Feature vids
Plenty of vid time this week. Here's the full CBS coverage of the Payette River Games to start with. Dave Kalama co-commentates.
Peace, love and pipeline surfing. Here's a short vid of
Gerry Lopez coming over all zen, interspersed with some fantastic sup surfing footage.
The last vid is set in Costa Rica and features four riders -
Dave Boehne,
Joe Carberry,
Nate Smieja and Costa Rican-native
Coco Sandoval - seeking out unexplored surf breaks around the country. Enjoy the 11 minute stoke.
www.mensjournal.com/adventure/out-there-a-story-about-feeding-your-soul
Competition
After State of Origin I don't know why I feel inclined to mention this (
), but the
Queensland SUP surfing titles are on this weekend on the GC - conditions look epic (and cold - suit up boys & girls). And don't forget, late August for the technical and marathon title races.
My bad. I'd mistakenly claimed last week that the last round of the
European Cup was going to take place last weekend, but it's not until the w/e of July 25-26.
So the main event over the weekend was the
Maliko 2 Kahului (M2K), aka The Poi Bowl of Standup Paddle Race. The course is a 15km stretch along Maui's rugged North shore, starting inside Maliko Gulch and finishing in Kahului Harbour (see below).
AndyR is running a thread elsewhere on the 'Breeze reporting on Australians competing in the Hawaiian downwind season, so that's a great spot for info and comments.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Aussies-in-Hawaii/ The great news was that Australian Matt Nottage came in second, splitting the two Hawaiians on the podium, Connor Baxter in first and Jeremy Riggs third. Fellow Australian James Casey also made the Top 5, while special mention should be made of Travis Baptiste (Hawaii), who placed sixth on a 14' board. Baxter must be shaping as firm favourite for M20.
First female home was Kiwi Penelope Strickland, second was Devin Blish (Switzerland) and third Lena Ribeiro (Brazil).
Here's a great shot of the two JP-sponsored riders at the race, James Casey (with
that board) and Vinnicius Martins (Brazil, 4th place). SIC have been busy.
Plenty of other Australians among the finishers, so here's a summary of their results. By all accounts it was a hard slog, so well done all.
The downwind season cranks up another notch this weekend with the
Maui 2 Molokai (M2M). The course is a 43km traverse of the Alohi/Pailolo Channel from Honolua Bay to Kaunakakai Harbor.
To get you in the mood for
M2M, here's the run with
Jeremy Riggs and some of his mates in wind gusts of up to 45mph.
US Urban Paddle Guide
Not new news, but a great idea nonetheless for those travelling in the US that deserves promoting - an online guide to paddling around the country. Established by SUP Magazine, it contains locally written summaries and insider tips for standup paddling in cities and towns nationwide. Contributors write about the best paddle spots, retailers & hire shops and other local advice.
www.mensjournal.com/ This week's number: 3
With reports of snowfall in Queensland (so hell can freeze over
), that Antarctic vortex is cranking. I thought I could tough out another Sydney winter with a pair of 1.5mm booties. But a few weeks back I returned from a long paddle and lost feeling in my feet for the rest of the weekend. So I picked up a pair of 3mm boots and now my feet are toasty as. Highly recommended.
Happy paddling,
SJKJ