Archive for August, 2007
7 foot long stand up paddle board action !
Is short the future ? Will stand up paddle surfing go the same way as longboarding did when the short surf board revolution took the sport by storm at the end of the 1960′s ?
Who knows for sure, but the footage below will get people thinking.
Thanks to Ivan van Thanks to Ivan Van Vuuren from Extreme Sports Movies for bringing this to our attention. The action takes place on a 7 foot kids Starboard windsurf board in a 2 foot swell on Maui. Have a look and draw your own conclusions.
Boards Magazine SUP test.
Posted by SUP Matt in SUP Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:15 5 Comments
This morning seven South Coast stand up paddle board riders got together at West Wittering beach to try out the latest offerings from Starboard, Jimmy Lewis, Surf Tech and Mistral. We also tried out a lot of different paddles, C4, Quick Blade, Starboard and Mistral. Pete Shiplee, Tim Matthews, Matt Argyle, Andy Cooper, Simon Basset joined Boards Magazine writer Emile Kott and editor Bill Dawes to test out the Jimmy Lewis 11ft and 10ft, the Starboard SUP, the Mistral Pacifico and the Surf Tech Laird Hamilton. I think we all reached a general consensus about what to spend your money on, it was more a case of one particular board standing out because it was so bad as the rest were pretty good !
All in all a very interesting morning. Thanks to Simon Basset from 2XS for use of the lovely club house at West Wittering beach.
You need to buy the next issue of Boards Magazine to read what our findings were, but here are some pictures to whet your appetite.
New SUP DVD coming out in September 2007
Posted by SUP Matt in SUP Friday, 24 August 2007 08:04 No Comments
Ivan from Extreme Sports Movies got in touch about a new SUP movie coming out in September this year. I watched the trailer (below) and it looks really good, its more of a how to than a surf movie, but covers surf, paddle races, tips and techniques.
I think that this movie is going to do really well in the UK, no word on UK release and pricing, as soon as we hear we will let you know.
Surfboard hanger
Posted by SUP Matt in Retail Thursday, 23 August 2007 14:08 No Comments
We have just recieved this from the people at Global Surf Industries :
Klaus Buchmann had a revelation a few years ago – tired of his boards falling over and getting wax on both sides of them, he decided enough was enough and went about developing a device that would hang his surfboards off the ground using the board’s removable fin system. From Klaus’s handy work was born the Hang Up System. It is without doubt the biggest revolution in the merchandising of surfboards ever.
The storage and presentation of surfboards at the retail level is a challenge to say the least. With the Hang Up System the boards hang tip down this design allows for the boards to take up the most minimal space available. The hangers work on any hanging rail system, so surfboards can be merchandised in any part of the store, not just the board room.
Currently Hang Ups have been developed for the FCS and Futures fin systems with a Longboard Box hanger in development right now.
To allow the Hang Up System to be fully developed Klaus has entered into an arrangement with Global Surf Industries to manufacture and sell the product worldwide. “ I am super stoked to see my little invention being offered around the world. The feedback from everyone I have spoken to since I have developed the product has been fantastic. The deal with GSI is the icing on the cake for me, they have the infrastructure to make it happen quicker than I ever dreamed possible”, Klaus Buchmann.
GSI’s President and Managing Director, Mark Kelly said about the deal “ The merchandising of surfboards has been a real problem up until now. Many of the racking systems are expensive and cumbersome and they take up huge amounts of expensive retailing floor space. The Hang Up System finally allows retailers to have some flexibility. The retailers who are already using it love it and can’t imagine going back to the old rack type arrangement”.
To find out more about the Hang Up System go to www.surfindustries.com/hangups
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It looks like a really interesting product for surfshops and for people who have alot of surf boards and a space problem ! I would like to see the longboard hanger, but you would need alot of headroom to store longboards and SUP boards on this system.
UK Paddle Surfer joins race around New York City
Posted by SUP Matt in SUP Tuesday, 21 August 2007 13:41 3 Comments
Here are some name you will recognise from the surfing and stand up paddle surfing : Gerry Lopez, Joel Tudor and Darrick Doerner. All of them watermen and legends. You many not have heard of Olaus McLeod but you will. In April 2007 Olas paddled from Lands End to the Isles of Scilly and just to make it extra special he ran the Tresco Marathon while he was over there, then he tried to paddle back but the fickle weather defeated him. This week Olaus joined the surfing legends in New York.
If you were sitting in your office in NYC looking out of the window on Monday 13th August you would have seen a strange sight – a whole host of Stand Up Paddle Surfers, including the legends above, paddling in a race for 28 miles to raise awareness and money for Autism Speaks, Surfers Healing, NJCOSAC (which are all autism related charities and organisations) and Surfers Environmental Alliance.
A nice video of paddle around NYC is available on the Autism Speaks website.
Organized by the Surfers’ Environmental Alliance (SEA), the paddle around the island of Manhattan was an invitation-only, 28-mile paddle that included between 30-40 participants. Participants stood-up paddleboards and traditional surfboards, paddling the route either individually or as relay teams.
The overall winner was Joel Tudor, but when it is all for charity, who cares who wins.