New Paddle: Cheap, Good and Fast–take all three

Unlike most sports business categories, the SUP world is flush with people who paid their dues. And paddle makers are no exception. Literally everyone in the business has paddling records, Olympic history, technical qualifications, and years of artistry in their chosen medium. We’re very fortunate to have all this talent to choose from. Ernie Johnson of Johnson Big Stick Paddles is no exception, he’s still winning SUP distance paddling contests, testing and tuning his designs every day. The guy is a paddling machine. But Ernie has taken a very interesting tack with his latest offering. A value priced wood paddle series. Just in time for the Wall Street meltdown.

I’m a big fan of wood paddles. One look at all the surgery scars on my shoulders will tell you why. Wood paddles are easy on your shoulders, even if they’re not so easy on your wallet. If you’re doing a serious sprint race, you probably want carbon fiber to minimize the swing weight. But if you’re going long, or for your everyday stick for those daylong surf sessions, wood is a great answer that leaves you with some shoulders to lift that after-session beer.

Ernie has come out with a new, beautiful wood paddle series designed to be durable, easy on your body, and cheap. How cheap? $175. That’s less than you pay for one of those rough looking things that come out of Afghanistan, or wherever. And of course they look great. Not as much a piece of wall art as the standard Johnson Big Stick, but nice to look at, and you still get Ernie’s years of experience and woodworking skill in every paddle. Tough to beat, especially at this price.

You can contact Ernie at johnsonbigstick@mac.com or call 949-412-6980. Tell him PonoBill sent you.

The Laird and Dave Show

I came across this video while I was looking for something else. Randy at the Standupzone forum shot it last winter with his brandy-new very cool camera and put it on Vimeo in full HD glory. I forgot how great a job he did, and what a wonderful video this is until I stumbled on it again today. To anyone that says SUP ain’t real surfing, I say “watch and learn grasshopper”.

Laird Hamilton Dave Kalama Stand Up Paddle Surfing from standupzone dotcom on Vimeo.

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We bin Farked.

The CS Monitor story sparked a bit of Farkiness. The usual nutcases that inhabit Fark found few funny pictures I haven’t seen yet. These guys are amazing. And weird. And funny. And weird.

Last I looked there were 117 comments. http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3895173

Early, early standup. That’s a full on Orygun drysuit with hoodie.

“So then, Huck, you move your backside foot the the inside rail…”

I had no idea that Rob Schnieder was a SUP hero. Looks like he and the boys smacked another swimmer.

Naish 2009 Board and Paddle Lineup

The folks at Naish have been very busy, and there’s some very interesting new toys as a result. We’re posting the boards and paddles individually to the review section, but we’ll show them off as a complete line here.

Considering that the Naish lineup consisted of finish variations on two boards last year (the 11′6″ and the 10′6″) this is a substantial expansion.

First up is this wicked touring board, the 12.0 Glide. It’s a flat lake cruiser or a fine race board in the stock classes. It’s light, fast, and fine for small waves though it’s designed as a flatwater point-to-point board.

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Next is this gun–a big wave charger. Aimed at the strong intermediate or expert, it’s a big, powerful board with enough shoulders to suit big guys to 220#. The pintail design should make it swoopy and loose–fun in the smaller stuff, capable in big waves.

Then there’s the venerable 11′6″. available in epoxy/wood or in this new AST form with a EVA deck. Should be a very robust board for anyone that wants to share with family and friends, or for rental fleets. The wood board is prettier, but a little more fragile.

New for 2009 is the 11′4″ which might seem like an odd addition since it’s only a pretty small increment shorter, and a quarter inch wider than the 11′6″. But it’s also an inch thinner, which should make it a more responsive board. the tail is a little more tucked. This should be a much surfier board than the 11′6″ but still stable enough for beginners. Seems like a progressive refinement that might eventually replace the 11′6″.

The 10′6″ was new last year, it’s a good carver, and an excellent first board for smaller people (under 175 pounds) or a good surf board for intermediate/experts to 220#.

The new 9′6″ looks like a real performer, with a quad fin setup and a batwing fish tail. It’s positioned as a shortboard style SUP. With it’s extra width and thickness it should accommodate a range of aggressive intermediate and expert surfers.

And finally the smallest board in the lineup, a 9′3 with a rounded squashtail and pulled nose and tail provides extreme maneuverability. This looks like a standard shortboard shape translated into nine feet of SUP. It should be a great ride for the highly experienced surfer.

Along with a new carbon paddle and a revised version of their popular alloy-shaft paddle Naish looks like a very serious contender in the growing SUP marketplace. I think they’re here to stay.

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CS Monitor and SUP

A good article in the Christian Science Monitor (weird religion, fine newspaper) on turf wars and their origins. The comments after the article are particularly good and interesting. I hope the tolerance shown in the comments is spreading as it should. We’re all watermen or aspiring watermen (or waterpeople for those of you with a PC bent) the difference is in degree (and of course experience, cultural heritage and skill level–but you get the idea)

Here’s the article:http://features.csmonitor.com/backstory/2008/09/23/battle-of-the-boards-erupts-over-paddle-surfing/

Lots of New Paddle Reviews

We’ve had a little flood of paddle news. Brad Gillespie sent us a review of a new Gillespie blade (how about reviews of the rest of the line, Brad) and Bob Long from Mission Surf in San Diego sent a review of the new Warner Advantage–Warner’s new Fiberglass offering.

And last weekend I got a call from Jimmy Lewis while I was at the race track (I’m addicted to racing cars, a major benefit of which is it makes SUP seem inexpensive). Last winter in Maui I saw some of Jimmy’s new ideas about what a paddle should be. Pretty startling–a bright blue fiberglass shaft and brilliant white blade from one of Jim Terrell’s (Quickblade) molds. The fiberglass shaft was very bendy. I didn’t get to try the paddle, but Jimmy’s finally got them produced and he offered me one to try when I get back on the island. Stay tuned.

Gillespie
Gillespie Paddle has a new surf tool, based on a popular outrigger paddle profile. Besides being a beautiful piece of wood, it looks like a fine surf blade, with width to supply turning torque but a relatively short blade length and therefore small area to aid maneuverability. Add to that the natural vibration damping of a wood paddle and you’ve got a shoulder-friendly paddle for your surfing needs.

Preferred paddle characteristics are as personal as your choice of skivvies, but you can be certain of one thing with a paddle this pretty–you won’t get tired of looking at it.

Werner
The Werner Spanker has a devoted following among surfers. From the looks, and the price point of the new advantage it will have just as devoted fans among tourers and flatwater cruisers. Bob says he thinks it will be a good wave-catcher too. No question, Werner knows their stuff when it comes to paddles.

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Great Gear from Maxfield Provisions

The folks at Maxfield Provisions provided us with some outstanding quality gear for the Cape Cod Bay Challenge. Shawn was an amazing guy to work with….so much enthusiasm for what he does….a true commitment to quality and a stoke level that goes off the charts. Very infectious too….I always had a big smile after each phone call.

A few words from their website:

“We are Purveyors of Goods Built for the Waterman.  Our purpose is to stock staple goods of interest, value and necessity for everyone who loves the ocean.  All of our merchandise is Made in USA and we take tremendous pride in that.  Everything we produce will bear that quality and our love for all things built to last.    
Mahalo”

Simple words from a small company that others could learn a lot from….not only do they produce extraordinary quality gear, all built right here in the U.S.A., they do it while giving back to the community. Not only did they support our efforts very generously but they also are a percentage partner with Surfaid International, and a sponsor of SEA Paddle NYC for Autism Awareness. Companies like this deserve all of our support. Make sure you visit: http://www.maxfieldprovisions.com

Maxfield Provisions Hydration Pack (you may need to contact Shawn about these…we were the 1st to get them…in a word…awesome) Plenty of capacity (72 0zs), 2 open pockets( 1 full length, 1 half) with a barrel tab strap, 2 zippered pockets (one small perfect for keys and such, the other big enough for a couple of sandwiches and some fruit) You could pack enough provisions for a day trip in this well thought out pack or just filled with water its light enough for that hard workout.

Great fit without binding….I’ve been using this pack a lot and have adjusted the straps to fit perfectly. 10 mile paddles are pretty common….very comfortable.

It even fits old guys that are still trying to lose some weight (It even fit Bill and he doesn’t look anything like that picture of him sucking in his gut from last fall….:) )

How come nobody told me these shorts are this bad? Sheesh…!

Maxfield Provisions Paddle Blade Cover
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such attention to detail paid to getting a logo printed correctly. I really wasn’t too concerned about it but now I’m glad that Shawn and crew were. These came out beautiful. It was funny…before we got them a couple of the guys said “What the heck do you need a paddle blade cover for?” Now every time I see them they have the covers on their paddles. Not only do they do a primo job of protecting the blades of our Oh so expensive paddles but they look too cool doing it. Great workmanship, no doubt about it, these will outlast the paddles.

Maxfield Provisions…great gear from great folks.
http://www.maxfieldprovisions.com

SUP Couric & Company Blog

Posted in the Couric and Company blog by Sandra Hughes, a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles.

(CBS)

It was the day of the Chino Hill’s earthquake when I met surfing legend Laird Hamilton. We were waiting to follow him off the Malibu coast for what was supposed to be a stand-up paddle surfing lesson for me – and an explanation of why he has so whole-heartedly taken on this new water sport.

It was an inauspicious way to start the day, with the earth shaking the way it did. But we tried not to let it rattle us. It didn’t seem to bother Laird nor his adorable four-year-old daughter, Reece, who tagged along for our story.

We headed to the water and Laird, now 44-years-old, talked and talked about stand-up paddling. But realize this is the man when it comes to traditional surfing. He has conquered some of the biggest waves on the planet, up to 80 feet high. In 2000, he took what’s considered one of the most daring surf rides ever, on a monster wave in Tahiti’s Teahupo’s break, a super-dangerous place to surf due to its razor-sharp reefs. Laird has also appeared in two surfing movies and his latest, “Water Man,” is due out this month.

So it was only natural to wonder why he’s hung up his surfboard and now professes his love of stand-up paddle surfing. Laird put it this way: “if you know anything about me, you know I’m always looking for a new way to cut an apple. I’ve gone wind surfing to foil surfing to tow surfing to stand-up. [It] was just a natural evolution.”

And to watch him stand-up paddle surf does look like a natural evolution. That is because he is built like a Greek god and has the upper-body strength to go straight into on-coming waves standing up! That’s the thing about paddle surfing. You jump on a 12- or 13-foot long board with one paddle and are supposed to be standing up on your way out into the waves. And if you’re really good, like Laird, you make all this look like a beautiful symphony at sea. Once past the break point, you can paddle anywhere and everywhere until you decide to surf your way back to shore. Oh, and by the way, he says it’s an amazing “core” workout.

But what has riled some traditional surfers is that since stand up paddlers are already standing up they say, they have a distinct advantage at “catching” the wave over the traditional surfer who is lying on their stomach in a prone position and must “pop up” and ride the wave in. The water feud has forced officials at some beaches to designate areas for traditional surfing separate from stand up paddle surfing.

But even if traditional surfers scoff, stand-up paddling is really taking off. You’ve maybe seen the pictures of Jennifer Aniston or Pierce Brosnan atop their big boards with a paddle in hand? And it’s not just celebrities. On a recent trip to my local beach while watching my kids at surf camp, I noticed the stand-up paddle surfers were out in force.

Back to our meeting with Laird, which I mentioned earlier was supposed to be a lesson. Although I’m a gal from the Midwest who never learned to do more than water ski behind a boat (and that was a long time ago!) I decided to give it a try since Laird was going to be my coach. He took me out by watching each set of waves to make sure I wasn’t going head first into a big one (since I wasn’t able to balance yet and certainly didn’t have his talent for taking the waves head-on). When we got a break he shoved my board out to sea and said. “meet you out there.” Those could be terrifying words, if you didn’t know Laird Hamilton was coming out behind you. He brought his daughter Reece (that’s how good he is!) and the two of them made it out to greet me. Once I got used to paddling on my knees, Laird told me it was time to try and balance on that big board.

Believe it or not, I did it! While I wasn’t near a big wave it was fun to know that I could balance and paddle and actually move the board along. And it is a lot of fun! The great thing about stand-up paddling is if like me, you’re a little afraid of the ocean, you can stand up paddle on a lake, river or stream. So, I had been paddling for about 120 seconds when a small ripple came at me. Laird was ready with all sorts of good advice, but I still lost it by bouncing off the toe of the board, hitting my rump and flying not so gracefully into the water. I think I really scared him because he must have asked if I was alright about seven times. But I got back to my feet and paddled all around that Malibu beach. Although I never caught a big wave (I left that to Laird) I felt like this is a sport you can pick up at any age and really enjoy pretty quickly. Oh, and about that core work-out; the next day I was sore from my neck on down. But it was well worth the experience. I’ve got pictures to prove it. Watch tonight’s Evening News and you’ll see!

From the Couric and Company blog:http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/09/08/couricandco/entry4427341.shtml?mpid=1732

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CBS Evening News Covers SUP

National news coverage is a strong indication of a new sports growth, and Stand Up Paddle Surfing is getting it’s fair share. CBS Evening News had three engaging segments on Stand Up featuring Laird Hamilton and CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes. Here are the video feeds and a transcript of the primary broadcast

CBS) Surf-legend Laird Hamilton made a name for himself by taming some of the world’s biggest waves - he created tow-in surfing to get to previously unreachable monsters, CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes reports.

“If you know anything about me, I’m always looking for a new way to cut an apple,” Hamilton said.

…or catch a wave. His latest twist on the ancient Hawaiian tradition is called stand-up paddle surfing, and it may seem boring by comparison - but Hamilton says it was the best way to introduce his four-year-old daughter, Reece, to the ocean.

“Standing on a board and being above the water is a very secure position to be in,” he said.

It’s taking off everywhere. But not everyone sees the point.

When actor Pierce Brosnan tried to explain his hobby to John Stewart on “The Daily Show,” he said: “Paddle surfing is like surfing except you use a paddle.”

Steward asked: “Is this ultimately to train to be a gondolier?”

But Hamilton said: “Everybody can do it!”

That sounded like a challenge - even to Hughes, who says she’s a non-surfing Midwesterner.

With Hamilton’s instruction, she found standing up was easy. She said: “Oh my gosh! This is great - I’m doing it!”

But staying up was not quite so simple.

Read more about Sandra Hughes’ experience at Couric & Co. blog.

And due to concern about a loose paddle or board - some of the stand-up boards are about 13-feet long - some beaches are drawing a line in the sand and separating surfers from stand-up paddlers.

Traditional surfers say the paddlers are stealing their waves.

“These guys are up and riding before you can even turn around and catch the wave and it’s like ‘okay, here they go again!’ It pretty much ruins the session for everyone else” said Evan Slater, of Surfing magazine.

Hamilton says the sport is just going through some growing pains.

“It’s a new sport. So people are just beginning,” he said. “If you look at what snowboarding was to skiing, it was like, it was banned at every resort when it came out because everybody who was doing it, it was dangerous because everyone was just learning.”

But learning can be the best part, Hughes said. Hanging 10 or doing a 360 is just as easy with a paddle in hand - and sometimes more fun.

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