The third day of the first 11-SUP stedentocht was the most exciting up till now. Soon after the start, a leading group was formed, consisting of Mark Raaphorst, Bart de Zwart, Byron Kurt, Eric Terrien, Erwin Janssen and Xavier Terrien Masdevall Garcon. With an average speed of 9 km per hour they paddled in to the direction of Harlingen. In Harlingen they turned onto the Van Harinxmakanaal. This was the toughest part of the race due to choppy water and gusts of wind. Several paddlers hit the water. Nevertheless the lead group reached the finish line one hour before schedule. Xavier crossed the line first. Xavier: “I have paddled as hard as I could. During the race it is important to stay as close as you can to the leading man. Once you distance becomes more than 10 meters, you’re done.”
September 2.
The San Juan SUP Run
I am so stoked to have been able to participate in the First Annual Velauno- Pro SUP Run in the beautiful and exotic Puerto Rico , from the flat protected waters of Condado Lagoon to the challenging Atlantic.
31 Elite paddlers from the Virgin Islands, Florida, California, and Puerto Rico, were put to the test during this 7.5 mi. part lagoon and part open ocean challenge.
The start was 9:30 am sharp, and for once the start was clean, because the racers were warned if you jump the line you will be penalized 5 minutes.
We headed east for 100 meters and made a 90 degree right turn under the low highway bridge, and were greeted by some solid overhead surf.
I made it through no problem, but you had to be very careful not to cut inside of the reefs.
I was lucky to have had a great start with Puerto Rico’s premier waterman Adrian Garcia.
I let Adrian get in front of me a bit, so I could use his local knowledge to keep the right line.
It was so beautiful, seeing old historical sites and reefs, that are so alive and clean, it was tough to concentrate on paddling hard.
I was going good for about 2.5 mi., when the heat (90 F.) along with high humidity set in.
My lungs felt like I was inhaling concrete , it was so hard to get air.
I started to get a little dizzy and vertigo’d out, so I had to bring down the pace to 60% (around 40 strokes per minute)
One big mistake I made, was no hydration, typically I don’t use any for races under 10mi. Although this race should have been he exception given the temp.
The Island was blocking the South wind ,which is normally out of the East and would have made for the ideal downwind condition that my (New) Starboard 12’6×23.5 just kicks into overdrive, reaching up into the 8.5 mph range.
I finally reached the San Juan bay entrance, and was greeted by calmer waters and a cooling south wind.
At this point Adrian is about 75 meters ahead of me, and to his advantage on his Bark 14′ in the flat harbor water.
I was able to kick up my pace, but in a paddle board race, there is no such thing as “I’ll catch um later”
Once you let your competition get ahead of you, it’s almost impossible to catch them, unless they fall, or hit the wall.
We now were passing the docked cruise ships and million dollar private sport fishing boats.
I was still feeling the heat, so I quickly downed my last Hammer gel/with caffeine, and grinded out the last 3 miles.
It was definitely a long 7.5 mi. for me. I could see and hear Adrian hit the beach for the short spectator run, he was greeted with much Aloha and support from friends and family.
When I came in, I was Stoked that people I didn’t even know, were cheering me on, and telling me to run faster(which I couldn’t, but I played it off).
I high fived everybody, and headed straight for the turquoise water to lower my body temp.
I downed three waters and relaxed into a state of total chill.
I cheered on all the other guys and gals, while talking and letting folks try my board out.
All in all , I had a great race , winning the 12′ 6″ class , and 2nd overall in the Elite division.
My wife Andie, also enjoyed in a 1st place win herself, in the Weekend Warrior division on a borrowed board, but she remembered to bring her favorite Starboard carbon Wave model paddle.
The kids race was full of smiling faces, and also of young warrior game face.
We were settled in watching the kids go at it, when a giant wall of blackness envoloped the whole Island.
First, there was light rain, then heavy, now a full on tropical down pour with thunder and lightning.
In California, this would have immediately canceled the whole event, but Puerto Rican people just kept with the flow, hoping that it would subside.
Mother Nature had her own idea, and that was to keep raining.
The race director and Velauno shop owner Jaime Torres, told me by the time they finally packed up, there was two feet of water surrounding the tents.
It rained the rest of the day and all of the next day too, but I guess that is why P.R is so green and lush.
We had an awesome time there, and were shown much Aloha, by the locals, and especially Jaime Torres and the Velauno staff.
Definitely put this event on your calendar for next year It will be Bigger and Better.
Many Thanks to Svein, Margareta and the entire Starboard family.
Respectfully
EJ Johnson.
With a slowly increasing Easterly wind on the north shore of Maui, I thought it was a good idea to head back to the south west side again where I scored great waves yesterday together with Devin and Donna. (a big North swell wrapped around to the south-west side of Maui). The swell had dropped, but there were still fun ‘left over’ waves with at the end… as it seemed a new south swell mixing in…
The Tiki 8’5″ by 28 wide (Starboard) is my favorite board for in the waves. I love the feel of how light it is and how well it turns, because it is a lot shorter than your ‘average’ board (around 10′ feet).
Daida ( from the Canary Islands) and her boyfriend Rodrigo joined me. Daida is an inspiration for me in windsurfing as her jumps are sky high – strong – and fearless. Her wave knowledge is also ‘spot on’ from day 1 I saw her and her twin sister (Iballa) windsurf. Now she is here on Maui for ‘the windsurfing season’ and took some of her first waves on a Stand Up with great result (check pics below!). Rodrigo; a pro rugby player from the Canary Islands took his first waves surfing today. He also paddles his first meters on a SUP board!
As you can see, we took the waterproof camera out in the water with us and documented our session
Windsurf and Paddle Surfing Regatta at the Banana River Resort… SoBe Surf Training Center in Cocoa Beach, Florida Oct 30 – Nov 1.
“Its obvious after all my years of SUP instruction, that windsurfers pick up stand-up paddle surfing most naturally,…” says Girard Middleton… “We had some great sessions in the surf this weekend… good surf, good athletes and good vibes all around”
Great times at the Banana River Resort in Cocoa Beach (also SoBe Surf ‘s SUP Training Center) in Cocoa Beach, Florida for Halloween weekend. Good afternoon winds made for some fun windsurfing races out back in the Banana River Lagoon, while nice morning waves 
set the stage for super fun paddle surf sessions on SoBe Surf’s Starboard and C-4 demo quiver with professional SUP instructor Girard Middleton (www.sobesurf.com).
September 27th SUP Race in Key Largo, part of the Hobie/Liquid Surf and Sail Stand Up Series
Beautiful conditions greeted the competitors at Gilberts in Key Largo for the 6th race of Liquid Surf and Sails Hobie StandUp series. With many new custom boards, Keys locals and of course, Chip Bock and his 18ft Bark in the house, who was going to take the crown at this one?
Race director Jim DeSilva called for a very simple course….out and back around the lead boat, with around an hour run time. Had to be simple, as a large number of the competitors had partaken in some special “training” beverages the night before….no complications were going to be allowed today. Conditions were very flat, into the wind to start and downwind on the way back. At the start we had Chip out front right away, followed by Thad, winner of the Coconut Grove event, on his Creamsicle/Dreamsicle Carlin Custom, quickly into second behind Chip. Fresh out of his Miami garage was Dan Barrett, with his 12’6 hand laid proto machine featuring huge V-Bow, big well cutouts and a kayaky looking back end. Dan was powering on this board early, but ran out of gas to stay with the lead group….of course he had only paddled the board for five minutes previously, but he swears nothing but heavy training until the next event. But there was Jake Portwood, powering out behind Thad on his Ark Custom (tag team partner and fashion icon Roary was awol at this event, Roary….. we put you on the POSTER FOR THE RACE AND YOU DON’T SHOW UP, WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THAT?? Chris, please substitute that picture of BigFoot paddling on the Custom Ark for the next poster for the US Sailing Race event next month, thank you) who was following in the wake of the Dreamsicle. Top female rider Amanda was also right up front in the beginning as well, laying the smack down on all the other women right out of the gate. Jim DeSilva, on one and a half legs, on the Hobie FR-1, caught up to Portwood and thought he was going to pass him…..little did he know that Jake was lying in wait and pulled right behind DeSilva and DRAFTED him the whole way out to the turning mark…..literally bumping the tail of his board, usually separated by little more than 3-4 inches. With DeSilva doing all the work for this “team”, Jake easily turned the boat and left DeSilva in his wake, who was pretty tired from being constantly chased all the way out there and being pushed around by the Ark.
In the front the race was kind of boring…..Chip out front, Thad killing everybody on the Creamsicle, Jake dusting DeSilva, and then…that is where it got interesting. Amanda, Sam and some of the Locals were all battling it out. Sam eventually prevailed, coming in about a minute behind DeSilva which unfortunately was not enough to prevent him from hearing it all week about how Jim beat him on one leg (Sam works at Liquid Miami). One of the most impressive performances was turned in from new racer Fernando Martinez (10th place), who had never been on a standup board before (but he is National Windsurfing Formula Champion) and proceeded to power on the way back and take out experienced SUP racer Eduardo Owen. Eduardo said, “I could not touch him, he smoked me downwind….” same thing that happens when we race Formula Eduardo! Anyway, this guy will be a force when he gets it all sorted out, watch out for Fernando. Amanda dominated the other women in an impressive display. MaryAnne was second place woman on the Naish Glide and was seen trying many boards afterwards to get the edge for the next event……Amanda can paddle anything and win, as she proved at the last Fort Lauderdale event(she won on a rescue board), so this will be a tough mountain for any woman to climb, the girl can paddle.
OK, next event at US Sailing October 25th in Coconut Grove, looking forward to seeing all of you there!
Chip Bock—40:36
Thaddeus Foote—42:15
Jake Portwood—45:45
Jim DeSilva—46:32
Sam Cambron—48:50
Mike Metzger
Amanda Wilson
Etc., etc….
More info, www.liquidsurfandsail.com
Sep 262009
Starboard Steps into Liquid
With 3 locations around Florida, Liquid Surf & Sail has you covered for your SUP needs. They are the latest retailer to jump on the Starboard SUP program. I paddled with owner Jim DeSilva and his crew Sam and Julian the other night around the Shake A Leg marina in Coconut Grove. They experienced Starboard’s construction and design elements first hand and realized that Starboard’s line-up was a win for them as well as their customers. I mean, what retailer doesn’t want to offer the best SUP board?
My personal impressions of the paddle were 1. Julian’s paddle style rocks however “backwards” it appears, 2. Sam will be featured in GQ Magazine and Men’s Health with is new SUP Fitness program … He’s so Florida. You may also see him working with Corona promoting his “Loaded Corona” drink on a campus near you! 3. Jim’s “Peter Pan” youthful attitude confirms I’m doing the right thing if I want to stay as young at heart. 4. Our dolphin escort during the evening paddle is what it’s all about. Screw being on a huge boat sitting on your ass and missing their unique effect on your life … now where’s that manatee?
So go get your SUP happening with Liquid Surf & Sail. Visit them at these locations:
2482 S.W. 17th Ave., Miami, FL. 305-860-0888
158 Miracle Strip PKWY, Fort Walton Beach, FL 850-664-5731
2000 S. Federal HWY, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954-523-7778
Beach Boy Events is the first of its kind as a specific “SUP Sales, Promotion & Marketing” company that focuses on building a Brand’s sales in new markets.
Beach Boy Events serves as a contracted Sales, Promotional and Marketing partner to grow brands and increase product sales through retailer outlets while providing lasting and meaningful customer experiences through their “Make your STAND UP STAND OUT” demo events in any desired market. From Hawaii to New England, Beach Boy Events will increase your SUP sales!Please visit www.beachboyevets.com or contact Tommy Callan directly @ 808-250-3748 or email tommycallan@hotmail.com
Sep 182009
Dan Gavere introduces you to the Ultimate Guide to Standup paddling. Filmed and edited by Chris Emerick
Cocoa Beach Florida – I happened to hear about the National Kidney Foundation’s 24th annual Cocoa Beach Surf Company NKF Pro-Am Surfing Festival when in Orlando a few weeks ago.
It’s the largest nonprofit surf contest in the country and attracts thousands of spectators and lots of talent.
The event was started by Rich Salik, a Cocoa Beach resident and former professional surfer. The contest raises money for patients in need of kidney transplants or who are on dialysis.
This year’s event included a competitive SUP portion in addition to the regular format and Stand Up was well represented as you can see! (more photos to come!)
Traveling throughout Florida for Starboard SUP has proven two things to me. 1. There are really fun waves to surf in Florida and 2. Aloha is alive and well! Everyone’s friendly attitude and interest in SUP is amazing … of course, it could be the sick quiver of SUPs I’m toting. The Tiki and Stinger continue to be the most sought after boards to demo. Their smaller size and loose quad fin set up is perfect for the clean waist to chest waves rolling in.
The event will definitely be a stop on next year’s TOUR. For more information on surf fest visit www.nkfsurf.org and for more information on the National Kidney Foundation visit www.kidneyfla.org or call 800-927-9659
Beach Boy Events is the first of its kind as a specific “SUP Sales, Promotion & Marketing” company that focuses on building a Brand’s sales in new markets.
Beach Boy Events serves as a contracted Sales, Promotional and Marketing partner to grow brands and increase product sales through retailer outlets while providing lasting and meaningful customer experiences through their “Make your STAND UP STAND OUT” demo events in any desired market. From Hawaii to New England, Beach Boy Events will increase your SUP sales!
Please visit www.beachboyevets.com or contact Tommy Callan directly @ 808-250-3748 or email tommycallan@hotmail.com
Sep 062009
| September 3. Third stage, racing in the rain.
For the ladies – Anne-Marie Reichman and Donna Badome-Raaphorst – Anne-Marie finished 40 seconds ahead of Donna. Since Anne-Marie finished first at the previous days, she decided share her price with Donna. A sportive gesture since Donna and Anne-Marie have teamed up with each other during the previous days. Top 3 man – Stage 3: Workum – Franeker (45km)
Top 2 man – Stage 3: Workum – Franeker (45km)
Syp van der Ploeg and Bibian Mentel have participated from Harlingen to Franeker. It was their first experience with SUP. Both did very well and were very enthusiastic at arrival in Franeker. Syb: “It was a great experience. Stabilizing the board comes down to you legs. I think this sprt is a good workout. Next year I will definitely foin a whole stage.” Tomorrow celebrity participants Stephan van den Berg (Olympic windsurfing gold) will start in Franeker. He will participate all day. In Dokkum TV presenter Odettle Simons is present at the clinics at 20:00 ha.
The battle for second place of today was a fierce one. Bart tells: ” We were following Byron the whole day. We tried to help each other the whole time, but tat is not so easy as it is with cycling”. On the sporttrack on our site (link: Follow the tour live) it looked like Bart would finish second. But 10 meters before the finish he felt during a turn. Bart: “I had to steer a lot and loosed balance, these things can happen.” Bart de Zwart lives on Maui but only after sailing the world with his family for three years he felt in love with SUP-boarding. With success as he finished fourth today. The Start September 1. The paddlers started well, but with the tough southwest wind ahead the whole fleet got behind schedule. De fastest competitor Byron Kurt come into Sneek for a lunchbreak around twelve o’clock. There he had to take an official break of an half an hour for some food and drinks. Not unnecessary because you cannot eat that much when you’re paddling. After the break in Sneek the contender waited the greatest challenge near the finish in Sloten. They had to cross lake Sloten. That is tough with a full force wind ahead. Around 3pm Byron Kurt was the first to arrive in Sloten. We had a little chat with Byron just after his massage. “I was preparedfor the worst but I enjoyed it. Everything went according plan and now I have gained some time on Xavier. It was a constant battle with the chop and the wind. This is by far the biggest challenge I ever did. And we have 4 more days left. But the support of the spectators keeps you going.” Top 3: Etappe 1: Leeuwarden-Sloten The race finished nine and a half hours later. It was a long day on the water for everyone. Some competitors had to struggle a little harder, Donna Badone Raaphorsts board filled up with water in the strong wind and had to seek help from the support boats. Kevin Langeree was also supported by the boats but will continue to paddle tomorrow. The competitors are facing a tough challenge over the next few days with the 200 kilometers left to paddle. Stay tuned for more up-dates. Before Start We have caught up with the national representative and event organizer Anne Marie Reichman to find out more about the preparations and personal training for such a monster paddle. What drives you to organize an event like the 11 city tour? What has been the biggest challenge with the organization? Who is coming to the event? How did they get interested in the event? I am super exited to have a special mix of athletes at the start! From 14 years old to …. older (haha). This event is some what unusual and there is an instant draw to the enormous physical and mental challenge. Some athletes knew about the 11-City Tour and they feel this is THEIR chance to achieve this tour since ice skating might not happen any time soon. Other athletes are drawn to the adventure and being part of something new. Some athletes have never been to Holland and are excited to get to know the country from the water. What will be the potential difficulties for the competitors? How have you trained for the race? Who do you think is going to win? There’s day – winners each day. And then there’s the overall champ! We wish you Best of Luck Anne-Marie. Stay tuned for a daily up-date on www.star-board-sup.com |
Starboard Lives In SURF WORLD September 1 2009 Pompano Beach
With the Starboard quiver stacked, I rolled into what I thought was sleepy Pompano only to quickly realize that SUP was becoming an overwhelming obsession for many here.A fully stocked SUP inventory (Big Easys, Blends, Whoppers, Cruisers, Tikis …) and pure stoke will greet you at the door of SURF WORLD via owner Randy and shop manager Drew.
“Let’s go!” They couldn’t wait to get on the new boards I had brought! ( See more fun photos below )
A quick drive over the bridge brought us to Pompano Beach Fishing Pier. Calm, clear water with no wind would make it too easy for the experienced paddlers that were beginning to arrive with excited grins. Some having seen the line-up at the recent SURF EXPO show were ready to try’em out!
It quickly became apparent that this group was into the various aspects of SUP. Some were into the racing, while others into the wave riding. The 8′5″ Tiki Quad was quickly paddled in spite of the flat water. ”I can just imagine this on a head high wave!” says Rick. Others like South African local “Packett” spoke of the upcoming race on the 20th (which I’ll be back for) questioning Starboard’s PIN, K15 and Point. The “Point” having been the board under race winner Ekolu Kalama’s feet during the Molokai Oahu crossing speaks for itself. The PIN was of great interest to these sport racers and will prove a valuable asset as they kick each other’s and visiting asses.
As always hoped for, a group of bikini clad newbies arrived both excited and hesitant to try SUP. A quick verbal intro was all that was needed as a SUP gene seems to be in the local DNA here. They quickly balanced and paddled off to explore the newly arrived anchored catamaran. Such is life in Surf World.
Surf World is the place to go when you need to get your SUP on in Pompano. Randy’s made it easy for you with his 2 locations. Visit 435 South Federal HWY Pompano Beach (ph.954-545-7873) or 138 North Federal HWY at Dania Beach (ph.954-922-9056) or online at www.surfworld.us for the latest info on races and sales!
See you again on the 20th for the South Florida Paddleboard Championship
Aloha,
Tommy more info: http://www.beachboyevents.com/
“Miami Defends Biscayne Bay” A very high quality of paddler showed up for the fifth race of the Hobie SUP series, which is sponsored by Liquid Surf and Sail of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Previous winners Packet Casey and Roary Kam and top female participant Helga Goebel were all in attendance….and all from Fort Lauderdale. With local paddlers Tyler Bixby back in school, Jim D. on the IR, and Rafael Sanchez out buying another custom Joe Bark, it was up to Thaddeus Foote, and the Law Firm of Eduardo and Eduardo to battle the FTL contingent and try to defend the homewaters of Biscayne Bay. Two events ago, in the marathon 7.5 miler from Shake A Leg up the Coral Gables Waterway, DeSilva had barely withstood an onslaught from JP Perez, another FTL paddler, to take victory in 12.5 and down….but now the big guns were here. Thad had been working in top secret on a new custom shape which he busted out for this event….after watching the craziness of the last event (Roary on a BeBop, Amanda on a rescue board, etc.) it seemed like a lot of people had gone back to the drawing board. Roary came with a new Ark Prototype, Eduardo busted out an Open Ocean 14’ Naish 2010 (courtesy of Liquid), and Thad had the “ Creamsicle—Dreamsicle”. Sort of looking like a hard railed version of DeSilva’s Hobie, it sported a little flatter rocker and a little less volume…and it weighed a TON. So this was going to be an interesting comparison of a lot of different styles of boards in dead flat butter water without a drop of wind….the definition of flat water paddling.
Start was off the dock at CGSC, and the fleet was away, straight towards the Coral Gables Waterway. Early on it was Thad, Packet and Roary (no big surprises here) with Helga in 4th and Big Stud Josh Sampiero on one of Dan Barret’s rental Aquglides from the stand up concession on Key Biscayne/Hobie Beach. Thad was stroking and posing a serious challenge to the Packet/Roary combo platter, which is normally always in front. At the entrance to the Waterway we had the same positions, with maybe twenty yards between the 3 of them. Roary dropped back some, perhaps to see if Octopussy was on the James Bond boat that was moored halfway up the waterway. She was not but Denise Richards was, but everybody knows she is flat out crazy, so Roary just gave her the courtesy wave as opposed to introducing himself. She was smoking hot back in the day though, you can’t deny that, but her playing a nuclear engineer was really stretching the boundary of believability, even in a James Bond film…. come on, that was just too much. But as they approached the LeJeune Rotary, he had closed it up and was within striking distance again. Hitting the Turbo Button at the last minute, Packet rounded right in front of Thad at the turning mark, hoping to take advantage of the favorable current on the way back. But shortly thereafter Thaddeus, driving his version of a ten-second car, hit the nitrous button and got by the burly bald guy, emerging from the Waterway with about a 20 yard lead. Roary was at about 50 yards back, with Helga not that far behind Roary, so this was a pretty good piece of paddling on her part. Observing technique from the boat, Jim noted that Packet was easily putting the paddle in the water 25-30% more often than Thad but it did not seen to be paying off….Thad’s power stroke was actually increasing the lead on the Creamsicle, which once it got up to speed just seemed to be motoring real nice in the butter, perhaps due to the lead in the bottom, it took two people to get this board to the water. Meanwhile, Big Magazine Stud Sampiero had caught Helga and passed her in the last mile or so, and the two Naish Glides were battling each other behind these guys.
So there you had it, with Thad finishing First on the Dreamsicle Proto, Packet second, Roary third but first in the fashion contest as he had his shorts perfectly matched to his board, Big White Magazine Stud Sampiero 4th, Helga 5th, and the Doublemint Twins of Sam and Eduardo, both on Naish Glides and both with the same tan, same hair color and both with red shorts, coming in like little and big brother….one of them actually dates the Colombian Pop Diva Superstar “Jery” (http://www.myspace.com/jery), see if you can guess which one from the photos. The rest of the field came in around ten minutes behind these guys for a very good event that was quite competitive. Oh yeah, Eduardo came behind Eduardo but we kind of expected that.
Good job, and thanks to CGSC for being very gracious hosts, boat drivers Anita, David and Susan, and we look forward to seeing all of you in Key Largo at Gilberts on September 27th for the next big SUP throwdown in the Hobie Stand UP Series!
—Liquid Surf and Sail Staph Writers
Times: (Top Ten)
Thaddeus 1.05.10 (On the Creamsicle)
Packet 1.06.05
Roary 1.07.37
Josh 1.11.41
Helga 1.12.25
Sam 1.16.18
Eduardo Argentina 1.17.38
Eduardo Brazil 1.19.08
Bill 1.22.10
Miguel 1.25.40