SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG

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

Hey now, we hope to see some of you folks that Eva has touched through her amazing dedication to QUALITY epoxy board/boat restoration projects over the years...over 5796 boards repaired to date...this Saturday, December 20...Noon until 6 PM, at our shop in Santa Barbara (details here) as we...(choke...choke...;-) celebrate and honor, Eva's retirement from epoxy board repairs...and, the passing of the torch to Josh Cohen...



While not a complete retirement...she has some boat inspections and woodworking projects on the books...she will have a bit more time to lay in a hammock and listen to the palm fronds whistle in the wind...



One of the many projects that Eva has undertaken...



She beautifully refinished this vintage 1920's paddleboard...



Her woodworking skills are fantastic...



Mike Colee said it pretty nicely...

"Injured sailboards and surfboards the world over have been made whole again thanks by the amazing talents of Eva "The boardlady" Hollmann but it is the joy she has brought to the owners of these injured watercraft, when they see their loved one made whole again, that must be remembered and appreciated."

As a fellow boardhead, she always understood the affection that we have for our watercraft...and dedicated herself to restoring them the best that she could...more often than not, they ended up better than new...she always wrote up a failure analysis report...fair and accurate...pity the manufacturers that didn't produce to her standards...she showed no mercy towards them...

We have to give major credit to Eva for the assistance and guidance that she has provided us in choosing our board product lines over the last two decades...

It was always comforting knowing that Eva approved of the construction technology of a particular brand before we became invested in it...and added it to our retail offerings and personal quivers...which BTW, are one and the same as we ONLY use products that we believe in...

Even with an engineering background, and a taste for QUALITY boarding products in the first place, it was very helpful to have Eva surgically disect structural damage that occurred when we subjected countless boards to the stresses that Jalama Beach could dish out...it became readily apparent when a product is substandard when tested by walls of moving H20...

Eva was always there to inspect the carnage and provide failure analysis...oftentimes returning the board in "better than new" state...

We can only hope and wish that Josh Cohen is as good as Eva says he is...he has really BEEEEG shoes to fill...

Labels: Eva Hollmann, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, the Boardlady

SAVE THE DATE!!!

WHEN: DECEMBER 20, 2008...12 NOON - 6PM

WHERE: STANDUP PADDLE SPORTS
121 SANTA BARBARA ST.
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101

MAP


Eva Hollmann (the BoardLady) will be closing down her shop on December 20, 2008...
She is planning to dedicate the next couple of years to teaching others about the fine art of Epoxy board repair and to challenge the women's speed sailing
record...



Eva discussing the craft with master craftsman Sean Ordonez...




There's a good chance if you're reading this that you have owned one of the over 5751 boards (and counting...we just dropped off 2 more...;-)
that Eva has repaired to date...

She is an amazing person...some of you may not know her history...

She comes from a background as a yacht designer and boat builder...
Her very first commission, the 54ft "Sunset Blvd" , won the prestigious Transpac race in 1975 (Class A)...

She likes to "tinker" with wood...here is her modified "Wee Lassie"...







Eva loves to teach...her passion is sailing and windsurfing...but, she has also been bit by the SUP bug...



Eva will be introducing her epoxy wizard repair replacement, Josh Cohen...

Lot's of food and beverage will be provided as we celebrate and show appreciation for all that Eva has done for us throughout the last several decades...

Labels: Eva Hollmann, Santa Barbara standup paddle, the Boardlady