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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SUP Surfing 101 Basic Track Chapter 1

This post is the first in a very long series (I hope) on surfing your SUP. A lot of people are buying SUP boards just for flatwater paddling. More power to them, but there may come a day when you decide you’d like to try a bit of surfing. The good news is that all the things you’ve learned in paddling flatwater–balancing on the board, paddling techniques, turning, moving around on the board–will all come into play. The bad news is that it’s not nearly enough.

This series will give you practical knowledge about surfing. It won’t teach you to do it–only time in the water can do that. But it will accelerate your learning by showing how to best spend that time.

I’m not qualified by long experience to teach you to SUP surf. I’m a writer who SUP surfs. The knowledge here comes largely from other, more experienced people and from the lessons I’m learning as I take the same path you will take. I’ve been doing SUP surfing for about two years, but I do it intensively. I live in Portland, Oregon and Haiku, Hawaii, and I SUP surf and paddle in both places. I have the luxury of time–I’m semi-retired. I try to get in the water every day and probably succeed about 300 days per year. When I’m in the water I don’t just play, I’m always trying to learn new things.

Chapter 1 Section 1
Etiquette, safety, and wave knowledge

Step one is to reassess your swimming ability. When you’re SUP surfing, as opposed to flatwater paddling, you’ll be in rougher water, and you’ll have a higher likelihood of losing your board, even if you have a leash. You need to be able to swim to the beach from wherever you are surfing. In some cases, like reef breaks, that could be a mile. You also may be swimming in currents, chop, whitewater and breaking waves. Beef up your swimming before you tackle surfing.

Step two is to practice your breath-holding. It’s easy to get held down by a wave, even in relatively small surf. You might be held down for just a few seconds, or it might be more like fifteen. In very rare cases you might have to hold your breath for thirty seconds. That may not sound like much when you’re sitting on a couch, but it can be difficult. It’s worthwhile to practice holding your breath while you’re doing inactive pursuits, like watching the TV, and especially worthwhile to practice swimming underwater. The key to surviving a long hold-down in a big wave is not to panic. The only way to train yourself not to do that is to experience it many times. Start small–trust me, a hold-down from a chest-high wave can scare the hell out of you.

Etiquette and Safety
Before you venture into the water you should know what the surf community expects of you. There aren’t any true rules other than to respect the people you are going to surf with. But there are some customs and expectations you should know about. The “rules” of the SUP community are contained in a site called SUPright (HTTP://WWW.SUPright.com). these rules will change over time as other people add refinements to them, but here is what this site says today:

First thing to understand is that there really aren’t rules–not yet anyway. Right now there are simply ways that the community of SUP surfers believe we should act. If you don’t follow these ways, someone might yell at you, and people might think you’re a jerk, but that’s it.

And that’s the best reason of all to follow these ways–because we don’t want that to change. Join the community and share the stoke because that is what makes surfing–all surfing–so very special. Don’t put yourself outside of that by being an idiot.

Beginners and experts have a different set of responsibilities. We’re going to take pains to explain everything as clearly as possible, which will make this a little tedious. If you find that too slow just jump to the summary at the end.

Beginners
What’s a beginner? Well obviously if it’s your first week on a SUP and you’re still falling in every few minutes you’re an absolute beginner. Once you get into waves you’d probably count yourself a beginner if you can’t turn easily without falling. But the definition needs to be a little more precise.

Beginner: You can paddle out past the breaking waves without falling when knee high whitewater hits you. You can pick the right place to be in a wave, paddle to the right spot and turn in front of the wave without falling, then catch the wave.

Intermediate: In waist high waves you can do a bottom turn, a cutback, and turn out of the wave without falling. When you do fall you can grab your board. Your leash is rarely needed.

Beginners have no business in a popular break. You’ll get in the way, you can get hurt if a closeout wave or set comes through, if you catch a wave and fall you’ll lose your board to the end of your leash. Almost everything you do will endanger yourself and endanger other surfers. Paddle away from the break, find some small waves and practice.

One very important thing to practice is controlling your board. If you watch experienced surfers you’ll almost never see their boards at the end of their leash. They either turn out of waves at the end of their ride, or in the rare cases that they fall they grab the board as they fall.

The leash DOES NOT prevent your board from hurting other people. When your body is outstretched, being dragged by your runaway board you have four feet of body, perhaps ten feet of leash and eleven feet of board. That’s at least a 25 foot radius you can hurt other people within. Your board will generally be in the wave, sticking out just waiting to nail another surfer.

One disciplined way to practice controlling your board is to surf BY YOURSELF without a leash. By yourself means NO ONE in the water who could be hit by your board–all the way to the beach, because that’s probably how far you’ll have to swim to regain your board. You can certainly simulate this with a leash if you don’t want to do all that swimming, but going leash-less is a useful training aid and a commitment. Just never do it around other people.

If you are a beginner, and you want to paddle out and watch the more advanced surfers, stay in the channel (which should be obvious–it’s the way most surfers will be returning to the lineup) and sit down. Don’t wobble around in the lineup and loom over all the prone surfers. It’s rude and intimidating.

Intermediate: If you can execute basic surf maneuvers without falling and can control your board, you should be welcome in an uncrowded lineup. If the crowd grows you should paddle off to the side or go looking for new spots. Your SUP board can catch waves that longboarders can’t. Don’t be a sheep, you don’t have to be in the pocket of a lineup with twenty other surfers. If you can’t thread your way through a half dozen people in the way, and contend with people dropping in or the need to pull out from the wave at ANY time without EVER losing control of your board, then you shouldn’t be there. Yes there will be be people there that can’t do that. Just because someone else is a kook doesn’t mean you need to be. Ride your own ride

All SUP Surfers

1. Don’t be a wavehog: It’s easy to grab every rideable wave with a SUP. You can always be first into the wave, closest to the shoulder. Everyone else is just dropping in. If you are spinning laps, paddling back out quickly and setting up for the next wave, you’re the worst kind of hog.

2, The second worst wavehog is the guy that maneuvers outside, coming in like a locomotive on every good set wave. Do it once and you’re getting all the wave can offer. Do it five times and hoot others off your wave and you genuinely, truly, absolutely suck.

3, When your turn comes, take your wave, surf it well, paddle back out and sit down. Talk to people. Watch for good waves. Let them pass and make it obvious that you’re sharing. Show some aloha, some kindness, some wisdom.

4. Don’t drop in. Dropping in means another surfer has caught the wave closer to the shoulder. If you find you accidentally have, turn out of the wave immediately. If you can’t do that without falling then sit down on the tail of your board (and if you can’t, what are you doing in a crowded break?). Never undertake a maneuver that might cause you to ditch your board in front of the overtaking surfer.

5. Using your high vantage point to call out waves might be a good thing, but ask your fellow surfers if they’d like you to do that. A lot of people surf to decompress and relax. Having some guy bellow “here’s a good one” five times in a row for mediocre waves may disturb their Wa.

6. Don’t paddle out through the middle of the break. Go off to the channel, or if there is no channel, well to the side out of the surfing zone. Killing someone’s ride by standing like a deer in the headlights will not gain you any points.

7. If you must paddle in the surfing zone, signal which way you are going to try to pass any surfer on a collision course with you. Generally you want to pass behind them so they don’t have to cut back, so if you fall you won’t take them out. Make your intention clear. It might not work but at least you tried.

Any time you think a rule doesn’t apply to you, you’re just BS-ing yourself. “I didn’t really drop in because I was so far down the wave”: BS–you wouldn’t come up with an excuse if you didn’t KNOW you were wrong.
“I tried to grab my board but I missed it” BS–go back and practice control.

Find new places. SUP boards are magic for that. You are missing out if you don’t explore, and you’re just adding to the congestion. Five miles is no big deal for a SUP board.

Don’t let nitwits control your standards. Just because someone doesn’t appreciate your efforts to share and to observe traditional etiquette doesn’t mean you should abandon it. Set your standards and live by them.

Summary

Beginners: Stay out of popular breaks. Find some small waves and practice controlling your board. Learn to turn out of waves and/or grab the board as you fall. Do not rely on your leash–in fact consider learning to surf BY YOURSELF without a leash with NO ONE in the water who could be hit by your board–all the way to the beach. Alternatively simulate this with a leash if you don’t want to do all that swimming, Going leash-less is a useful training aid and a commitment. Just never do it around other people.

Intermediate: If you can execute basic surf maneuvers without falling and can control your board, you should be welcome in an uncrowded lineup. If the crowd grows, paddle off to the side or go looking for new spots. If you can’t thread your way through a half dozen people in the way, and contend with people dropping in or the need to pull out from the wave at ANY time without EVER losing control of your board, then you shouldn’t be in a crowd.

All SUP Surfers

1. Don’t be a wavehog.

2, When your turn comes, take your wave, surf it well, paddle back out and sit down.

3. Don’t drop in. If you accidentally have, turn out of the wave immediately.

4. Don’t paddle out through the middle of the break.

5. If you must paddle in the surfing zone, signal which way you are going to try to pass any surfer on a collision course with you.

Any time you think a rule doesn’t apply to you, you’re lying to yourself.

Waves and breaks
Before long you’ll be sitting in a lineup with other surfers and they’ll start talking about the waves. That they are mushy, or blown out, closeouts, or sectioning or A frames. That there’s too much west in them (pick a direction), that the tide is going out or it’s all short period stuff. There’s a lot to know about waves, but you don’t need to know much to start with. Here’s the basics and we’ll talk a lot more about waves later.

Waves for Surfing

Surfers ride waves on the shoulder (or curl), which is the steepest part of the wave, right where the smooth face of the wave and the whitewater of the already broken part of the wave meet. Beginners can have fun playing in the whitewater, and a SUP board can use it’s speed and size to ride a wave almost anywhere on it’s face, but the shoulder is the sweet spot of the wave.

The broken part of the wave is called whitewater, foam, or soup. It’s turbulent and a lot of the power has been spent. You can ride it if you point your board mostly toward the beach, but it’s bumpy and hard to maneuver in.

The lip is the top of the wave, especially when it’s starting to curl over as it gets ready to drop. How the wave drops is an indication of the amount of energy in the wave and how the ocean bottom is shaped to form the wave. When the lip pitches way out and falls into the trough at the base of the wave or even well past it at some fabled breaks it can create a tube (called the shack, a pipe, the green room, breaking top to bottom, etc.). But most waves crumble or form just a partial tube as they pitch over and fall into the face of the wave

Beginner Waves

What you want as a beginner is a wave that has a shoulder that is gently spilling as it travels across the face of the wave. And you want mushy waves, which are waves that crumble down their face, rather than the ones that toss a lip far out and fall with a whump to the base of the wave. You also don’t want waves that are breaking right onto a steep shore or in very shallow water. In other words, you don’t want to paddle out at Pipeline, unless you have grown tired of life.

Waves create rip currents and often have channels in them, that are simply deeper water that doesn’t permit the swell to kick up into a wave at that point. The rip currents and channels are useful for moving back out through a wave, but they also can be a source of danger. A rip current can move a lot faster than you can paddle. If you get separated from your board you may be battling rip currents while you try to get back to the shore or to your board. Simply put, don’t fight rips. Go with the flow and look for a way to get back to shore when the rip dissipates. Generally you can make your way across the backside of the breaking waves and find a place where there either is no current or it’s going more in the direction you want to go. Often you can bodysurf your way closer to shore. In any case, you need to assume that you can be in for a tough swim, in conditions that cause most beach emergencies, injuries and deaths.

The channel might seem like a happy place, non-breaking waves, a favorable current, a fine seat to watch the real surfers from. And it often is, right up until it isn’t. Waves can come up quickly in size, and even if they don’t there is often a sneaker wave that will clean out the lineup as everyone scrambles for the horizon, and not everyone makes it. In those conditions the channel can sometimes be a lousy place to be, because the wave can be at its biggest and most poweful right where they weren’t breaking before. The sneaker waves usually break outside, and sweep up the slow movers in the whitewater. But in the channel they can break right on top of you, and that’s the worst possible situation. The full power of the wave is unleashed on you and your board, You can be pushed to the bottom, grabbed viciously and wrenched back to the top of the wave in a second. Going back over the falls and being pummeled repeatedly. Surfers call this the spin cycle, and that’s exactly what it’s like. You have to be ready for that and constantly vigilant for what’s happening in the outer waters.  We’ll talk about that more later in the sections titled “caught inside” and “big wave safety”.

The best places to get initial experience is beaches that have a sandy bottom or a relatively friendly reef–by that I mean not much coral or rocks sticking up close to the surface at low tide. You don’t want a heavy shorebreak or a steep beach. Not much rip, not much current, and not much wind. Look around for the kind of place that has other beginners, but don’t plan on surfing right in the middle of them, you need to be able to get away from the other beginners.

…to be continued

Ancient History

I was mucking around in Ponohouse (my first blog: www.ponohouse.com) and found this first article about Stand Up Paddle Surfing. I was amazed to do the math on the article dates and realize I’ve only been doing Stand up Paddle surfing for two years–how could that be? But it’s true, I bought my first SUP board in the spring of 2005 and wrote this article in November 2006. Feels like I’ve been doing this most of my life.

Thought you might enjoy it.

Paddleboy Goes Big

A few years ago Laird Hamilton, the God of all things on the waves and water, got bored with waiting for Jaws to break so he could tow in to what looks to any human like five hundred feet of crashing, munging, absolute life and death wall o water. So he started standing up on a big longboard and paddling into waves with a canoe paddle. Big, big waves, of course, being Laird.

Apparently he wasn’t the first to do this, the beachboys on waikiki used to do it when they were in a hurry to deliver a mai tai to some puffy red tourist bobbing offshore. But Laird made it look like a lot of fun, so I figured I needed one of those…
…someday.

Someday came last year, when I was dropping off one of my abused windsurfing boards at the Ding King for repair. The Ding King (Mark Raaphorst) is a very talented guy who builds all kinds of cool stuff. His shop out near the Costco in Kahalui is a must visit spot–if I were shooting a dramatic movie about Maui this shop would be front and center. Wackiness abounds. I’ll get some pictures someday, you’ll dig it. anyway, Da King (EuroMan to his old friends) is making 12 foot hollow monster boards expressly for stand up paddling, so I whacked my deposit down and joined a huge backlog–he only has one mold and each board takes more than a week. Finally last spring my board was done, just in time for me to try it about two times before I returned to Portland.

This is the board EuroMan made for me–about 12 feet long, 26″ wide and about 5″ thick. Nice and light (about 26 pounds) because it’s hollow.

Now it’s November and I’m back, so today I took the board, the wife (Diane) and the dog (Sam) to Launiopoko park near Lahina and tried my hand at stand up paddling. I spent most of the day falling abruptly into the water, but I had some good moments and I caught a few waves for VERY long rides. Once this baby is slotted in you can just go and go.

There were a bunch (gaggle?) of extremely attractive french surfer girls all over the place. some kind of photo shoot for a magazine. Not the best audience for my painful flailing, but they were fun to watch. A few of them could really surf too, though the majority were slinking around in various bathing suits and tight wet suits carrying dinky boards that would need a lot more wave than anything I was seeing to carry more than a damp poodle.

Not all the stand up paddle surfers are fat and bald

Anyway, very fun day. My arms feel like they’re going to fall off, my belly hurts from scraping on the deck and my legs are shaky. Can’t wait to go do it again tomorrow.Here’s some shots. Diane did the photography. Sometimes she can be very cruel.

Photos:

Here’s the world famous paddle surfer looking pensive about the vastness of the ocean

First attempt: there’s a wave back there somewhere

Alas, it comes to naught. did this a lot

Still trying. Using a kneeling technique

Progress–sort of

PaddleBoy goes big

Nice one, Lumpy, but quit choking up on that paddle

The board trims nicely

I told you Diane could be cruel

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The Most Versatile Sport

So we’re in a recession. I might seem like a bad time to be spending $1500 on a SUP board and paddle. But unless you plan to huddle in your apartment, slowly turning to suet, you’re going to do some kind of sport or workout. Even running takes good shoes, and it’s just not that much fun. For less than the price of a yearly gym membership you can have a SUP board, and it’s simply amazing how versatile your new board can be.

For example, over the last two weeks I used my Bill Foote 10′11″ to:

1. Surf anytime there was surf, and sometimes when there really wasn’t. We had some very small days, when there were only a few people out, but I still paddled out to the reef and had a nice time.

2. Do downwinders, and upwind/downwind runs. On Christmas eve I did a 20 mile paddle with my friend Johnny. He’s the 25 year old son of one of my oldest friends. He’s a surfer, and he’s been paddling in the rivers in Portland. Big. strong kid–I stuck him on my Starboard 12′6″ which is an excellent cruiser and I expected him to zoom away from me, but I actually lead most of the time, the little (for me) 10′11″ worked just fine for distance.

3. Sail and have a blast. I have three windsurfers in Maui, a couple more in Portland, but I rarely use them anymore. I prefer to sail my SUP board. It’s fun because once you get into the waves you’re on a board that surfs well. and the sailing is relaxed and old school. After we did the 20 mile paddle I took Johnny over to Kanaha and started teaching him how to windsurf. In a relatively short time he was successfully uphauling and sailing. Today I’ll teach him how to waterstart, and he’ll be off.

4. Fish–both with a rod and reel, and with a spear. SUP boards are so portable and safe in the water. I’d much rather fish from one than from a kayak. You can get a great workout while you’re trolling, of just paddle out to the reefs and cast or jig. You can see far more than you can from any other craft since the standing angle is so good. With a pair of polarized glasses I can see clearly into reefs that are 20 feet down or more.

5. Dive–what a platform for freediving. I could certainly carry my SCUBA gear on my 12′6″ with the PVC cage i made for it. Haven’t done that yet, but I’ve taken along my freediving fins and mask/snorkel and used my SUP board for transportation to outer refs and as a diving platform.

6. Play with kids–you plunk them down on the nose with a lifejacket and take them for a ride. Kids love being on a SUP board, it’s like their own little boat. They can see everything and it’s exciting.

This is simply the most versatile, easy to use, economical and fun watercraft I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had just about every kind you can think of. I really can’t see owning a boat here in Maui now that I have a SUP. So in that sense my $1500 SUP has saved me $50,000, plus fuel, plus a bigger truck to haul the boat, plus maintenance. Maintenance on a SUP board is washing it off and fixing the rare ding.

It’s a far better workout than hanging out in a gym, and a lot more fun than any other activity I’ve tried. I think it’s the perfect recession/green era sport. Minimal fuel, great for your health, great for your attitude, and you can even catch some nice fish for the table.

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Paia Inn: Remarkable and Perfect

We’ve just found the best place to stay on Maui (other than Ponohouse). It’s perfect for any active person or couple that plans to spend their time on the North shore–surfing, windsurfing, SUP Surfing, whatever. It’s perfect partly because of location, but it also balances luxury, tasteful accommodation, and amenities (like private beach access directly to the surf break in Paia Bay!!) in a quiet way that blends elegantly with funky Paia. It’s also reasonably priced.

I suspect that when people understand what a gem this is, it will be very hard to get one of these five rooms. If you’re planning a trip to Maui this year (it’s a great year to do so–more about that later), you should check this out and make your reservations early.

Before we bought Ponohouse Diane and I used to come each April and stay for three weeks–usually at the Four Seasons or some other Wailea hotel. It was expensive and inconvenient to the North Shore, where I spent most of my time. While the Paia Inn existed then (it was started in 1962) it pretty grubby. If it had been as it is now I would have nailed down one of these rooms perpetually.

It’s a vast understatement to say that we were surprised–we expected something ordinary. Let’s start with the location and the outside. Except for the sign you’d never know Paia Inn exists. The rooms are above a storefront–currently a gallery–and you enter the Inn from the back, pulling in beside a gas station.


As you step through the gate you find the first surprise–a shady, cool, comfortable courtyard. Very inviting, very comfortable. My immediate thought was “what a nice place this would be to kick back with a beer”. Paia has wonderful restaurants, but nothing this peaceful and inviting.

Walking through the heavy door we come another surprise–a spacious, and very tastefully appointed lobby with interesting and colorful art on every wall.

In a big hotel the lobby is just for show. But in a small inn like this, it’s part of your living space. And this is a very comfortable place to hang out. The Inn provides complimentary coffee and pastry in the mornings, from my favorite coffee joint in the entire world–Anthony’s–which is right across the street. The lobby would be a fine place to enjoy that, though the courtyard would probably always be my first choice.

Up a short flight of stairs is another nicely decorated and comfortable common area with a computer and printer/fax. The Inn has free wireless high speed internet access and flat screen TV in each room.

The rooms are small and simple, but pretty and comfortable. They are exactly what I like in a hotel–roomy enough to move around in, comfortable beds, nice shower/bath and nothing more.

The location is at the heart of Paia, backed up to Paia Bay. In my heart Paia is right up there with Paris and Portland–beyond just a special place. Across the parking lot is Lightning Bolt Surf shop. It’s Maui’s original surf shop, originally owned by Gerry Lopez, started back in 1972. Across the street is Anthony’s. Besides having the best coffee on the planet, Anthony’s clientele includes every great surfer and windsurfer you’ve ever heard of. You’re as likely to run into Dave Kalama or Laird Hamilton and his family as you are to run into me. A little further up is the Fish Market restaurant–best fish plates in the world–at least I’ve never had better, and then there’s Jacques, Milagro, Moana Cafe and all the other great Paia restaurants. Great clothing and beachwear shops, the remarkable Ship Gallery, venerable Chuck’s restaurant and bar. In short, it’s a great little town, and Paia Inn is right in the middle of it.

On Friday nights you can walk over to the Wine Corner and pick up a nice bottle or a six pack of Microbrews, perhaps grab a Pizza from Flatbread, and then walk into Lightning bolt where Frank shows free surf movies at 8:00 PM. Hit Milagros or Jaques for a nightcap and stroll back to your room. You won’t have walked a half of a mile.

We’ve saved the best for last.

Walk out of the courtyard and there’s a small area with a solar-heated shower to rinse off in, and a private path to the beach. You walk down a narrow lane decorated with carved masks. A couple of quick turns and there you are–at the far end of Paia beach, right in front of consistent reef break. The waves were puny when I visisted, but this is a nice spot to surf and good place to put in or take out your SUP board. I could easily see a short downwinder from Maliko Gultch to Paia Bay, taking out right at your hotel. Handy.

Rates currently range from about $150 to $250 per night. See their website at http://www.paiainn.com/ for more up-to-date information.

Haile Maile General Store 20th Year Celebration

If you’ve been to Maui I certainly hope you’ve been to Haile Maile. It’s kind of the middle of noplace–a lovely spot overlooking the North Shore, equidistant from Baldwin Ave and the Haleakala Highway, just below Makawao. Haile Maile General Store is a destination restaurant in the purest sense. You have to be going there to get there. It’s worth the trip. I’ve never had a bad meal there, or a drink I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. There was a brief period when they were fiddling around with pork shanks that i wasn’t completely thrilled with dinner, but the worst it ever was, was darned good instead of really great.

I recently attended the 20th year anniversary party, a charity event for the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center and the Maui food Bank. Diane was supposed to go, but she took ill at the last minute, so I went by myself.

Spectacular food, fine music, superb wines to taste, and a martini luge. The Martini Luge was my downfall.

I got there a few minutes early, talked with some friends who work there, and finally it was six PM and time to see what Bev Gannon had tossed together. Bev was there of course, working the room as always, looking worried and driven. When you run a restaurant as well as she does I suspect that’s pretty much how that perfection happens.

In the rear dining room was a wine tasting area and a giant rotating glass disk with an ice sculpture in the middle and hundreds of elegant shot glasses on the frosty surface. The shots were individual tastes of lobster, or crab salad, or tiny oysters with a dab of spicy/smoky sauce. I spent quite a bit of time there.

Behind the restaurant were two beautifully decorated, huge tents. The first had a giant projection screen, a huge fruit and salad area, a large bar, and along one wall were carving stations serving amazing pork at one end, fork-tender beef at the other, and wonderful vegetable and condiments between. In the middle were both stand up and sit down tables to enable the crowd to enjoy the food and chat. The second tent had what I’d describe as an Italian section with truffled lobster ravioli, a long macaroni-like pasta with pulled beef, some canolini-like stuffed thingies that I really enjoyed, and other delights. Against the far wall was a huge sushi station with four of five sushi chefs busily constructing a wide variety of delicious sushi. Sushi has always been a Haile Maile strong suit, and this was some of the best I’ve had. Against the back wall was a stage and dance floor with a great band playing. At the opposite end were the martini luges. A devilish construction that should be forever banned. Two lovely bartenderesses were fiendishly constructing martinis and pouring them into the luges about as fast as they could. Both the sushi and the luges had a steady stream of customers–with me prominent among them.

I hung out in the sushi-italian-luge area for quite a while, listening to the band and talking with folks. then i wandered back into the front of the restaurant, pausing for a few more oyster and lobster shots on the way, and discovered that I’d walked right past one of the major attractions. there was a lot more food in various stations, though by now i was not particularly hungry, but they were also cooking several varieties of tiny “hamburgers” including some with foie gras mixed in. These were simply unbelievably good, and each tray that appeared on the counter emptied in seconds.

I had a few.

I worked my way to the bar to get some water and perhaps another martini (yeah, I really needed another). While I was hanging out there a guy said “Hey, are you Bill Babcock from Portland?” Turned out to be an old acquaintance and former customer of my company from Portland. What a coincidence (I wonder if I can write this evening off as a business meeting?). We talked old times for awhile, then I wandered back for more sushi.

I arrived in the stage/dance floor tent just as Kenny Rankin was setting up to play. He sat down with an acoustic guitar and started playing and singing. The group in the tent was too deep into their conversations to pay much attention, but I was mesmerized. What a musician! I walked to the front of the stage and plunked myself down on the dance floor to listen. Never have been all that shy. I thought others might join, but nobody did. He finished one spectacular piece on the guitar, switched to a key board, did two more songs and then quit. I suspect he was a bit peeved that no one was paying much attention. I don’t blame him, but I sure wish he’d played more. I was having a great time.

After that a DJ started playing dance music. Good, danceable stuff at first, and then as it got late he switched to things that only the double-jointed could enjoy. A clear signal that it was time to go home.

So I did.

If you search for Haile Maile general store on Google, the first or second result you’ll get is a review I did on my old Ponohouse site several years ago. I’ll save you the search. Here’s the Ponohouse review:

Haile Maile General Store

Haile Maile is superchef Beverly Gannon’s wonderful place, and unlike most celebrated chefs you’ll find her there often, shepherding the place to make it run wonderfully. It’s not inexpensive, and it’s not easy to get reservations despite it’s challenging location–totally off the beaten path part way up Haleakala. But it’s great.

First is the decor. Whoever does their flower arrangements is a genius and an artist. When a lumpy 250 pound guy who dresses in board shorts and grubby T shirts takes note of the flowers you know there’s something special going on. Nice art everywhere too. I really like their bar and they always have great bartenders. Last week we decided to eat at the bar instead of the table we had reserved because we were so enjoying our conversation with the bartender, a nice guy named Tim Garcia. The couple sitting next to us who were on their way to the airport immediately after to return to Florida made the same decision. We had a grand time and great meal. Turns out Tim is a very talented sculptor–we’ve seen and enjoyed his work. You can see some at http://www.mauisculpture.com .

Haile Maile has fabulous Mango Magheritas. I’ve never been able to duplicate the flavor, though I have the precise recipe. I always tend to have the fish curry, though I also love the duck tacos, I guess they do them as quesadillas now. Duck confit in a taco. Yikes.

I’ve also had the ribs–they were spectacular–and we go sometimes for lunch and I enjoy their soups. The lamb is great too, in fact I haven’t had a meal at Haile Maile that I could describe as anythying but excellent. The wait staff makes fine recommendations, they have a good wine list and wonderful desserts.

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Paddling Plymouth to Provincetown

My brother Bob is organizing a distance paddle event to go from Plymouth Massachusetts across Cape Cod Bay to Provincetown on the tip of the cape–22 miles. In a moment of weakness I said I’d participate. I’m kind of looking forward to it, but I need to train and there isn’t much time left–it’s August 9th. I haven’t done much paddling or surfing lately–I’ve been working feverishly on my race car–Peyote–that was damaged heavily at a race in Watkins Glen, NY last year. I’ve gained about ten pounds since I stopped surfing or windsurfing every day. I’m not quite as worried about the weight (though it sure would be good to shed it) as I am about general condition.

So last Monday I decided to do a long paddle just to see what it’s like. I did seventeen miles on the Willamette river, from Cathedral Park under the Saint John’s bridge to the dock at Tom McCall Park in downtown Portland, and then paddled back. The first leg I had a mild tailwind but I was paddling against the current. On the return I was going with the current but the wind picked up and I was struggling into a headwind. the last few miles were very tough.

Yesterday was a layoff day, I spent it working on my race car getting ready for the Portland Historic Races this weekend. Today I did 18 miles, from Fred’s Marina at the top of the multnomah channel to Rocky Point Marina and back. the trip downriver was into growing wind, with the last mile being very hard, paddling into at least a ten knot wind, with gusts to fifteen. Enough wind to make rollers and whitecaps in the middle of the river. On the way back I was paddling against a strong current with favorable wind. The rollers were big enough to surf, and I had a really good time.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay for the Cape Cod paddle. But I plan to train up until I get on the plane. Probably some shorter run–it takes a long time to do 18 miles.

A few more changes, and then back to it

For those of you that have been following along, the migration to Dreamhost is complete, and I’m working on the new look and feel. I think people will like the new navigation–there will be several feature stories, selectable by tabs according to the topic. Below that will be picture-oriented articles, with lead pictures that you can scroll through or jump right into the article. And finally there will be how-to and tip articles.

I’ve been doing a fair amount of paddling and some surfing. The oregon coast is not as friendly as Maui–even with a drysuit. But I’m having fun. Went to Manzanita for about a week to do some work on my old beach house there, and get in a little surfing. I’m planning to sell the house. It’s a very cool little thing, designed for low upkeep, low costs, and nearly zero maintenance, but I’m not using it, and that’s just a shame. Next time I go I’ll shoot some pictures–you never know, someone reading this might be interested.

My friend Paul Montgomery came down for a couple of days of SUP surfing. He’s an old Seaside surfer, but I turned him to the dark side last year in Maui. We hit Pacific City on Saturday and ran into Randall Barna. Randy has a popular blog on SUP and runs around with a bunch of loonies in Bend that are paddling in the deschutes and the lakes of Central Oregon, as well as doing the 170 mile “commute” to Pacific Beach every so often for some waves. Quite a coincidence bumping into him and his nice family. A real pleasure.

The waves were dinky, the water was 43 degrees, it was windy and choppy–in other words, we had a great time. Surfed until we couldn’t paddle any more, went back to Manzanita and collapsed, then did it again the next morning. No wind, but even smaller waves because the tide was out. Once it came in the wind came up, but we had a fine morning session, then back to Portland.

Mama’s Fish House

Why would you go to a restaurant where Mai Tais are fifteen bucks.

Because it’s worth it.

Mama’s is a gorgeous place. Actually it’s way past gorgeous. There’s an unobstructed view across the empty beach (it’s not private, but you have to come through the Mama’s entrance to get to it) to crashing waves. There’s the glorious entry, the unique architecture–even the valet parking stand is amazing, the wonderful bar. I halfway expect to meet Humphrey Bogart there someday (and by the way, how much of a man do you have to be to make the name Humphrey represent unadulterated toughness).

The food is excellent, the prices are scary. Just realize you’re going to drop a hundred bucks per person and get over it. Their wines are not stratospherically priced, though maybe I just feel that way after experiencing truly absurd wine prices in Aspen ($300 for Newton unfiltered Merlot at the Montagne restaurant in the Little Nell Hotel–a $40 bottle at any wine store). At any rate, wine prices at Mamas are rational if not a bargain.

Their Ahi Poke is excellent, as is the Lobster soup. Salads and soups are fabulous. They always bring you an amuse bouche (yeah, yeah I know, there’s supposed to be some accent marks in there someplace), usually a bisque, and it’s always excellent and not enough (that’s the idea, eh?). The bread plate is irresistable, slightly sweet fresh baked bread loaves. All the fish entree’s are extremely fresh, caught that morning. They always give the name of the local fisherman that caught the fish. Local fishermen tell me that if their name gets on the menu that means they had a very good day, because Mama’s needs a lot of fish.

Here’s some pictures. If you don’t realize that this is a must go place, at least once per trip to Maui, then I just can’t help you.

I have a friend in Portland who’s a fairly wealthy guy (owns a big car dealership) who has eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world. He’s a hard guy to please and very outspoken when he doesn’t like something. When he’s in Maui he eats at Mama’s almost every day.

Enough talk, here’s some pictures. In looking at these I felt the place came off looking a little Disney. It’s not.

This series is the valet stand. The valet stand!! Where they keep your car keys! Sure, it’s the first thing you see, but how many restaurants figure out that such a prosaic thing can make a big impression. These folks aren’t assuming you’re going to figure out this place is special–they let you know right away. And they don’t insult your intelligence and taste with a grass hut or something hokey. This is one interesting structure.

The walkway has a gecko pattern to the concrete that looks like something from an Escher painting.

Mama’s beach is beautiful, though the close reef makes entry into the water tricky. It’s a famous surf break, though the long paddle means you’re more likely to see windsurfers in the wave.

Tomorrow–Maui!!

Sam is as nervous as a cat. Whenever we bring his crate up from the basement he stays even closer to Diane than usual–which is not that easy for a dog that spends his life ten inches from her knee. I think he’s concerned about being left behind. I can’t blame him–the weather in Portland sucks out loud right now. [Read more]

Moody Morning

I got up early this morning to take a long paddle and found Portland socked in with fog. At our house it was clear and bright, but a hundred feet below my windowsill it was a flat white blanket all the way to the coast range. I goofed around and worked on my computer until [...]

Multnomah Channel

It would be nice to find some local SUP surfers here in Portland–I want to do some long paddles, and I need to work out a way to do it without round-tripping. I’ve been cruising in the Multnomah channel and I think a run from the Hayden Island Bridge down to Scappose would be pretty [...]