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Since my elbow is out of commission for a week or so (long story – but lets just say the water quality in Dana Point might not be the cleanest) – I might as well write about SUP.

Next up on the “What Warren Thinks of a Board” list is the Starboard Surf Race 12’6″ – in the Brushed Carbon construction. (also available in the less expensive Epoxy construction.

I was fortunate enough to paddle a prototype of this board over a year ago – and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a production model in the spring.

I paddled the production version (serial #3) a great deal this summer (close to 200 km) – and it has become my absolute favorite flat water board.
It is 12’6″ long / 26″ wide and has a maximum thickness of 17.75″   Don’t think that the 17″ thickness is too weird.  Designed by Brian Szymanski at North County Paddleboards in southern California – the board takes after the open ocean prone paddleboards that have a larger nose to them so they will not get buried when they run into the back of the wave in front of the one you are riding down.
The 26″ width does take a little getting used to, and it is not a beginner board by any means – but as a board for speed / distance and a great work out – it is one of the best.
I really like the FCS fin box on the top of the  board – it can be used to mount almost anything.  From a GPS unit, to a GoPro.  Personally, I modified a bicycle water bottle cage and use it to carry extra water.
The board may not be the absolute fastest on glass calm water (the Starboard NEW holds that crown) but as a do “almost” everything – flat water board it is Awesome!  I have even been able to surf it – on downwinders, on “real” waves and even in the wave pool at West Edmonton Mall.

All in all – for lake and mellow river paddling (as well as ocean racing) it is a great / fast board.

Well since the weather up here in Canuck land is starting to head towards Snowboard season – I thought I would review some of the boards that I have paddled this past season.
For review sake – I am 200 lbs. (and falling) 5’8″ and 45 years young.
I have been SUP paddling for four and a half years.

Yesterday – Thanksgiving day – up at Lac La Biche, I had a great paddle on the Naish Javelin 14′.
This board is a missile (or maybe a Javelin, duh).  It is 14′ long x 26 1/8″ wide  x 5 3/4″ thick – giving it a volume of 284 L.
With all that volume it floats the “big boned” crowd just fine.
The Javelin is designed as a flat water board – either racing in the 14′ class – or as a great long distance board.  The board has a semi displacement hull shape with very rounded rails.  It has a very slightly lowered deck for  added stability and a small squared off tail for a nice release.
The rounded rails, the thickness and the narrow width do make for a bit of a challenging balance – but once up to speed the board settles down a bit.
The board does have a very high “roll rate” (the amount of “tilt” you can put on the board before it goes over) and was very easy to bring back to level after a “moment”.
As for speed – I managed a  top speed of just over 10.7 kmh in a sprint and had an average speed of 7.9 kmh over a 13.25 km paddle.
If you are looking to go fast / cover a long distance / get a great core work out – all on flat water – the Naish Javelin 14′ would be a VERY good choice.

Delmer and I have just returned from the Battle of the Paddle – California.  (Delmer won the all expense paid trip courtesy  of Quiksilver Waterman Collection at the Easy Rider SUP CUP race here in August).

All I can say is that if you are at all into SUP – You MUST attend this event sometime in your life (the sooner the better).
Held at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California for the third year in a row – Battle of the Paddle is two days of SUP heaven.
Part NASCAR, part Woodstock – it has something for everyone.

There were many different races through out the two days.  Saturday had the Elite course race with 158 entries.  This was a race in and out through the surf, with the competitors having to make a beach run of 75 yards in between each of their 5 laps.
The Elite Race was won by Danny Ching – who also won the BoP in Hawaii back in June.

Also on Saturday was the Open Age Course race with 341 entries.  This race featured the same beach start, out through the surf and then around a rectangle course of 1 mile – 5 times before heading back in through the surf and a final run up the beach through the finish.
I  managed to place 135th overall and Delmer came in a mere 6 seconds behind me in 137th place.  Pretty good for 2 guys from Edmonton!

Sunday was the distance race of 10 miles and had 181 entries.  The race had a water start – with a 5 mile paddle down to the San Clemente pier and back.
Danny Ching once again was the overall winner.  I managed a tiny bit of a lead on the turn around on Delmer and held it until the paddle back in though the surf where I got taken out by the white water (race boards are not easy to surf),  Delmer caught a bit of the wave and caught up – we hit the beach together and finished shoulder to shoulder.

Also on Sunday was the Relay event which saw 50 teams of 4 paddlers race 2 laps each in and out though the surf – with a beach run in between each lap.
The exchange area was a site to behold,  50 boards + 200 people + 200 paddles + shoulder high shore break surf = madness!
The final events of the day were a short and long course race for the groms.  The Short course had 24 entries and the long course had 28.

If you add up all of the entry numbers above, you will get a total of 932!   Yes – that’s right – almost 1000 people racing on SUP’s

In addition to the racing there were over 80 vendors set up on the beach displaying and demoing all the newest and coolest boards / paddles and other gear.
In between the races you could try out as many different boards as your arms would allow you to paddle.  At times there were over 20 people on one wave surfing in and having a great time.

I would like to thank Quiksilver for helping me to get there and to Starboard for lending Delmer and myself boards for the races.

I am thinking of putting together a trip to next years event – let me know if you are interested.