SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG
The latest BUZZ in new standup paddle surfing sports gear.
We showcase the best standup paddle boards, standup paddles, standup paddle accessories with news and views.
StandUp Paddle Sports has the largest, and best, selection of SUP's in the UNIVERSE at our store in Santa Barbara, CA.
Over 150 standup paddle boards currently in stock. New SUP's arriving monthly.
(Best selection...Best value...Best service...Mahalo)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Stokin' Yer Stoke
Bill G., from Southern Santa Barbara County, walked into our shop a couple of days ago and was instantly knocked down by the Bill Foote 11'ers we just
received...so we're delivering these two Foote 11' beauties to him and his wifey in the morning...and will be sporting them some private lessons as well...


This happens all of the time...we figured out thousands of boards ago that what makes our job easier is when we stock the shop with standup paddle boards
that sell themselves...this really separates us from others trying to cash in on the SUP "Gold Rush"...we will always ONLY sell what we personally paddle...
and we will ONLY paddle the best performing and best built boards on the market...that's our commitment to integrity and quality...
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Here's a snapshot of a hybrid 14' race board...it was blazingly fast before...now, this puppy is really gonna fly in the 14' class...

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Rob Heeley hung out in the shop all day and created this new rough sketch of a new tshirt logo design...

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Of course, there is never any shortage of kewl new shwag around our shop...here's a new fleece hoodie with the kewlest standup paddle logo on the planet...

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Paddling everyday in trunks...sunshine and bumps to ride...life is good...
Labels: Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, stand up paddle
Monday, October 27, 2008
GERRY LOPEZ SUP SALE
There's never been a better time to save hundreds of dollars on one of the popular
Gerry Lopez 9'6" x 27.5" x 4.25" or 10'3' x 28.5" x 4.375" standup paddle boards...
WHILE THEY LAST...GERRY LOPEZ SUP'S ARE $999 INCLUDING PAD & FINS!!!


We just received new shipments of standup paddle boards from Hobie, Bill Foote, & Starboard...we have over 80 new SUP's in stock with more new standups due in a couple of weeks...need to clear rack space...score the goods while they last...
Labels: GERRY LOPEZ SUP SALE, stand up paddle board sale, standup paddle surfing Santa Barbara
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Dave Kalama Signs with Naish
We've heard the chatter for awhile now...legendary waterman
Dave Kalama signs with
Naish...
Naish International is pleased to announce the addition of legendary waterman Dave Kalama to both the Naish stand up board team and Naish product design
group, where he will work alongside Harold Iggy, Rick and Robby Naish and product manager Michi Schweiger in our ongoing efforts to keep Naish at the
forefront of SUP development.


Dave Kalama has been a fixture in Maui's "heavy water" scene since it's inception, and is famous for his spectacular surfing at Jaws, his background
as a champion windsurfer, and his open-minded approach regarding pushing the limits of what is possible on the ocean that, together with together with fellow master
waterman Laird Hamilton, has revived sport of stand up paddling.
Product Manager Michi Schweiger notes: Dave is a great asset. He brings the same "on the water" philosophy to the table that has been the central theme
of Naish product design since Robby started the company - the whole philosophy of building rock solid equipment that helps people improve their riding instead
of limiting it.
Dave was a immediate fit, and we are stoked to have him on board.

With several new products already in the development pipeline, and lots more to come, there is no question that Dave will be a key player in the future
of this new industry, and Naish is proud to have him on the team!
Dave (Naish), and his cousin Ekolu (Starboard), have solidified their ohana as true paddling champions...
They came in with the fastest overall time in the
2008 Quicksilver Edition Paddleboard Race.
That was their third consecutive win in the SUP team... division
Here is an interview with
Dave Kalama...
Now that Dave Kalama is with Naish, I'm sure we'll see him here in Santa Barbara sometime soon...
Labels: Dave Kalama, Naish SUP, standup paddle surfing
Friday, October 24, 2008
Bill Foote SUP's
Highly respected North Shore shaper Bill Foote (1971), personally delivered a couple dozen of his extremely popular 11' x 28" and 11' x 30" SUP's to our shop
yesterday...
Yu Sumitomo, son of the factory owner, accompanied him...
The Sumitomo factory is recognized as only producing boards with premium quality...right down to the origami paper they are wrapped in to eliminate
swirl marks from the bubble wrap...
The boards in this delivery are sporting carbon reinforced hand holds, premium pads, double leash plugs, and fin sets that work right out of the box...
not to mention, the eye-popping finish work...all for $1399...
Pictured below is my personal 11/30 Foote (
Thunderbird green) with integrated stomp pad...

We didn't even have a chance to get these beauties stowed away before standup paddle enthusiasts descended on our shop and began opening their early
Christmas presents...;-)
Doug from Oxnard scored this puppy below...his grom son is getting a new SUP as well...


Not to worry...we've got plenty more
Bill Foote standup paddle boards in stock...our SUP supply is more plentiful than anyone's...we have plenty more Foote SUP's in Thunderbird green...
Coral red...& Yum yum yellow...




In addition to having over 80 SUP's currently in stock, and 90 more on the way in the next couple of weeks...of course, paddles are never in short supply
at our shop...even, the extremely popular new
Werner Carve and Advantage ($219)...details
here...


If you prefer a lighter paddle, then we have the carbon Werner "Spanker" ($299) and the carbon QuickBlade "Kanaha" ($320)...

Labels: Bill Foote SUP's, Santa Barbara standup paddle, standup paddle boards, SUP
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Kamiah's Favorite SUP
Is the
Hobie 12'er...
KOWABUNGA KAMIAH!!!
CLICK for more pics of Kamiah on her Hobie 12'...
Labels: Hobie, Hobie paddle boards, Hobie standup paddleboards, Hobie SUP
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Standup Paddle Sports Welcomes Joe Bark...
Joe Bark is a SoCal paddleboard phenom...both as an athlete and a shaper...and we are honored to welcome him into our ohana...and, that he has accepted us into his...

One of our top racers (John Becker) surfed through high school with Joe, and now has had an opportunity to reconnect through the sport of standup paddling...

Standup Paddle Sports is now an authorized dealer for Joe Bark standup paddleboards...and our race team is currently training on them...






Parting shot...
Santa Barbara's Olympic gold medallist, Rich Schroeder, drafting behind a faster swimmer...

More shots here...Labels: Joe Bark, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Gracias Santa Barbara Women's B-Ball!!!
A big shout out to Sally Saenger for organizing the 2nd Annual "Surf Swap Meet" benefit for the
Santa Barbara City College's women's basketball team...

Another gorgeous paddling day in Santa Barbara helped stoke the turnout...and our shop booth scored a slam dunk...it was very successful for us, clearing out older boards to make way for the new boards that are on the way (as we speak)...and increasing the local standup paddling population by a dozen...pretty kewl...especially, when you think that most people in this town, the standup paddling mecca of North America, has already bought a SUP by now...



A big mahalo to our staff...John, Elaine, Bryan, Deb, and the 3 chocolate "mouseketeers"...;-) for helping to pull this event together, and also our booth at last weekend's
"Battle of the Paddle"...it's more work than you'd think...


Labels: Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, SBCC Women's basketball, standup paddle sports santa barbara
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Hobie Standup Paddle Boards
Hobie standup paddle boards are back in stock...
The oldest surf brand in existence (50 years) is back in stock at Standup Paddle Sports' Santa Barbara store...Mango...Aqua...Red...



Hobie took 4 out of the top 11 places in the Pro/Elite division at the Gerry Lopez "Paddle of the Battle" last weekend in Doheny Beach...with their top team rider Chuck Patterson taking home the bacon...$10K first place...
With results like this, Hobie has established itself as a leader in standup paddle surfing...major street cred...

Check out these vid clips of the event...
Hobie I Open Class...
Hobie II Pro/Elite Class...
L@@K for these industry leading SUP's at the 2nd Annual Surf Swap Meet in Santa Barbara on Saturday, October 18 at Santa Barbara City College...a benefit for SBCC Women's Basketball program...
Hobie SUP's come with handles, pads, and fins for $1295 to $1395...
We'll also have boards from Starboard, Naish, Jimmy Lewis, Gerry Lopez, Bill Foote...
Of course, we'll have incredible deals on these boards and paddles from QuickBlade & Werner...and the new Powerex Sean Ordonez carbon SUP paddle designs...




This and soooo much more from the industry leader in standup paddling...
Standup Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara...your first and last stop for all of your paddle suring needs...we put the STOKE in your STROKE!!!...
Customer Testimonials...Labels: Hobie, Hobie standup paddleboards, Hobie SUP, Santa Barbara standup paddle
Monday, October 13, 2008
More Battle of the Paddle Pics
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Standup Paddling Tipping Point
Longer boards are coming to win us...
The Rainbow Sandals "Battle of the Paddle" had the feel of a SUP Woodstock of sorts...gathering of the tribes...
The morning of the race on Saturday saw competitors and spectators multiplying many times over what the race organizers had anticipated...seemed like cars with 12' - 18' standups stretched on for a couple of miles...
254 standup paddle racers in the open class...along with 80 "Pro/Elite" invitees...
I don't think anybody really knew that this aspect of the sport would get this big...this fast...IT'S ON!!!
The aloha spirit was in good attendance...very mellow kewl vibe permeated the salt air...
We have hundreds of pics and heaps of info that we're still digesting...here are just a few in this
gallery...
NOTE: IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, FOUND A BOGEN TRIPOD AT THE EVENT, PLEASE CONTACT US AT:
888.805.9978 OR, EMAIL: I N F O @ S U R F I N G S P O R T S . C O MCongrats to Chuck Patterson on his custom carbon Hobie...he gambled on a $200 entry fee and walked away with $10K in beer money...he was on the wagon for the last month...;-)



Since we were the first dedicated all standup paddleboard shop on the North, or South American continents, it was only natural that we'd be the first retail shop to field a standup paddleboard racing team...you could pick our sleeveless electric blue jerseys out of the glare a mile away...

Team Standup Paddle Sports' Rich Schroeder (Olympian Gold Medallist), and John Becker, finished in the top 5 racers out of 254...might even be a notch or two higher...as we haven't seen the official results...incredible results considering our 8 person shop race team is barely off the ground, and hasn't enjoyed the benefits of the cutting edge standup paddleboard race designs, yet...however, we'll be enjoying some more competitive boards coming out of the Hobie and Starboard shaping room labs very soon...



We're extremely stoked for all of our team racers...competing in gusty 20-25 mph headwinds...
We also are proud of Brennan in 20th place...top 10%...only his 3rd time on a SUP...and he used the Starboard 11'2" Ultimate Blend Tufskin with a wave fin!!!
It should be noted that he had the least expensive board at the beach...MSRP $1099...
This kid can PADDLE!!!
I'm also stoked that 3 of the top 7 racers out of 254 were using my
fin designs...
A couple of more shots...we'll be culling through the rest over the next couple of days...

Werner paddle rep, Dan Gevere, listening to a little
System of a Down under his pink lid...


Team SUPS (Standup Paddle Sports) rider Brian Fernandez, finishing the Pro/Elite race on a stock 12' Hobie...the guys in the Hobie booth were impressed...
Our Hobie SUP order had just arrived at the Hobie factory in Dana Point before we visited on Saturday...they are being delivered to our shop this week...

Labels: Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Bring It On!!!
Santa Barbara's Team Standup Paddle Sports has been training for the "Battle of the Paddle" this weekend at Doheny Beach...we have 8 racers competing...there are a bunch of boards in development that didn't quite get finished for this race...but, we will be going for it with what we got with a little help from Starboard and Hobie...these guys and gals are committed...they are an inspiration and we consider them part of our ohana and will appreciate their efforts regardless of the results...




Labels: Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, standup paddle sports santa barbara
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
2009 Starboard SUP's
We messed around with a few of the new 2009 Starboard SUP's today...fresh out of the Thailand factory oven...hot and spicy...






Mark my words...the new "SuperFish" 9'8" x 28.5" and 10'5" x 30" "Drive" are going to be a smashing success...plug & play standup right out of the box...world class construction and attention to detail...Q U A L I T Y ...
A few more shots in this
gallery...
Be stoked...be V E R Y stoked...{:~)
Start saving your nickels...or cash in what's left of your 201K...these new boards are going to be worth it...really kewl, well thought out features bring you extra value and bang for your buck...
We have a container on order...first of the year delivery...get on our waiting list if you want to stroke into the new year some new stoke...in the mean time, grab one of the existing models...at
$1099 for the 2008 Tufskin version, full deck pad, integrated handle, and sail attachment option...this is a no-brainer...we believe that this is the best value on the planet, so we've got a container of them coming in next month...and there are still a few available right now...
2009 prices have been forced up by energy costs, raw materials, and foreign valuation of our currency...regardless, you still won't be able to get close to this level of quality for the price...

Come see, feel, and paddle the Starboard SUP product line, and we'll also have a few of the new 2009 Starboard SUP's at the
Rainbow Sandals "Battle of the Paddle" event at Doheny Beach, California this weekend...
L@@K for us at the Starboard booth...
This is only the tip of Starboard's proverbial SUP iceberg...OUT!!!...er, uh, I mean PEACE OUT!!!...;-)
Labels: 2009 Starboard SUP, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, stand up paddle boards
Friday, October 03, 2008
Standup Paddleboard Bags
We just received our shipment of SUP bags...




We have them from 9' to 12' in 6" increments...and guess what?
You can actually get a (X)' board in a (X)' bag...and get it out again...easily...without tug o' war grief...;-)
Shoulder strap and side handle...inside pouch...light color...durable...
Affordably priced right (value)...dime on the dollar to protect your SUP investment...Under 11' $120...11' & over $130...
Labels: board bags, paddleboard bags, standup paddle board bags
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Rolling SUP Quiver Racks
We've just designed and built the best SUP quiver racks that we've seen...expert, quality American welding, they are mobile, rolling casters with brakes, and they also break down flat for storing and shipping...assembly time is less than five minutes...



Foam board pads should arrive today, that will finish off the bars in the pics above...
We are selling the 9 board rack for $850...6 board rack is $700 (Made in the USA) and there is already a waiting list...
We have several containers of shiny new boards on the way this month that will fill them up and then some...
Speaking of new boards...
Exocet, one of our favorite sailboard companies...is introducing the first of their SUP offerings...

The Kona S.U.P. is our latest contribution to the Stand Up Paddle market, offering not only excellent gliding characteristics but also outstanding wave performance thanks to the 'step tail'.
The Kona step tail design is not just another fashion gadget, but a technical feature adding obvious advantages due to the extended water line in displacement mode, as well as the reduced wetted surface as soon as the board is on a plane.
The natural standing position is in the center of the board and due to the step tail, it remains the same even when you catch a wave and accelerate.
A unique quality making it way easier to learn paddling in the waves.
construction: Custom Made Wood/EVA
Labels: Exocet SUP, Rolling paddleboard racks, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, sup racks
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