SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG

We just received a new batch of the colored QuickBlade SUP paddles...








We have a paddle to match just about any color of board...



Here are some other paddle and board color combos...

Labels: QB standup paddle, Quick Blade, Quick Blade SUP paddles, QuickBlade standup paddles, QuickBlade SUP paddles

Heaps of folks in the shop the last couple of days checking out the new 2010 Starboard SUP's...

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2010 STARBOARD SUP CATALOG





The extremely popular black camos get a graphics update...designed by Tahitian pro surfer, Teiva Joyeux...and the new Blue StarTouch is an eye popper...comes with a clear integrated paddle guard...

The 8'5" x 29.5" Pro shown here...









The new Seven Eleven, 9' x 33" Hero, and 8'5" x 29.5" Pro shown here...
A bunch more of the new 2010 Starboard SUP's will be out on our showroom floor today...as well as the most stunning SUP's on the market...the new Terje Haakonsen Edition (TAC) SUP models...

California dreamin' on a cold Winter day...Santa Barbara looking very Norway like...



Here's a recent customer testimonial sent in from Patti Song about her new TAC...

1/19/09
Subject: I LOVE my TAC!

Hey Wardog! Happy New Year!
Been meaning to tell you how many compliments I get when I have my TAC Drive out to play!

Compliments on and off the water. Other cars coming up alongside me as I drive to sneak several peeks at this "FPG/Floating Piece of Gorgeous"!

Thank you to, you, Guy and Adam for the aloha received when purchasing both my Naish Mana & my TAC drive & the 'how to' tips for rooftop transport.

I need to remember to keep the advert materials you passed to me ,in my car, so I can hand them to everyone who asks where I got my TAC. One man said, "Now, you're leaving that with me, right?". I said, "Nooooooooooooo, but I'll tell ya where to get one!"

With Appreciation,

Patti Song
Haircolorist - Cloutier Agency - Los Angeles, Ca



The Starboard SUP fins get an upgrade this year...added value...



We introduce the new Starboard composite Hexel fins in cool tinted black finish as standard for all SUP boards other than the SUPer's. Our plan was to also have composite side fins integrated into the program. However after testing of various side fin set ups and further the stiffness's in the thruster fins , it was found that the side fins with more flex were actually better suited to our boards.

A smoother initiation into a turn and arc all the way around was very clear. The larger volumes and thicker rails of the SUP boards obviously react differently to that of traditional short boards , which most surfboard fins are designed for. Going back and forth with testing it was found that the flexi fins were simply better. Throughout the range varying sizes of center fins and thrusters are used. Differences in length width and volume obviously requiring varying fin surface area.

For the smaller sizes, (7'11/8.0/8.5) a thruster with M'5 fins up front in combination with a Drake cool Hexel 19cm centre fin is the perfect blend between drive, traction and acceleration while still being loose. The larger sized boards from 9'0 up gradually increase to counter the extra size and volume required.

The exception being with Whopper, and Hero who's immense width actually suited having smaller centre fins with larger side fins. The selected injection molded side fins are made from the stiffness derived from PA+GF30%...


Starboard SUP, stand up paddle board equipment for paddling, surfing and windsurfing. Leading innovators with the world's most comprehensive range of shapes and technology options.

Labels: 2010 Starboard Standup Paddleboards, 2010 Starboard SUP, Starboard 2010 SUP

A couple of our big wave, outer reef charging, clients from the Cali Central Coast, came down today to pick up their custom North Pacific 10'6" stinger guns...mainland rockers for Cali style swells...

We customized them out with the high end microdot pads...Lopez Futures quad set...and, smoke gray stomp pads...










Big Will is STOKED!!!



Kenny loading up his Silver Surfer Sprinter...


More shots in this GALLERY...

Labels: North Pacific standup paddleboards, North Pacific Stinger Gun, North Pacific SUP

The North Pacific has been sending some love this Winter...we enjoyed the swell last week down in the Baja and returned to a new swell throwing out some double overhead sets...and, even a triple overhead macking wave that I was able to connect with on my new 10'6" North Pacific stinger gun quad (+1)...designed with a fast mainland rocker...

We just got another batch of these "Made in the USA" homegrown SUP's in and have one left...





More shots of the latest batch in this GALLERY...

The 10'2" North Pacific Mullet has arrived...business up front...party out the back...;-)
Part nose rider...part high performance short board...
Rob has been ripping on it...he's STOKED!!!














Here's a new 9'3' x 31" diamond tail winger...and, a new Wahine "Flower" model...
Several other new models coming soon...it doesn't stop there...we'll help you design a custom SUP that's just right for you...




If you can dream it...we can build it...

Labels: North Pacific standup paddleboards, North Pacific SUP, North Pacific Surfboards

Here's a hat that Johnny Cash would where if he was still with us...he's always on the music mix in our shop...and, you can catch him at our online jukebox...

Just got a fresh batch of embroidered black on black FlexFit logo caps and they are going fast...





Lost a few to part of the Starboard SUP team that was in town for a photo shoot...Margareta Engstrom who does all of the gorgeous Starboard SUP catalogs...by far, the best in the SUP industry...also, an awesome photographer...and, the Schweitzer kids...Zane and Matt...grand kids of one of the inventors of windsurfing...
Zane won the open stock division at the Battle of the Paddle...




Check out the new 7'9" x 33" x 4.25" Naish...









Heaps more boards coming...should have new 2010 Starboard SUP's and Imagine SUP's by the weekend...we'll also be seeing the new RRD and Jimmy Lewis SUP lines, soon...

Labels: 2010 Starboard SUP, Naish 7'9" SUP, SUP hats

Here's a little story that also rings true...kinda captures the essence of the little fishing villages and the pescadores that we like to hang out at, and with...



An American consultant was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard graduate and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, senor?"

The American laughed and said, That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Labels: gringo fisherman, La Ventana pangas, pescado

It's the truth most of the time...;-)

Life is full of common sense rules to live by...

Red sky in the morning...sailors take warning...red sky at night...sailor's delight...etc...

In the Baja, it helps to have a heapin' helping of common sense...and, luck...

Just south of here is a place that was originally named Bahia de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead)...some gringos moved in and renamed it to Bahia de los Suenos ( Bay of the Lucky)...sometimes the line gets pretty fine between the two...

We met a Canadian guy at dinner last night who had a story to tell...
Brian was there "celebrating" the one year anniversary of a terrible kiteboarding accident that occurred here last year...without going into all of the gory details (of which there were many), he ended up losing his right leg above the knee...seems that there is always interplay between luck and death...it's called the dance of life...




















GALLERIA

Labels: Baja paddlesurf, Baja SUP, La Ventana Standup Paddle

That's the thing about rain...the Californias are desert...so, when it rains, it pours...hard to live with it...impossible to live without it...






















GALLERIA

Labels: Baja standup paddle, Baja SUP

Mucho lluvia en California?!?!

It takes a hot sunny day to really enjoy a cold cerveza...;-)

Labels: Baja SUP, Baja surfing

CLICK FOR GALLERIA

Labels: Baja paddlesurf, Baja SUP

We have a big shipment of the new 2010 Starboard SUP's arriving this week...the first in the country...a good sized chunk of them are already spoken for...so, if you want to grab one out of this first shipment of the year , you best get your name on the waiting list...

We will have the new 7'11"...8'5" Pro...8'5" Pocket Rocket...9' Converse...9' x 33" Hero...9'1" Pro...9'8" Terje Haakonsen (TAC) Element...and, also the 10'5" Drive and 11'2" Blend in Blue StarTouch and TAC editions...

We have the new 2010 Starboard SUP catalog in the shop...it's a real EYE POPPER...even better than last year's industry leading product publication...

Check it out online...click highlighted link above...

People are stunned when they see the Terje Haakonsen (TAC) wood editions...

The beautifully hand crafted boards are built to high precision at light weight in the strong precision wood technology that Starboard pioneered back in 1994.

Light...stiff...strong...beautiful...



Wood veneer boards are not a new project that Starboard is just now trying to figure out...they have been building them to withstand repeated landings from jumps and loops 30' in the air, with sail rigs attached...nobody is more committed to board R&D than Starboard...

Starboard is holding the speed record for wind powered sail crafts at 49.09 knots and has been winning the Professional Windsurfer Association's manufacturer's ranking 4 years in a row.

The lightweight fusion blown EPS has PVC reinforcements embedded for all insert's reinforcements.

Military grade fiberglass wraps around the core in an Epoxy resin matrix
to form an inner sandwich wall under the combination of a strong and stiff
510kg/m3 0.6mm Australian Pine and Makori veneer.

TAC boards have Starboard Startouch deck traction.















Here is a closeup view of the less expensive Blue StarTouch (MSRP $1249)...







The construction on the Starboard Blue Touch TufSkin is strong, light, durable, and TOUGH...Starboard is the leading innovator with the world's most comprehensive range of shapes and technology options.



PRECISION, each millimeter counts...
With 16 years of experience in cutting edge windsurf development, Starboard sets the very highest precision standard. Critical segments like rocker lines, rails, V shapes, concaves and board thickness are carefully monitored and checked throughout the entire production process.

•TufSkin technology uses a layer of continuous mat fibers sandwiched between 2 layers of glass weave to form a thick, stiff and durable epoxy sandwiched laminate.
The standing area has a 0.6 mm Australian pine veneer layer for extra strength.

•With superior impact resistance, it is the technology of choice for those looking for durability and strength.

•The seamless rail finish and sharp release edges add to the value, quality and performance of TufSkin Technology.

•StarTouch non abrasive deck traction ends the need for surf wax and introduces a new era of surfing functionality and simplicity.

Labels: 2010 Starboard Standup Paddleboards, 2010 Starboard SUP, Starboard Terje Haakonsen SUP model

Congrats to Team Starboard's EJ, Brandi Baksic, & Nikki Gregg for all finishing in the money (real green backs) at the Cold Stroke Classic in North Carolina on Saturday...

Men's Elite Division:

1) Byron Kurt

2) EJ Johnson

3) Colin McPhilips

Woman's Elite Division:

1) Brandi Baksic

2) Helga Goebel

3) Nikki Gregg




Photo Credit: Staff Photo Matt Born/Wilmington Star-News

Holy shmoly that looks C O L D!!!
Meanwhile, we were basking in warm sun and double overhead set waves...;-)

Look at that big ol' SUPsports.com sticker, EJ...dang dawg...a twofer...NICE!!!

EJ is on his way to Western Australia...ahhh...the life of a PRO standup paddle racer...;-)
He won't have to bring so many clothes...it's Summer down under...

The Starboard crew fired off a couple of low rez cell phone piccies from the Surf Expo on the East Coast...this is the new brushed carbon Surf Race SUP paddle racing board designed by Brian Symanski...

This puppy is weighing in at ~ 20lbs!!!

Rumor has it that Starboard has a new board construction technology that is getting their wave riding boards down under 10 lbs...;-)

Check out the posters of our main man, EJ, in the booth...too kewl...;-)


Scott and Margareta hamming it up...




The Cali SUP racing crew represented nicely...

Team Hobie's Byron Kurt, and Colin McPhilips (3X world longboard champion), finished 1st and 3rd in elite men's stock 12'6"...picking up some nice cashola...and, Tommy Lloy from Hobie won the men's recreational division...and, a SUP...

Labels: Starboard 2010 SUP, SUP racing, Surf Expo 2010

Heather and Hank sent us a few piccies from their Tazzy vacation...

Heather paddling her 10'6" Hobie ATR...

Labels: Tasmania standup paddle, Tasmania SUP

Eva Hollmann, the retired BoardLady sent us this piccie of herself out standup paddling on Lake Isabella, on the 12'2" Starboard SUP that we presented her with at the retirement party we held at the shop for her last year...



She wants to get a board a little shorter and wider so is looking for someone to adopt it...she says about the condition, "it is still a 94 out of 100"...she is off to do a board repair clinic in the Caribbean and is dropping it off at our shop...

Starboard 12'2" X 26 5/8" by Mark Raaphorst ( top Maui based SUP rider and shaper).

It's a gorgeous board...very light, strong, and fast...also, the general consensus is that it is the best windsurfing SUP ever made...

Please email or call the shop with inquiries...

Labels: BoardLady, Eva Hollmann

LAST REMINDER::
COME and JOIN THE FUN AT THE 5th ANNUAL EVENT (INCLUDING 11 MILE SUP RACE) TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS IN LA VENTANA, BAJA MEXICO***$3,000 USD CASH PURSE THIS YEAR...January 21-24...

We're donating a Blair 10'1" inflatable SUP and Werner carbon SUP paddle...

We know lots of elite SUP racers headed out to the Cold Stroke SUP Classic and the $7500 purse on Saturday...and, then heading down to Perth, Western Australia for The Doctor SUP Race January 16-17...part of a developing professional circuit with real money...

Might as well keep the momentum going and chase a few more dollars and international recognition...SUP racing on SUP race boards made in the USA for coffee mugs MADE IN CHINA is soooo last year, dood...;-)

A few more pics from La Ventana Baja, Mexico...and area blessed with world class fishing, windsurfing, and kiteboarding...world class surfing nearby...



WD surfing a short board quadfin at a little known spot with a couple of amigos...





Deb bumpin' and jumpin' in 4.7m2 La Ventana windsurf conditions...



Deb chargin' in the Baja...





The vista coming over the hill from La Paz...Bahia de los Sueno...used to be Bahia de los Muertos...



Pescadore pangas on the beach at El Sargento...



A couple of cacti in our garden...

Labels: La Ventana Standup Paddle, La Ventana SUP race, Mexico SUP, Paddle Royale

We received a few snapshots from one of our Canadian clients doing the snowbird thang down in the Baja this Winter, on the Sea of Cortez...one of the beauty spots on this planet...



















This area is also now known as a hot spot for fishing, windsurfing, and kiteboarding...





It's gotten orders of magnitude more popular, and civilized, since we started visiting several decades ago...











Now, there are gringo mansions, electrical powerlines, internet, nice restaurants and resorts...paved roads with sidewalks and streetlights in town...

The sunrises and sunsets are still just as nice...





The taco stands off the beaten track are still as good, too...;-)







Carlos, Senor Pescado...the owner of "Mr. Fish", representing...

Labels: Baja SUP race, La Ventana Standup Paddle

We have been under a ridge of high pressure generating spectacular weather and clean surf here in California for the last several weeks...with light to moderate offshore winds...so much for the predicted El Nino...;-)

We definitely could use some more rain in these parts...click image below to visit our weather forecasting pages...



More surf on the way...





Many of our clients...even in the sunbelt, are getting hammered by freezing conditions...if it's any consolation I saw a 31* F on the Sprinter's outside temp gauge this morning on the road out to a North County beach break...warmed up later in the day to 81* F...NICE!!!

North County sunrise...



Cold offshore winds...surf check...



The hills are dry...



Not much water in the creek...



Blue Heron fishing for breakfast...





Hollow grinders...soul session...





John chillin'...where is everyone?...;-)





Beach tracks from the holidaze...just a pleasant memory for those that made them...



Good viddles...apres SUP sesh...



Nicely restored Firebird...cruised out from town for a country burger...

Labels: Central Coast SUP, Santa Barbara SUP

Treve Jones, one of the top watermen in California, stopped into the shop to share his latest toy...an alaia...which is a finless plank of wood...at first glance some would think that it is very basic...because the shape is so simple that it is hard to comprehend how it actually works ...

From the Wegener website...

How it works:
The thin, flat rockered board moves across the wave very quickly. The hard edge of the rail bites into the wave like a long fin and the gentle curves on the bottom hold the board into the face of the wave. The board is as light as possible so it accelerates quickly and the wood is sealed with oil which is slippery in the water. This makes the board move faster through the water like a fish.

The thin board flexes as you ride the wave. When in trim or when catching the wave, you push down on the nose giving the board a reverse rocker. This makes the board go faster. When turning you pull up on the nose making the board flex the other way. This makes the board turn quicker and then bounce out of the turn as it comes back to its natural shape. The right combination of flex, thickness, hard edge on the rail and the oiled surface makes for a very light, lively surfboard.







Treve spanking a Central Coast lip with a plank...


Photo courtesy of Brian Caserio :: Side Off Video

Treve likes small boards...here he is on a 62 liter waveboard...





Treve on a 7'2" SUP...



Switch foot on takeoff...

Labels: alaia, Wegener alaia