Funky Puffin?

The funky puffins at Funky Puffin sent me a beautifully assembled press package for what sounds like an seriously challenging race. I’m not going to ask what a funky Puffin really is. I’m picturing some kind of dance that includes splaying your fingers out over your butt.

Here’s what they said:

Funky Puffin, the lifestyle brand that’s growing out of Jersey (Channel Islands), is the 2010 sponsor of the Paddle Round The Pier Euro-Enduro stand-up paddleboard (SUP) race, taking place on July 3rd and 4th in Brighton, England.

Funky Puffin, which produces a range of eco-friendly surf and beach products, has chosen Paddle Round The Pier for its first sponsorship deal outside of the Channel Islands because it is Europe’s largest free beach festival and raises thousands of pounds for charity.

The 20 mile charity SUP race in association with SurfAid International is renowned as Europe’s toughest. Competitors will race from Brighton West Pier to Worthing Pier and back in the hope of winning the £1000 prize money for first place in either of the two classes.

Andrew Scott-Miller, Director of Funky Puffin, said: “The Euro-Enduro SUP race is the perfect event for Funky Puffin to sponsor because, as an eco-friendly brand, we know how tough it is to push against the tide.

Paddle Round The Pier is an awesome event attracting thousands of people from across the country and raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity. I wish all the competitors well and look forward to handing out the prizes at the end of the race.”

Dave Samuel, organiser of Paddle Round The Pier, said: “We’re delighted that Funky Puffin is joining Paddle Round The Pier by sponsoring the Euro-Enduro SUP race. We’d like to thank Andrew and his colleagues for choosing PRTP as the launch pad for their brand. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend, with thousands joining in to celebrate the surf lifestyle and raise money for Surfaid International.”

Paddle Round The Pier is Europe’s largest free charity watersports festival and is expected to see visitor numbers of around 40,000+ over the weekend of July 3rd & 4th 2010.
The Funky Puffin Euro-Enduro SUP race is a 20 mile SUP Race in association with SurfAid International.
It takes place on July 3rd & 4th 2010 in Brighton, England and runs from Brighton West Pier to Worthing Pier and back.

12’6” and under = £1000 first prize fund

Unlimited class = £1000 first prize fund

For more information please contact:
Dave Samuel – sandals@paddleroundthepier.com or visit the website www.paddleroundthepier.com for entry forms and details.

For more information about Funkypuffin, please contact Andrew Scott-Miller, andrew@funkypuffin.com or visit www.funkypuffin.com.

SurfAid International – www.surfaidinternational.org

Mickey Mongoose–Sounds Like Fun

The Legendary Mickey Munoz is the luminary behind the new Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup Stand up paddle board fun paddle and relay race. It sounds like a truly great event. It’s always fun to be in on an inaugural event–here’s your chance. And it is clearly designed for everyone and anyone, not just the serious racers. First there’s a fun paddle, and then a relay race that requires every four person team to have a woman paddler, one over fifty and one under 16. If you don’t have a team they’ll help you put one together from people who sign up at the beach. Sounds like geezers like me might be in demand!!

Mickey is quite a guy. He competed at both of the Battle of the Paddle (BOP) races. The first year he beat me soundly on the last leg. When we turned into the wind he choked way down on his paddle, bent down low like a 20 year old, and pulled away like he had a motor. I could have copied his technique, but I would have had to go straight from the beach to a chiropractor. The results listed me as finishing first, but it was only because someone had registered Mickey as a woman! Maybe they really thought he was Gidget. At 73 he’s full of fun and energy. It’s a pleasure to meet him and spend some time in the water with such a legendary surfer. You’ll enjoy it.

Here’s the release:
Hola Paddler,

Enjoy a great day of paddling fun, camaraderie, get a cool long sleeve event tee and delicious BBQ at Dana Point’s Festival of Whales. The Mickey Muñoz Mongoose Cup will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a Fun Paddle around Dana Point Harbor Island. The Fun Paddle will be launched after a vital “Rules of the Road” paddling safety meeting is conducted by officials from Dana Point Harbor and the Orange County Sherriff Department’s Harbor Patrol.

After loosening up with the Fun Paddle, participants will be organized into SUP Relay teams that will race for the inaugural Mongoose Cup. Each SUP (4) person relay team will be required to have one female paddler, one senior paddler (50 & over) and either one junior paddler (16 & under) or a beginner/intermediate paddler on their respective teams. The start and finish for the flat-water race will be at Baby Beach. To be eligible for the Mongoose Cup teams must race 12′6″ & under SUP boards.

Don’t worry if you do not have a team. We will have a SUP Relay sign-up sheet on the beach for those looking for a team. We want everyone to have a chance to participate.
Event proceeds will benefit the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association (DSBIA).

Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup
DATE: March 13, 2010
TIME: 9:00 A.M. Fun Paddle Start
LOCATION: Baby Beach, Dana Point Harbor
MORE: Dana Point Festival of Whales
ENTER: Click here

This is going to be a great event to celebrate & honor our friend Mickey Munoz and kick-off the season. Bring your friends and new paddlers wanting to gain race experience and learn more about the sport of SUP.
Barrett Tester
Event Coordinator
barrett.tester@gmail.com

$5.00 off entry fee with early mail-in: $30.00 for early entry includes commemorative Mongoose Cup event tee, “Rules of the Road” safety decal and delicious BBQ lunch.  Mail-in entries must be submitted/post marked before Monday March 9th, 2010.

Mail to:  DSBIA c/o Mongoose Cup
3240 Michigan Ave.
Coata Mesa, CA  92626

On-site entry fee: $35.00.
Event registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at Baby Beach.

About Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz, born in New York City in 1937, is an early pioneer of surfing and well-known surfboard shaper. Once described as the “surfer’s surfer”, Mickey has been riding waves since the 1950s and has been featured in many popular surfing films and documentaries. Winning the first professional surf contest and pioneering big wave surfing at Waimea Bay are a few of Mickey’s surfing accomplishments. Munoz was the stunt double for Sandra Dee in the 1959 teen film Gidget and he developed an iconic surf stance that became known as the “quasimoto”. Mickey currently lives in Capistrano Beach, CA with his wife Peggy and is an avid stand-up paddler (SUP).

Paddle Oregon Invites SUP

Paddle Oregon, the premier canoe and Kayak adventure on the Willamette River is accepting reservations for their annual 90-mile, five-day trip. And for the first time they are accepting Stand Up Paddle surfers. This is a comprehensive excursion, including delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.

From the website: http://www.paddleoregon.org/
Now in its 9th year, Willamette Riverkeeper™ is proud to present PADDLE OREGON as the premiere canoe and kayak adventure on the Willamette River.

Participants camp together and eat delicious catered meals, enjoy nightly speakers and entertainment, learn about river issues and ecology, and share this one of a kind experience with fellow paddlers. This year’s trip will begin at Marshall Island Access (north of Eugene), and will end at Willamette Mission State Park (north of Salem) for a total of 96 river miles. Your participation supports Willamette Riverkeeper’s work to protect and restore this amazing Oregon River.

Monday August 17th to Friday August 21st, 2009

REGISTRATION & OPTIONAL FEES
Paddle Oregon Registration: $595 (Adults)
Early registration: $570 (postmarked by May 1st)
Paddle Oregon Registration: $500 (Youth)
Registration includes delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.

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SUP Sprint Racing

I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him–long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I’m going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:

1. Good board
2. Lots of practice
3. Short race
4. and most importantly, a ten minute lead.

Here’s a blow-by blow of this very fun event.

I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day–a press release posted on the Standup Zone (http://www.standupzone.com) said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn’t have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It’s an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house–about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail–any sail, and sailed my 12′2″ starboard, which is great fun.

I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short–about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current–west to east–which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.

The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the buoy near Wells was rounded it’s a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that’s about six feet deep at the center. It’s rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.

Once through the gap it’s a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bouy at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.

I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes–one of those “gotta do it” places. Like eating breakfast at Bette’s in Hood River.

Didn’t really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.

I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.

You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12′2″ Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it’s a lot more stable and it has steering which is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because I suspected it’s thick sides and long length would be hell in the crosswinds.

After a brief meeting the ladies and juniors took to the water and were off quickly in surprisingly good order. The Men’s group was starting five minutes later, so I got onto my board and got a good position in the lineup, on the inside of the group. On the horn I started paddling like heck, but a small group of lightweight younger guys (actually, I think everyone was younger) got a fine start and pulled away smartly. I redoubled my efforts, bounced off another determined paddler rounding the buoy, and headed for the hook in about tenth place. As soon as we rounded the end of the hook the wind blasted right into our faces. I crouched down and stroked hard, and was surprised to see most of the guys drop to their knees and continue paddling. I didn’t do that–two reason: 1. It’s called Stand Up paddling, and 2. I wasn’t sure I could get up again. So I pushed on, managing to pass a few people and using my rudder to get a good line to the buoy. When I finally rounded the buoy the leaders were about 50 yards ahead. They popped to their feet and started really moving. I was paddling hard but the long pull had taken a lot of wind out of me. There were some tiny following swells being created by the wind on the outside line, so I paddled out and tried to catch some even though their angle was wrong–they were angled towards the middle of the river. I recalled what Jeremy Riggs told me once about riding swells at an angle making you faster, so I tried it in these ankle-high swells and it worked! I was able to catch quite a few runners that let me catch my breath and helped me haul in the leaders. I passed four people quickly and had just three in front of me. As it happened, I was on a swell when I passed the guy in third, and he yelled “Holy s&@t, you’re leaving a wake! How are you doing that?”

I figured I’d explain later.

We passed quite a few of the women and juniors, but off in the distance I could see that there were some serious contenders that we were not going to catch in such a short race. When we reached the slot I was ten feet behind second and perhaps thirty feet behind first. We rounded the buoy and I started stroking hard in the crosswind. To my surprise the guys in first and second dropped to their knees again and started stroking hard. I thought they would surely be disqualified, but continued to press hard. I didn’t lose any ground, and when we rounded the buoy onto the final upwind leg I gained a few feet and started thinking I might be able to at least take second. I started to close, but the wind picked up, and my progress slowed a little. By the time we went through the finish line buoys the gap was back to ten and thirty feet respectively. I cooled down, paddling a little in the basin, and then decided I should get some pictures of the other finishers, since I was carrying my iPhone in a waterproof bag.

I got up to the deck above the finish line just as Dave Kalama approached the finish line. “How cool is this”, I thought, “Not only did I beat Dave to the beach, but I can get a photo documenting it.” Believe me, it’s not likely to happen again. At Maliko I’d need about an hour head start.

Dave K catches his breath after the finish line while Robbie Naish strokes to beat Michi Schweiger.

Dave Kalama, Robbie Naish and Michi Schweiger

Some of the ladies make their way to the finish

The after party at the Pourhouse was really fun. Lots of nice folks. I talked for quite a while with Dave and Michi as well as some of the other competitors and a delightful couple from Arizona who have a house in Hood River. They even offered me a bed for the night in case I celebrated a bit too much, but I did more talking and eating than drinking, so I was fine for the ride home.

In all, an excellent first effort for Big Winds. I thought the race was going to be too short to be fun, but actually it was very interesting. The upwind legs made it tough and the short length made all-out effort a practical strategy. I certainly didn’t have anything left in reserve. Their organization was excellent too, and the party was a hoot.

For those of you that might be put off by the knee paddling, it won’t be a problem in the future. I sent Big Winds an email suggesting that they either not permit knee paddling beyond five strokes (as most races do to let racers get back up after a fall) or let everyone know that it’s OK. I got an email back immediately from Steve Gates saying: “This was the first SUP race we’ve put on or been in and we never even thought about knee paddling. But we did have a discussion about it earlier today and agreed it will not be allowed in the men’s divisions in future races.” That’s a good approach. While there were plenty of capable women and junior paddlers that didn’t knee paddle, some of them would have had a very tough time in the strong winds.

I’ll be making as many of the remaining seven races as I can manage. If you’re anywhere in the area you should too.

For more info click HERE

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Gumby Does Maliko

Maliko Gulch in the early morning is a strange place. Rainwater rushes through the creek from rainstorms up the mountain. The gulch smells of horseshit and squashed green things (there’s a ranch up the gulch). As I parked next to the muddy road in some tall grass I could see a swarm of mosquitoes lifting from the damp ground.  I either disturbed them or they smelled blood. Neither alternative was good.

At the ocean end of the gulch I could see big swells pounding on the rocks at the entrance, but there was no wind and no whitecaps. I was in the gulch to do the Maui Canoe and Kayak Club’s Maliko Gultch race, sponsored by Koho’s restaurant. Looked like it was going to be a long morning.

Kiwi (Mark Jackson) was already there, taking pictures and helping other SUP paddlers with their boards. There were lots of canoes, though not in the kind of numbers that turn up for south shore races, and i didn’t see any surfskis. I went up to register and the lady asked me if I’d done Malko runs before. “I went twice last week” was my reply, leaving out fact that those two were my ONLY Maliko runs. Trusting soul, she accepted my entry and they wrote my number on my arm. Not really so the scorers could see it, but so I could remember it.

The plan was to ride Gumby, my new old downwinder board I’d bought from Bill Foote. The night before I tarted it up with some pad extensions made from scrap, and a freshly painted mascot on the nose–Gumby, in big trouble, sketched using Posca pens.

Gumby, in deep doo-doo. A little reminder to help me stay outside of Spartan’s Reef

A little closer shot. I missed a line on the inside of the right leg. Oh, well.

So I felt completely prepared. The conditions looked suitable for a novice like me, not the “victory at sea” stuff I’d endured in my first run. Gumby is a stable and easy board, I’d been practicing in rough water, and I had a new camelback. What could possibly go wrong. Why, oh why did I say that.

Setting up a SUP board to race consists of attaching a leash, taking it off the car and carrying it close to the entry point. So I had some time to kill. I walked around the gultch talking to people. Ekolu Kalama was there. I’ve met him and his delightful wife two times–at the Starboard dealer meeting in Netarts, Oregon, and at the Battle of the Paddle. He’s a talented and engaging guy–fine guitar player and singer, super waterman, and just to piss everyone off he’s also clearly very bright though he seems to work a bit at hiding that.

I found Randy Royce, Slater and Casey Trout, and Mark Raaphorst in the registration line and caught up with them. Then suddenly it was time to get in the water. We were taking off 30 minutes before the canoes started. I hopped onto Gumby and paddled out with great confidence, until the rollers converging from at least three different directions knocked me off Gumby right next to the entrance rocks. I knee paddled out, expecting the conditions to be far better on the outside. Instead they got bigger, if not quite as confused. Hmmm, I wasn’t expecting this.

Setting up the gear

The victims arrive

No wind! Ugh.

these beautiful twin girls were helping Dad handle his money in the registration line. They’ll be doing a lot more of that in later years.

Canoes set to go

At the horn everyone shot off, with Mark Raaphorst displaying immediate speed on the 18 foot experimental board he was riding. I displayed immediate clumsiness, falling uncerimoniously ten seconds into the race. I then proceeded to fall at least 15 times in short order, until one of the jet skis came by to see if I was OK. “I’m fine, I just need to get my sea legs. I don’t know what’s wrong, I’ve been out in rougher water than this” I said. The jet skier looked dubious, but left me to flounder. Ten more falls and an escort Zodiac pulled up. I repeated my story and she said “OK, but if you can’t get it together in the next five minutes we’ll have to pull you out, we have canoes starting”.

That message somehow got through to the little beast that was screaming somewhere inside my head, and I got up and paddled off. Miraculously not falling until I was out of sight, which isn’t that far when the rollers are overhead. The times between falls extended, until I was actually making some ground. I could see most of the SUP paddlers ahead, and I thought I was catching up to the last of them. He was outside even further than I was, which is remarkable given my dread of being caught inside by a rogue wave. I have to get over that. A few close calls and now I’m phobic about it.

Lonely way out here in last place. Diane shot this from the Ho’okipa lookout. I was already further out than the serious racers

The canoes start 30 minutes later–they’ve almost caught me–it was a rocky start for me.

I slogged on, aiming doggedly for the right corner of Io Valley, off on the horizon. I was trying hard to catch some runners in the wind swell that was going my way, but having very little luck. It became clear to me why people don’t like doing Maliko runs when there’s no wind–the swells and rough water are still there, you just have to plow through them under your own power. Long morning indeed.

I passed Spartan’s reef so far out that I didn’t realize it was behind me. Outer Kahana was a little white line instead of the pounding break that I knew these big swells were tossing up. I was too far out, way too far out. In fact at the end of the race my GPS reported I’d gone 10.0 miles, half a mile further than the course, and I had forgotten to start my GPS until a few minutes after the race started. Just what i needed, a little extra distance.

I caught very few runners, as the GPS trace shows, and those that i caught didn’t last long. No resting on this race. You can also see every fall, except in the beggining when they came so fast and furious that they blend into a big immobile blotch.

By the time I passed kite beach I knew I wasn’t going to have any trouble being out far enough for the harbor mouth. The end of the jetty can be a bit hard to see, and hard to paddle out to if you’re too far inside. I drew a straight line for the end of the breakwall, and still wound up 300 yards outside when I reached the mouth. The only benefit I can see for the “chicken line”. I caught one of the few good runners I’d had all day and got a free ride into the harbor. What a relief.

The jetskier that had checked on me at the beginning of the race whooped me into the harbor: “You made it buddy! Go straight in, don’t do the buoys”. As if i needed him to tell me that. I didn’t care about the official course at that point. I wanted a beer. I straightlined for the beach.

Mark Raaphorst makes the channel entrance solidly in first place. Now you know why Mark’s boards fly.

the first canoe heads for the line. A little bit of muscle on that guy.

First surfski

Mark, finishing

Ekolu Kalama finishes second

Slater Trout digging for the finish with Randy Royce close behind

Slater catches a runner to the beach

Finally, Tail End Charlie makes the harbor

Hey, somebody’s got to be last

Where the hell is the beer

I did a lot of falling, especially at the start

the chicken course–cost me an extra half mile I really didn’t need

The relatively gentle wind didn’t help, at least there weren’t any big gusts

So run three is under my belt, and my first Maliko race. I’m a competitive guy, and coming in last isn’t my favorite thing, but in this case I was pretty pleased to finish under my own steam. It’s a challenging course, and one that I think I’ll get better at. I think the big secrets are taking a decent line that doesn’t add mileage but still uses the best conditions, and knowing how to ride the runners better. I think Jeremy Riggs is among the best guys at doing that. He wants to do a Maliko race on the Penetrator. I suspect he’ll use it well. Maybe I can get a few pointers from him at the same time.

For those who want to do a Maliko race:

You need some rough water experience. Swells along the North shore come from a variety of directions in the open ocean–generally several at the same time. They intermix and produce a confused surface that you need to see to understand. But any experience paddling in 20+ knot winds and big swells will help. You also need to know the route–that means having someone guide you a few times, and it would be nice if they showed you the racing line. You can do what I did and stay way outside any potential huge breaking waves, but it’s the slow way to the harbor.

Some of the fast guys do the race with no safety gear and no leash. That’s nuts. In a 20 knot wind your board can blow away from you in a heartbeat. Yes, you should always catch the board if you fall, but what if you don’t? I wore a small camelback with an inflatable lifejacket stuffed inside, and I carried my cell phone in a soft waterproof case in my board short pocket.

Maui Canoe and Kayak Club holds races all winter long . My next big challenge will be the Maui to Molokai channel crossing. Might have to wait until next year though. I need a lot more time in Maliko. Here’s a gallery of pictures from the race. Special thanks to my wife Diane for shooting the pictures and for being so happy to see me at the finish.

Race/Distance Board Showcase

Well, I’ve done it. I committed to doing another board showcase on Maui, though this time it’s going to be Race/Distance/Downwinder boards and I’m going to try to keep it small and manageable. I’ve sent this letter to all the manufacturers I know of who make race/distance boards:

We are preparing to do a showcase for Distance/Race/downwind SUP boards on Maui at the end of February or early March similar to the general SUP board showcase we did last year. This showcase will not be a direct performance comparison–we don’t have the facilities or the expertise to rate board performance. It will reflect the paddler’s subjective opinions of the boards and provide general specifications. We will also provide some GPS data about general performance in downwind (a Maliko Gulch run), flat-water paddling, and over a Battle Of The Paddle-style closed course with legs in four directions.

Just to set expectations, this will NOT be a big event like last year’s showcase. Because of the nature of this showcase we expect to keep participation fairly small, and we will have only as many paddlers as we have boards.

Boards will be grouped in categories of Stock (12′6″ or less) 14 foot, and open length. All paddlers will try all boards (I hope). The showcase will run over multiple days to accommodate wind and weather as well as deal with the three venues.

If you would like to participate, please let me know as soon as possible. We cannot be responsible for your equipment, and you are responsible for getting the board(s) to us and any shipping cost for return. Please plan on us having your boards for at least a week. I understand this may be cost prohibitive for you, that won’t prevent your boards from appearing in the showcase. Shortly after the showcase is published we will provide a self-rating form that will enable you to add information, update specifications, upload pictures, screenshots of GPS data, or add boards to the showcase. In the event that you are not able to participate I believe you will find this system provides much of the showcase benefit.

If you have paddlers associated with your company that would like to participate, please let us know. We will need contact information for any participants. The participants will need to be available on relatively short notice for the three trial venues from roughly 2/25/2008 to 3/4/2009. We will try our best to complete all three in as short a timeframe as possible, but we’re counting on the cooperation of weather and swells.

The current general SUP board showcase receives about 11,000 visits per month. It’s a worthwhile place to have your boards listed. In the event that some of your boards are not in the general SUP showcase you will find the form for explaining the design aims of your boards, riding impressions, providing specifications and uploading pictures here: http://www.kenalu.com/report/board-showcase-form/ . Listing boards and paddles is completely free.

All the best,

Bill Babcock
Editor
Ke Nalu e-Magazine
Paddlesurfing’s Web Journal

As I said in the letter, this will NOT be an event like the last showcase. It’s going to be low key and mostly in the water. Last year’s showcase was fun, but way too much work and quite a bit of expense. I’m going to do my best to keep the lid on this one. You’ll see it all unfold right here.

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Cape Cod Bay Challenge Video – Proud to be a Janitor

I’ll have a story posted soon….until then check out this great video by Lynn Wilson. Thanks Lynn…awesome job.

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Cape Cod Bay Challenge

On August 9, 2008, a small group of stand-up paddle surfers will attempt a grueling marathon paddle across Cape Cod Bay from Plymouth to Provincetown to raise awareness and money to help stop the ever growing problem of pollution in our oceans and along our shores.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Ocean Conservancy, a non-profit dedicated to promoting healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems. Part of the proceeds of this event will go towards the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean Up on September 20, 2008.

The beauty, purity and the challenge of paddle surfing make it a great platform to raise awareness about the extremely serious issue of ocean pollution. Our goal is to make this an annual event that will serve as an on-going fundraiser for, and reminder of, our need to be responsible stewards of the ocean.

I had to think about whether I wanted to tell my own story or not. One it’s personal and two, this paddle isn’t about me. But I do want to use this opportunity to not only raise some money for a good cause but also maybe encourage a few folks to join me on the water. Especially if they are dealing with issues similar to my own.

When I first thought of the challenge last fall I didn’t think it was something I would be participating in….just organizing was my original thought. You see, five years ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a vestibular schwannoma, growing on the vestibular nerve. Since then I’ve undergone radio-surgery to kill the tumor. The ongoing side effects of the tumor and radio-surgery caused severe headaches, vertigo, and dizziness, also deafness and tinnitus on my left side. The most disabling issue was loss of balance and vertigo, being unable to trust my body to do things, especially driving, made life planning difficult at best. I wasn’t sure where it would end, what it would mean to my career. Even the simple things like keeping up with the yardwork had become impossible.

4 years of treatments and prescriptions did little to help. Nothing the doctors did helped with the balance/vertigo problems. Then my brother Bill gave me his 12-6 Starboard Cruiser standup paddleboard when he thought it might be good therapy. It has proved to be one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received.. Ten short months ago I was approaching 50, an overweight, out of shape balance challenged guy on a downward spiral. 5 months later on my 50th birthday, January 24th, I was surfing at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod.

I had already seen a dramatic change by then. I had retrained my system to balance visually. Pushing my need for balance to the extreme on a standup board makes the normal possible. I’ve been driving my car…..freedom. I went from barely being able to stand on a board to going out in 10′ waves in a nor’easter in mid May. Wild wind, heavy chop, and 8-10′ waves and I’m not only standup paddling out into it but catching a few waves as well. Talk about feeling alive.

Here I am 10 months later, 50 lbs lighter, even with all the added muscle, able to live a more normal life all because of a sport that is incredibly fun to do. I hope many of you that read this might be encouraged to give it a try, especially those that might be facing issues like mine. If I can do it almost anyone can. The added benefit, I’m in better shape now than I was at 30.

I’m not saying that this negates the need for medical care. I’ve just been painfully reminded of that. Unfortunately after 4 years of no growth I’ve just found out my little friend may be growing again. You can’t argue the obvious benefits however. The not so obvious may be just as important. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so at peace as while I’m out paddling. I return from every session refreshed in spirit. One thing that standup definitely gives me is a much better outlook on rehab if I need treatment again this time. My 1st question is going to be how long before I can get back on the water?

For additional info and to donate please check our website http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org . You can also download a copy of our poster there.

See you on the water.

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Noosa! Big Fun Down Under

Bonga ripping
Michi Schweiger From Naish International attended the Noosa Surf Festival which ran from March 2 to March 9, 2008. He sent us this photojournal story:

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