Messages

1

SUP General / Re: Sunova Search - video of my sessions

« on: December 01, 2017, 03:37:27 PM »

Great video!  Sweet right break!

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Training, Diet, and Fitness / Re: Prone paddling a raceboard

« on: December 01, 2017, 12:37:17 PM »

Interesting topic.  I have the opposite problem.  When I paddle SUP I have back / shoulder pain and prone I don't.  I've been surfing for 40+ years and although I can't arch my back like I used to, prone still feels more comfortable to me.

I've thought about buying a dedicated prone paddle board but they are hard to find and when you do they're expensive.  On the other hand, SUP race boards pop up on Craigslist pretty often.  I saw one for $400 recently.

Besides the carry handle, I think some SUP boards have deck depressions for feet which would make paddling prone extremely uncomfortable.  You'd also have to use a board that wasn't too wide or high (thick).  Paddling a wide board would become tiring pretty quick.  My longboard is 11' x 24" wide and that's comfortable for me (I'm 6'5").  I think most SUP race boards tend to be about 28" wide which might not be as comfortable (although I haven't tried it).

For neck/back pain, stretching/exercises should help and maybe put a foam chin rest on the board.  You see that on a lot of prone paddle boards.

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SUP General / Re: Know anything about surfing in Wrightsville NC?

« on: November 17, 2017, 04:25:10 AM »

>50 doesn't sound so bad.  Our water gets down to 56 in the coldest part of the winter.

Like I said, it all depends on what the ocean currents are doing.  I wouldn't count on water temps not dipping into the 40's or 30's.  It happens.  North of Cape Hatteras it's worse.  And besides water temps, don't forget the air temps can get very chilly.  Tonight it's going down to the 30's.  We've had it down to the 20's.

When I first moved here (directly from Hawaii) the locals all told me it never snows on the banks.  Well that winter we got 6 inches.  When I asked those same locals what was up they said it was a freak incident.  Last time we'd see snow for another 20 years.  Well the next winter we got 12 inches.  Last winter we were lucky and we didn't get any snow.  But one thing I've learned about the weather here is that you can't count on it doing what you think it will do.  NOAA is forecasting a warmer, drier winter than normal.  How much you wanna bet we get hammered with snow? 

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SUP General / Re: Know anything about surfing in Wrightsville NC?

« on: November 16, 2017, 12:28:42 PM »

Yup.  Very few breaks in SoCal or Hawaii are ride-able by mortals because they are so crowded elsewhere.  I've lived here, off and on, for over 10 years and the crowds have doubled in that time.  Still not as bad as back west, but not as good as it was 10 years ago.

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SUP General / Re: Know anything about surfing in Wrightsville NC?

« on: November 16, 2017, 09:24:45 AM »

> Any chance of ridable surf there in February?

Sure.  We get surf every month of the year.  But the water and air temps can be brutal.  Coldest I've ever gone out was when the water and air were in the high 30's.

> How much rubber will I need to wear?

That's up to you.  I've seen guys go out in trunks during February.  Right now the water is around 58 and I'd go with full 3mm and booties.  I also have a 4/3, 5mm booties, gloves and hood for later in the year.

> Typical water temps?

Coldest I remember was around 39 and warmest was over 80.  Keep in mind that offshore the water temp never dips below 60 so coastal currents change the water temps here pretty quick.

We get way better surf and wind than Florida for 10 months out of the year.  We can be in trunks for about 7-8 months.  We don't get much snow but when we do it usually lasts a day or two.  Crowds usually aren't too bad (except Wrightsville and a few other spots which can get pretty busy).  It's a pretty good compromise.  Most locals head South sometime during Jan/Feb.  Hard core surfers head to Costa Rica and wimps like me go to Florida.

> Wilmington/Wrightsville had a nice vibe to it, at least off-season.

Peak season is Summer and Wrightsville gets pretty crazy then.  But nothing like California or N. Shore Oahu.

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SUP General / Re: Know anything about surfing in Wrightsville NC?

« on: November 16, 2017, 07:26:17 AM »

For what it's worth, my comments about the food, restaurant and locals was in reference to the coastal towns along the NC coast.  Big cities (like Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte) are a completely different bird.

As for Hatteras being a long drive, it sure is and it's worth every bit of effort it takes to get there.  I'm 4 hours south and they get much more consistent waves in size and quality up there.

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SUP General / Re: Know anything about surfing in Wrightsville NC?

« on: November 16, 2017, 04:11:46 AM »

I live about an hour north of Wrightsville Beach and moved here after living in Hawaii and San Diego.  What do you want to know? 

I think the biggest differences you'll need to get used to are probably:

1.  We get all 4 seasons here.  Summers are hot and winters are cold.  January and February are just down right unbearable, so plan a trip South if you can.

2.  If you want waves you'll really need to pay attention to the weather and tides.  We can go weeks without waves.  Hurricane season is when we get our best waves.  It's all beach break here so a spot that was epic last week might suck this week.

3.  This is the South.  Chances are the guys you surf with will be Trump supporters and chain smokers.  Seriously.  I still crack up when the locals in the lineup paddle in for a smoke break.  Forget about good Mexican or any other non fried, non 'merican foods here.  Wrightsville isn't as bad as elsewhere in the state, but it's nothing compared to Cali or Hawaii.

4.  We've got lots of sharks.  I've seen more sharks in a single summer here than during the entire 30+ years I lived in Hawaii and California.  Fortunately, there's also tons more fish in the water here so sharks typically don't pay much attention to us.

5.  Wrightsville might be the closest beach to Charlotte, but the best beaches in the state are further north on Hatteras Island.  I had an absolutely epic day there a couple weeks ago.  Water was still warm, light offshore breeze, and super clean conditions.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

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Gear Talk / Re: Surf oriented iSUP's?

« on: November 20, 2016, 10:20:03 AM »

@JimK - You're absolutely right.  The Avanti was the only board I could actually paddle (as I'm such a klutz).  The Stubby Inflato sounds good.  I'll probably try paddling it prone.  It's only a couple inches wider than my Blair "big guys short board".

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Gear Talk / Re: Surf oriented iSUP's?

« on: November 19, 2016, 03:20:11 AM »

Some really good options here, thanks!  I'm a very big guy (6'5" tall, 250 lbs) and my SUP is pretty huge (11'x36") so I might use one of these for prone surfing while traveling.  That Fanatic Stubby Air is pretty close to the Joe Blair "big guy shortboard" I ride.

@JimK - Is that Fanatic Stubby Air stiff enough for a heavier guy to ride?  Or will it flex too much?

10

Gear Talk / Surf oriented iSUP's?

« on: November 16, 2016, 05:20:58 PM »

I hope to do some travel next year and won't be able to take a "real" board.  Any surf oriented inflatable boards people have tried and would recommend?  Only one I've found on the net is the Red Paddle Whip.  Any others out there?  How well do they work in surf?

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Wind Powered / Re: Do you think Windsurfing is making a comeback?

« on: February 03, 2016, 08:17:09 AM »

Still OT but there's also a less techy way of towing a snowboarder...  Skijoring...

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Wind Powered / Re: Do you think Windsurfing is making a comeback?

« on: February 03, 2016, 03:20:15 AM »

Sorry, windsurfing, part II, the return is going to have to wait. Drone snowboarding is the new thing...
   

We're way off topic, but since I work with some guys in the industry I thought I'd just say that, although I think it's a cool idea, making a drone to tow a windsurfer/kitesurfer would have some huge challenges to overcome.  Way easier to design/build a quadcopter to tow a snowboarder.

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Random / Re: Cheap Electric fatbike

« on: February 03, 2016, 03:15:43 AM »

My bikes generally look so weird that no one messes with them.

Your last build looks pretty trick, I would think it would be the first bike to get nabbed.  Maybe Maui is better than Oahu?  Got a buddy who uses rattle can paint to grunge up his $10K carbon bike.  Helps, but they still get stolen. 

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Wind Powered / Re: Do you think Windsurfing is making a comeback?

« on: February 02, 2016, 03:42:04 AM »

^ you crawl into the [upside down] kite.

Not fun and you sure aren't going to re-launch this way but you are very visible above water and from below you look huge. Standard operating procedure.

This is what the poor fellow who died in Florida did.  The story as I recall was that the kiter crashed during a jump and before he could relaunch a shark bit him.  Unable to rescue himself, he swam to his kite and layed on top of it to stay afloat.   A lifeguard on duty realized the guy was in trouble, paddled out and tried to tow him in.  But since the kiter, at that point, was tangled in the kite lines, the lifeguard had to tow both the kiter and his kite.  By the time they reached the shore the kiter had lost too much blood and expired.  Really sad story that could have happened to anyone.

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Wind Powered / Re: Do you think Windsurfing is making a comeback?

« on: February 01, 2016, 05:03:51 PM »

All my windsurf buddies defected to kites.... and except for one really bad loop attempt gone very wrong (where the windsurfer literally broke his neck), the only injuries we had were cuts from oyster shells or or the like....and ok...one broken leg...but that guy was old with obviously brittle bones. I was passing him about 10' to windward and his leg just snapped like a twig the way out to our outer reef.

Back to the point... these guys I had windsurfed with for over a decade all the sudden started really getting screwed up. Broken bones, screwed up backs, shoulders, knees...and can't forget the guy in Stuart who was killed by a school of Bull sharks when the wind died a bit an he couldn't relaunch his kite. I mean where do you go? That kite board sure insn't going to give you any way to get even partial out of the water... When kiters water start in marginal wind they look like premium live bait...not that it's that much better dangling beside a windsurf board trying to pump yourself up in marginal conditions...But hey even a sinker (windsurfer) would be much better than a kite board in those circumstances...

My experience and thoughts are almost identical to yours.  I once attempted a long distance trip via windsurfer along the north shore, Oahu.  About half way (and in the lee of one of the smaller islands) I fell into a group of portugese man o' wars.  My hands and arms were badly swollen but was able to eventually paddle/sail back to the beach.  I had a fairly floaty board at the time.  Had I been on a kiteboard it might not have ended as well for me .  With all the shark attacks here last year, I kind of like the idea of being able to sit on the board, out of the water, if my rig breaks.

Incidentally, I met and kited with the fellow in Stuart a week before the shark attack.  Very nice guy and a very sad story.  I was only there for a couple of days but definitely saw signs of shark activity while I was there.