Cocoa Beach SUP

[sethch]

I'll been temporarily moving to Cocoa Beach, FL for business for 7 months.
I thought while I was there I would take up SUPing since I'll be staying right on the Banana River and will be 1200 feet from the ocean. I have been SUPing a few times and picked it up fairly quickly as I have surfed and snowboarded for years. I was wondering if anyone had any info on local board shops, meet ups or just anything I should know about SUPing in the area.
Thanks!

[madmax]

There's alot of paddling in that area.  I'm a coupla hrs NW so I'm not real familiar with the local shops.  I'm sure you'll get some more help here in that direction.  If not I'll do some checking in a few days and get back to ya.  I'm sure you'll have no problems getting out on the water as much as you want down there.

[Dwight (DW)]

I'm on vacation there now. The local kitesurfing and windsurfing crew are into it.

321 kiteboarding has boards. Calema windsurf at Kelly Park has some too.

The largest selection I've seen is the Longboard House in Melbourne. They have tons of boards.

Photos of our week in Cocoa Beach here http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/

You're moving to a water sports wonderland.

[Dwight (DW)]

, meet ups or just anything I should know about SUPing in the area.
Thanks!

Don't surf at the pier.

Cherry Downs Park is a better choice. Newbie SUPs and kitesurfers often go there. When the surf is good, the spots not to go are obvious. You'll see lots of prone surfers in the parking lot. Cocoa pier, Patrick AFB. etc.

[jdmotes]

 Sounds like a 'killer' trip for you guys, D-Dub. Still in rubber a few hours north of you here in J-Ville. Enjoyed reading the blog, too... Thanks and paddle on,   JD

[jwcb]

sethch,

If you're looking for flatwater paddling then there is endless exploring available on the Banana River and Indian River lagoons and among the Thousand Islands.

If you're looking for waves then there are miles and miles of beaches and it's not too hard to find a spot that's not too crowded.

Surprising (to me anyway) is that most shops in the area have very limited SUP gear.  When I broke a paddle last summer I had to go to 4 shops just to find a new paddle and they only had a single paddle in the entire shop.

Girard at Sobe Surf (sobesurf.com) has a SUP operation on the river and just across from the beach in South Cocoa Beach where you can demo a number of different boards either on the river or in the ocean.

There are some formal SUP events (races and wave competitions) at some of the surf festivals - here's one coming up - www.eastersurffest.com.  There are also some more informal demos/races from time to time put on by different shops/organizations.

Enjoy!

 

[sethch]

Wow, thanks for all the great info!
I'll be out there to launch a spacecraft at kennedy space center so hopefully I'll have some time to browse the surf shops for gear.

I have kind of a strange question for the florida locals...are alligators a concern for flatwater SUPing on the banana river? I'll be staying 30 feet from the banana river so that's probably where I'll be spending most of my time. You'll have to forgive this california boy if it's a stupid question:)

[808]

Don't surf at the pier.
When the surf is good, the spots not to go are obvious. You'll see lots of prone surfers in the parking lot. Cocoa pier, Patrick AFB. etc.

I am coming back to Melbourne in a couple of months have not been home in years. Is their tension between the SUP and prone guys like here in Hawaii and California.

[madmax]

I have kind of a strange question for the florida locals...are alligators a concern for flatwater SUPing on the banana river? I'll be staying 30 feet from the banana river so that's probably where I'll be spending most of my time. You'll have to forgive this california boy if it's a stupid question:)

Don't sweat the gators. 

[Dwight (DW)]

Don't surf at the pier.
When the surf is good, the spots not to go are obvious. You'll see lots of prone surfers in the parking lot. Cocoa pier, Patrick AFB. etc.

I am coming back to Melbourne in a couple of months have not been home in years. Is their tension between the SUP and prone guys like here in Hawaii and California.

Stop by the Longboard House and ask. They have probably 20-30 SUPs in stock.

The largest SUP operations I've seen are http://www.progressivesports.com/ and http://www.longboardhouse.com/ Both shops have at least 20 good quality SUPs on the rack and top paddles in stock.

[jwcb]

RE: gators, I'm not an expert, but I've been told that you don't need to worry about them in the river/lagoon/canals because they much prefer fresh water.  I've never seen one on the river/lagoon/canals, but I've seen lots of manatees and dolphins and even the occassional stingray/horseshoe crab.

RE: vibe w/ prone surfers, everyone I've run across in the last year has been very mellow and friendly, but I haven't tried going to any of the hot spots (pier, inlets).  I prefer to avoid the crowds and will typically paddle down the beach a couple of minutes to get away from the crowd of 3 or 4 that sometimes gathers nearby.   

[808]

Thanks jwcb, I was just wondering. Fond memories of that area what a great place for SUP and a litte fishing.