SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG

NEXT FREE SUP DEMO IS NOW SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 28...CALL OR EMAIL SHOP TO RSVP...


The Santa Barbara Cold Current ™ 9 Mile race from Goleta Beach Cove to Ledbetter Beach is ON!

For fast and hassle free online registration click here...

or go to the Santa Barbara Cold Current web site for snail mail-in registration docs, event summary and course map etc…..



All entrants registered by Midnight on Saturday, April 10, 2010 will get a limited edition California Downwind Race Series Hanes 90/10 Pullover

Free board and rider shuttle for the those who RSVP robert@blacksmithendurnace.com by Midnight on Saturday, April 19th...


The SB Cold Current has proudly aligned with The Friendship Paddle organization to be proceed recipients of the event, if you don’t know who this group is already, please take a look at their web site...


Stepping up to the plate to help set the tone for an awesome event is Honolua and Starboard SUP, these guys will be bringing cool prizes and swag!. Carpinteria micro brewery Island Brewery will be tapping some kegs for post race festivities. The post race meal proudly supplied by Santa Barbara’s longstanding and community involved SUP board and equipment store Standup Paddle Sports. Debbie and Wardog , founders and proprietors of Standup Paddle Sports, LLC and SurfingSports.com, Inc, helped arranged for Starboard SUP to donate a Classic Construction SUP racing board

ALL PROCEEDS generated from the sale of the raffle tickets for the Starboard SUP board will go directly to The Friendship Paddle Organization. Please stay tuned for information on how you can get some of these raffle tickets.

The Santa Barbara Cold Current race will also be the 1st of three races that have aligned to create the inaugural running of the California Downwind Race Series. The other 2 races are:

Malibu Downwinder, Saturday May 8th, 2010

The Akolu ABC to Cab, Saturday June 5th, 2010

The CD web site www.californiadownwind.com goes live on April 1st , 2010. There you will be able to learn more about what this series is about, how points will be issued for respective finishes. Gary Fortune will be crafting up some of his special ceramic artwork for prizes and Honolua is going to be spoiling the champs of this inaugural race series by sending them to……well you just have to with until April 1st to find out. Every paddler who starts and officially finishes all 3 events will be awarded a commemorative California Downwind Race Series belt buckle.

Stay tuned for more info...

Robert A. Gilcrest
Founder/ Event Director
Blacksmith Endurance Co.
robert@blacksmithendurnace.com

Labels: California Downwind Race Series, Santa Barbara Cold Current, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, The Friendship Paddle

NEXT FREE SUP DEMO IS NOW SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 28...CALL OR EMAIL SHOP TO RSVP...












It is not that common that a blue whale shows it's tail flukes before diving...
on this trip to the Channel Islands, I captured this sequence...



We were one of the early pioneers of standup paddling in the Channel Islands...

For more pics from this adventure...please click HERE......and, for even still more of this Santa Barbara Channel Island standup paddle adventure...click HERE...

Truth Aquatics - is your gateway to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands...thanks to Glen Fritzler and his staff fro this wonderful adventure...call or email our shop if you'd like to be added to a list of paddlers for an upcoming SUP trip to the Channel Islands...

Labels: Channel Islands blue whale, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, Santa Cruz Island, Standup Paddle

We've already addressed the WHY part of the SUP equation...in a nutshell,
SUP = FUN (x10*nth)...

If a picture is worth 1000 words...here's a million more reasons to standup paddle...;-)



We just had three days of 80* F weather last week...Spring has sprung!

Coming soon to an area near you...;-)

Everyday we get folks in the shop...and, phone/email...who have finally overcome their "paralysis by analysis" and have just thrown their trust to us for their big-ticket, standup paddle board acqusition, because at the end of the day you're gonna have to trust somebody...why not choose the country's first fully dedicated SUP store that is the market leader?...thousands of new standup paddlers have...we'll assist you in choosing the right SUP...the first go around...there is a dizzying array of boards on the market these days...so choosing a knowledgeable, honest, and friendly shop that is fully stocked with ONLY QUALITY products is the first step towards getting the right equipment, the first time...

OUR CUSTOMERS AND QUALITY ARE ALWAYS #1...

We are a year-round, full-time, standup paddle board company...rust never sleeps...
so neither do we...;-)

We have our thumbs on it 24/7...365..so you don't have to...

We are always on top (& outfront) of the newest trends and developments in the sport...it's our job to take our (& your) fun seriously...

Our staff are standup paddleboard specialists...we have been into it from the beginning and continue to be the industry leaders...you get what you pay for...so, if you want the best, buy from the best...we have the best value...best selection...and, most importantly, we offer the best customer service at no extra cost...good old-fashioned, "Golden Rule" business ethics...



You can find real value in the 14' Naish Glide in AST construction for $1599...

From production to custom...wave to fitness...race to touring...

Here's the finished product of the eyepopping, artisanal quality North Pacific SUP's coming out of the factory...we'll have the finished product in hand soon...we'll post up some high rez images in a few days...





The new Starboard blue Touch boards are the best value on the market...





Here are a few shots of the 11'2" Blend in blue Touch...special price of $1169...











It doesn't get more gorgeous than the TAC wood boards by Starboard...



Naish has over 21 boards in the lineup this year...we just got in the new 10' x 32" Naish Mana AST for $1249 and the Naish 11'4" Nalu in AST for only $1249...we're taking pre-orders for the 10' x 32" Mana soft top for $999...everybody needs one of these in their SUP quiver...



We also have the latest SUP offerings from Jimmy Lewis...Hobie...Blair...RRD (Roberto Ricci Designs)...Bill Foote Maui...and, Imagine...

You can pick your paddle board up directly from our conveniently located warehouse...here's Mike trying the fit of a 9' Starboard Fish in his Toyota Prius...







It's bigger brother, the 9'8" Fish is going to the Caribbean by boat next week...

If you can't visit our SUP showroom and warehouses here in Santa Barbara, no worries...we ship paddle boards direct from our paddleboard warehouses all over the world...here's a couple that we shipped to Seattle on Wednesday and they were in the hands of their new owner in less than 48 hours...

Our shipping department is unmatched in the board industry...







Double boxed and ready for shipping...

Labels: paddleboard specialists, paddleboard warehouse, paddleboards direct, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, standup paddle boards

When it comes to innovation and board construction technological advances...one company stands apart...Starboard...the world leader in board construction...

Some companies who have only been around for a couple of years are starting to play around with wood and sandwich board construction...why pay for their R&D?

Starboard has been producing the most durable sailboards in the world for over 15 years...sailboards are under way more stress than conventional surfboards...they have to survive speeds of up to 50mph...and jumps/loops to 50'...



Developed by Jean Louis Colmas in 1984, Wood Technology became Starboard's trademark construction since 1995. Starboard's production Wood boards then set the lead in lightweight sandwich technology, weighing in at a kilo under the competition, yet with higher impact resistance.

A sheet of 0.6 mm Australian pine wood forms the full outer shell of the board. Wood's unique properties are its natural rigidity, superior resistance to compression and higher energy absorption compared to carbon. It is the construction with the highest dynamic shape stability.

Click image to enlarge...



In the continuing effort to reduce weight and increase performance without loss of durability, Starboard is once again leading the way with the new wood/carbon technology...

A combination of a wood spine with ultra light, flat-weave carbon. The first board construction in the world to utilize an ultra light carbon fiber that is flat-weaved for total mechanical efficiency at half the specific weight.



I just received a new Starboard quadfin waveboard with this wood/carbon technology...

IT'S INSANELY LIGHT!!!











I expect this technology to trickle down to the Starboard SUP line...there is ongoing osmosis between the SUP line and sailboard line...this quadfin sailboard progressed because of the quadfin SUP's that Starboard has dialed in...

The World’s first Quad fin wave boards - more drive, more traction, the ability to generate more speed on the wave face, turn closer and tighter, ride more vertical with the ability to go where you want, when you want. When going out through waves, the Quads also help you to stay upwind better than single or twin fin boards, thus positioning you to catch more waves.

The Quad wave concept was born 2 years ago when Svein Rasmussen and Scott McKercher first started working with Quad fin setups on wave SUP boards, initially with single fin setups to thrusters and finally Quad fins. The unique fin size combination, with the larger fin in front and the smaller fin behind, as well as the exact fin box positioning, the fin foil/stiffness ratio and the fin box selection were the key in making the Quad concept work.

Quad action vid clip:



Quad technical discussion vid clip:





Scott McKercher: Something that I felt has been missing in wave boards is the ability to produce drive through the fins like a surf board. Singles and twins were all about the containment of speed and not the production of drive. The new Quads deliver the perfect blend of a smooth arc length when desired, combined with lightning acceleration through tight on rail snaps.




Svein Rasmussen: Experimenting with Quads has totally renewed my interest in wave sailing.

Tiesda You: For progressing wave riders who thought the Evo was a breakthrough in 2003, well the Quads are again another leap forward. On a wave face, they really do go where you want, when you want and then they’ll even generate more speed as you drive them through turns. Unbelievable stuff.

Question to Svein: is the Quad an innovation? “Some 12 years ago, our production Twister twin fin board was available worldwide, then suddenly in 2008 the twin fin concept was viewed as an innovation. Now in 2009 Starboard brings into production a totally refined Quad fin board and if bringing back twin fins in 2008 was viewed an innovation , then bringing in Quads in 2009 is truly an innovation which actually brings something NEW to wavesailing.”

Labels: Quad sailboard, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, Starboard quadfin sailboard, Starboard Standup Paddleboards, Starboard SUP

The 2009 North American Naish Summer Race Series Championship was held at Bonita Cove in San Diego yesterday...

The SUPsports paddle racing team did very well...

Rich Schroeder wins the event and a 14' Naish Glide...plus, a trip to Maui and an entry into the 5th Annual Naish Paddle Championship...a 9.54 mile race from Maliko Gulch...NICE WORK!!!





Adam Kirkcaldie, our newest staff member, takes 3rd...Adam is just getting going in paddle racing and is already showing great potential with his triathlete background...



Rob Graham takes 4th...he'll be moving up to the 14' class...



EJ came down and raced in the open class taking 1st...his new 23" wide Syzmanski worked great...



Brian Syzmanski...fierce prone paddleboarder...now piloting his standup creations...



Team rider, Andie Johnson, took 2nd place in the women's championship race...not bad for racing a new board and new paddle for the first time...

The board did feel very nice and stable for 25" width...



Prone paddleboarder Matt Friedman transitioning to standup paddle racing on one of Brian's new shapes...



Who da guy?...;-)



They're not all going to Maui with a free 14' Glide...but, they're a bunch of STOKED units, nonetheless!!!



EJ and MJ...two of my favorite humans on this planet...



Mucho mahalos to Naish for getting this classic grass roots event off the ground...

I'll have a gallery up in the next day or two...or whenever this killer swell dies down...;-)

Labels: NAISH 2009 SUP CHAMPIONSHIP RACE SERIES, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports

Just got the new 8'5" x 28" Starboard Tikis...





Waterkids, Connor Baxter and Zane Schweitzer have developed a board shape to suit their style and body size. The 8’5” x 28” is designed for waterkids looking for a quick learning curve.

It’s front section provides stability for paddling through the waves and the more stinger aft section offers acceleration, speed and rail to rail response. Despite its short length, it glides well on flat waters for light riders.

It’s tri fin set up provides plenty of directional stability to enjoy gliding down the rivers and over the lakes anywhere any time. It also rips behind a boat or on the Cable park. (MSRP $949)



Comparison shots of 8'5" x 28" Tiki and 8'5" x 30" Pocket Rocket...



Pocket Rocket is a quad...Tiki is trifin...



More pics in this GALLERY...

More comparison pics in this GALLERY...

Labels: kids SUP, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, Starboard SUP, Starboard Tiki