Goin to Surf City

(I’m about a week behind on getting these articles posted. I’ll try to catch up over the next few days)

Lots of last minute drama leaving town for the trip to San Diego and the Battle of the Paddle. Diane came down with pneumonia which stalled the trip a day. Our Doctor said she could travel, but she elected to sweat it out at home and fly to San Diego rather than be miserable in the truck. I stuck around for a day to make sure she was OK, but prepared to hit the road the next morning. The stock market continued to unravel and I had some business meetings. But finally I was on the road, headed south with an iPod full of traveling music.

I made it to Sonoma by suppertime, so I went to the Girl and the Fig, a fine restaurant with a great bar. The restaurant was booked solid, and everyone at the bar was settled in to eat dinner. I was about to give up when the hostess said “we’ll be glad to serve you dinner on the couch” so I plopped down on the big inviting couch, they brought me a fancy version of a TV tray, and I had a great meal and a little excellent wine. I had toyed with the idea of staying in Sonoma, but I wanted to get within range of surf the next morning, so I pushed on to Santa Cruz.

I stayed overnight at a nice beachfront hotel (the Dream Inn on Cowell Beach) and woke up to the sound of waves. I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to brave the cold water, but finally pushed myself into the water and found some nice waves and a few longboarders in the cove of Cowell. I got some nice rides, but I could hear bigger surf outside, so I paddled out and found Steamer’s Lane. Nice looking waves, but packed with surfers, and they looked at me like I had brought a jetski to go surfing. I caught the corner of one nice wave after the guy who paddled into it fell off, and took it for a mega-long ride, but I wanted to get on the road, the vibe was unpleasant, and I’d had enough. I paddled along the waterfront for a ways, past the pier and the amusement park, did some sprints, then went back to the hotel for a shower and breakfast.

While I was eating breakfast on the deck I saw a standup paddler stroking hard for the beach. He jumped off his board, ran up the beach to the lifeguard tower, ran back to the beach and stroked like mad for the horizon. Hmmm, Battle of the Paddle practice, methinks. Sure enough, when I called down to him when he ran by for the third time we chatted for awhile. Turns out he knows Ernie Johnson and a half dozen other people I know–either from the StandupZone, Ke Nalu, or from Maui. And yes, he’s doing the BOP.

This is the golden age of Standup, where everyone knows everyone. At most it’s one degree of separation.

By 11:30 I was in the truck, headed south.

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.

Ernie’s Van For Sale

Ernie Johnson (Johnson Big Stick Paddles) is selling a custom van he has on the big island. Why is this in Ke Nalu? Well, its just about perfect for an extended Hawaiian SUP trip. I sure like the looks of this thing. I’d guess you could go about anywhere with it. I’ve lived in less comfortable quarters (a ‘70 econoline with a foam pad during my “totally broke, paying child support and racing motorcycles era”). This thing is infinitely nicer than mine was.
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Team Industrial and the Catalina Challenge

The Prolific Paddler and Paddlebuilder Ernie Johnson sent me two great photojournals for races he’s done recently. This makes three stories so far from Ernie (and makes all the rest of you look like slackers–how ’bout getting those stories to me–you can’t just be sitting around reading about this stuff!).

Ernie Johnson and Tony Mueller teamed up to compete in the Catalina Challenge using Ernie’s sailboat (and home) as their chase boat. Here’s Ernie’s story:

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SUP Camping Catalina

Paddling through the Blue Caverns at Catalina

Ernie Johnson (of Johnson Big Stick Paddles) and his wife Andie, along with friends Allan Cheateaux and Jamie Peterson, recently hit Catalina for four days of paddle-touring and camping. They carried all their gear strapped to their boards and spent four days camping and playing on Catalina. Pictures speak louder than words, so I’ll just show you Ernie’s pictures, with just a few comments he made in an interview with Paddleboard.com
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