. Bob has done his usual great job of digging up the coolest and the weirdest SUP videos.

Some folks haven’t noticed that there’s a menu built into the player that lets you browse through the other videos while a vide is playing. Just move your mouse cursor to the lower section of the screen and the menu comes up and scrolls with mouse movement. You need to click the arrows to see all the videos–there’s quite a few of them.

Enjoy. And if you find a video you think we should include, just tell us about it in the forum. You can even paste videos into the forum, it’s pretty smart software.Just click the button beow to zip to the forum topic associated with this article.

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Mule Transport System

I was browsing through my email trying to find the addresses of the people I owe rash guards to (they’re coming, honest, the only bad news is that it turned out we only have XL and XXL left. If that’s way to big maybe you can use it as a board cover) and I came across some pictures submitted long ago by Robert Stehlik from Blue Planet Surf. He was at the board test and took some nice shots. One of them was a picture of registration, and a reminder of another person I owe some recognition to. James from Mule Transport Systems sent us two SUP mules to use in the board test. In the picture below you can see my own S.I.C. Ku Nalu with a mule attached. It was a lifesaver. We used it to carry all those heavy coolers and the tent from the parking lot to our set up area. We just stacked stuff on the board and rolled it on down to the beach.

After the test I started using one to take my SUP board to the beach behind my motorcycle–a Honda XR650. It worked great. I bungeed on a milk crate to carry all my junk, and stuffed the paddle into the nose bag. I’m sure James would cringe to hear this, but I hit 55 on occasion, with some crosswinds, and never had a wobble. A great way to get to the beach and then get your gear all the way to the waters edge without breaking a sweat.

When I first looked at the pictures I thought “I could build that for less than $99 bucks” but now that I’ve seen how well made and well thought out every element is, I’m certain that the Mule is a bargain. It all come apart and goes into an amazingly small bag. It’s easy to put on the the board and attach to your bicycle or motorcycle. The wheels track true and the board is well supported and reasonably well protected. Make sure you specify the SUP version if you’re buying it for a SUP board, the axle needs to be wider than the standard system.

Simply put, highly recommended, especially if you need to walk a ways to the beach and you’d like to carry some other stuff. We piled it on and the mule took it with no strain.

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