Messages

1

Downwind and Racing / Re: The Smokin' but Sometimes Fickle South Side Report

« on: December 01, 2014, 08:40:21 PM »

Have to admit, I got a little stiffy looking at this thing. That's okay, isn't it?

Yep. Question is, is it OK for me to get one over your board? That is one sweet, canary yellow flyer.

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Downwind and Racing / Re: The Smokin' but Sometimes Fickle South Side Report

« on: November 30, 2014, 09:42:24 AM »

Supdisobay on a fast track to Makena.

3

Downwind and Racing / Re: 2014 SIC Bullet 14 models

« on: August 01, 2014, 09:21:55 AM »

If you're looking for more of an entry level, learning to downwind board, you may want to check out the SIC F14 Wide Glide. At 30" wide this board is incredibly stable in all the conditions I've used it in, wind speeds and gusts at around 25-35, G30-35. I've paddled it on the North Coast of Santa Cruz CA and have done numerous Maliko's and a couple Kihei runs on the board. It never failed me, and is the definition of forgiving. When you outgrow it, it will be a board you can keep, using it for touring, fitness paddling, teaching friends how to SUP, having an extra board for friends to paddle, etc. In the month I used it on Maui it never dinged, no paint chips, just solid. I suppose the only downside is that it's a little on the heavy side. But that only underscores the board's durability. It won't be as fast as a Bullet if fast is what you're looking for, but I don't think you can go wrong with it as your first downwind board.

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Downwind and Racing / Re: Nuking Thursday downwinder vid.

« on: August 01, 2014, 09:03:48 AM »

Nice! Watched it on Vimeo for the full effect.

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Downwind and Racing / Re: Molokai to Oahu 7/27 -congrats Maui guys

« on: August 01, 2014, 08:56:45 AM »

I thought Connor's comments as written on his blog were pretty interesting from a firsthand, front runner's perspective. http://blog.connorbaxter.com/connor-baxter-wins-the-molokai-2-oahu-world-championships/

While you Maui locals know Connor well, I've never met him personally. But when I was there in June I kept "bumping" into him. Once at Costco, at Canoe Beach and finally at Maliko where he was SUP surfing the shorebreak on what looked like about a 12' longboard. After he was done ripping, he blew past us as we were paddling out and proceeded to charge out the opening right through the reef that everyone else stays "just to the left of". It was a display of the "next levelness" that always has me in complete awe of what is possible by some very few people in this life.

And to top it off Conner is probably the least likely to be picked in a line-up of world class paddle athletes. Tall, skinny and dare I say almost sallow of complexion, he just does not look the part. Amazing!

6

Downwind and Racing / Re: vote with your participation or lack of

« on: July 22, 2014, 06:11:32 PM »

I definitely see your point, and had I been on Maui (and registered for the race) I would not have paddled. But 100 or so people participated and that is no small number for the day in question. I have friends that successfully completed the run and no doubt it was an experience to be logged under "highlights of my life," etc. Yes, it was dangerous, but how dangerous was it? The potential was evident, but as far as I know, no one was hurt. It was a bold move to not only go forward with the race, but to participate. Some would say that over regulation is strangling the competitive spirit, on Sunday that was surely not the case.

7

Downwind and Racing / Re: missed M2M but did this

« on: July 13, 2014, 11:53:51 AM »

Your story makes me laugh. Couldn't help but substitute myself, my sons and my granddaughter in your places. Some things are just universal I guess.

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Downwind and Racing / Re: Is There Such a Thing As A Good Combo Downwind/Flat Water Racing Board?

« on: July 08, 2014, 08:56:29 AM »

There's a good discussion on this thread that adds to the dialogue.

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,24418.0.html

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Downwind and Racing / Is There Such a Thing As A Good Combo Downwind/Flat Water Racing Board?

« on: June 25, 2014, 10:07:43 AM »

Is there a board made today that is good at flat water paddling/racing and going downwind in legit conditions? Or, are these separate genres, requiring separate designs using specific elements particular to the purpose?

10

Downwind and Racing / Re: Rescue sunday

« on: June 16, 2014, 09:59:46 AM »

Kudos to all the rescuers for teaming up to save a life, which is what you almost certainly did. Butch, his son and I were (I think) the last ones out of the gulch from the shuttle and took an inside line to Kanaha. It wasn't nearly as wild and wooly as HM and SB's reports from the outside, but a lot of fun...all the while unaware of the drama taking place just a short distance ahead. Again, well done.

11

Downwind and Racing / Re: New dwd video Cape Town

« on: May 11, 2014, 06:22:17 PM »

Insane. Subscribed.

12

Downwind and Racing / Re: Olukai race day

« on: May 11, 2014, 06:14:35 PM »

If I was in your age group (and I am) I would be ecstatic. A truly fantastic result, just over the top. Mega congrats!

13

SUP Gear Reviews / Newly Acquired / On Order / Review: SIC F-14 Wide Glide vs. Angulo Shaka

« on: April 17, 2014, 08:26:57 AM »

It's been a weird Spring in NorCal. The wind usually picks up in April and the water temps are usually cold. Low 50's. It's not uncommon to get the windiest runs of the year in April. But not this April. That's the bad news.

But the good news is that things are looking better. A pressure gradient formed north of San Francisco and created small craft advisories and blustery conditions in the outer waters. It blew up a decent short interval wind swell and combined with the Salinas Valley thermal low served up 20kt. plus winds for the Four Mile to Mitchell's Cove North Coast downwind run.

We put the word out on the Santa Cruz Paddleboard Association Facebook page, and sent out an email blast the day before the run. Six paddlers showed up the next day at Mitchells for the shuttle up to Four Mile. This was the first of run season for about half of us (including a prone paddler) and everyone was pumped and stoked to be out there again.

Thanks to Scott at Covewater Paddle Surf in Santa Cruz for offering up the 2014 SIC F-14 Wide Glide (without A.S.S. active steering system) for me to demo. Covewater co-worker Keith knew a lot about the board and gave me a few pre-paddling tips that turned out to be right on. He also made a very good case for taking the FCS 10 inch Weed Fin instead of the stock SIC fin, so I did. I was skeptical at first because even though the fin is billed as a "kelp" fin, it's 10 inch depth had me concerned. But the fin has substantial rake and is very narrow with a thin foil, which finally made me more curious than skeptical. The fin is well constructed with carbon fiber and looks like it could take a beating, which at that depth it probably would sooner or later. The final selling point though is the fin shape itself, with that deep 10 inch depth and the narrow base carried throughout for holding the tail in and acting as a pivot point when maneuvering on the bumps, glides and waves of a downwinder. I was intrigued and I took it with me. I'm glad I did. In addition to the excitement of the first downwind run of the season, I was jacked to try the new Wide Glide and to see how it compared to my Angulo Shaka.

By the time we got our shuttle preferences in order and arrived at the highway-side lot at Four Mile the wind was cranking. Two person board offloading is a must unless you want your high value SUP peeling off and cartwheeling into 65 mph traffic on Highway One. We staged up in the field adjacent to the lot and paired up for the buddy board carry down to the beach. When it's windy, solo carrying a downwind board the third of a mile trail walk to the beach is a challenge few really want to accept.

A quick safety briefing and basic orientation to the paddle out, the reefs (and adjacent surf), and the kelp beds prefaced our launch at 2:32PM. Everyone paddled out in front of me and I was the last to hit the water. When the wind is pumping rarely am I able to hug the channel's north side kelp bed long enough to avoid the massive south side kelp bed. Today was no exception and even though I put in my first 500 strokes on the lee side of the board, I soon found myself losing the battle against the wind and side chop and heading for the kelp beds. No worries I told myself. This is a good test of the weed fin. It was.

The first thing I noticed about the F-14 was stability. This board is rock steady and handled all the side wind and chop the conditions and bumpy seas could throw at us. During this part of the channel, before you turn downwind, the swells are coming at you perpendicular to the board. So in addition to the choppy, wind blown seas, the paddler is negotiating the larger ocean swells. In this the board was perfectly stable. So far so good. This is a very comfortable board.

I was chomping at the bit to turn downwind but not before paddling through the last of the south of channel kelp beds. It's always helpful to have a like product to compare a current product with, and I had both fin and board to compare with the F-14. The Angulo Shaka 14 and the Angulo Sea Shaka fin. So far both board and fin were very similar to each other, and in the same basic camp and category. I didn't notice much real difference between the two fins paddling through the kelp. The Weed Fin (WF) caught a couple times but considering the thickness of the sea vegetation, it wasn't bad at all. Next test, downwind gliding.

Again the boards are very comparable and what I like best about both boards is their stability. Even though the boards are both 14 feet long, the F-14 is "larger" (and a bit heavier) with 298L of volume vs. the Shaka's 250L. But this just ensures the stability that is the primary feature of these two downwind boards.

This was my first run of the season and I should have been a bit rusty but on the F-14 I took off like a shot in the downwind bumps and proceeded to take full advantage of the wind, swells, glides and the F-14's progressive design. SIC has made a board that is both stable, and fast in the bumps. At least part of this can be attributed to the relaxed rocker overall. I didn't fall ever, and only came close once when I back peddled to pull the nose up and wobbled a bit on the narrower tail. To be sure, the Shaka is a bump catcher, but I like the way the F-14 "surfs" better. This is due I think to hard rails on the F-14 that start about a third of the way up from the tail. The Shaka has soft rails all the way around which gives it less bite in the wave face. The hard rail provides two advantages. One, when you have to surf the board on an actual nearshore wave, you've got a good surfing and controllable board under your feet. Two, the hard rail stabilizes the tail in crazy wind chop and keeps it from sliding out. Again, this is another rock steady feature of the F-14, along with it's overall paddling stability.

Another design element both these boards utilize is the pin tail. The pin vs. square tail is no match-up in my book as the pin tail is much less susceptible to multiple waves pushing the tail around at the same time. The square tail is less stable and more liable to slide out, or sideways on the bumps than the pin. The pin definitely enhances the board's stability in the kind of conditions you want to be in for good downwinders.

Getting back to the Weed Fin vs. the Sea Shaka fin the margin of difference wasn't noticeably dramatic. I would use either fin in either board and it would be all good I think. The WF seemed to also add to the ability of the tail to keep from sliding out and perhaps to give the board a pivot point off that long 10 inches of depth. I give both fins a thumbs up for sure. (The fin, like all fins these days, is expensive at nearly $100 (online) and if I get one, I'll throw it in the Shaka for comparison's sake. I'll update if and when that happens.)

I try not to let the hype all board companies claim about their boards influence me too much, but in the case of the SIC F-14 I found this bit of marketing to be pretty much right on.

"Building on a legacy of gliding and derived from the most winning open-ocean race
board, the F-16, this all new F-14 (14’0”) features, speed, glide-ability and stability that is
unmatched. With a focus on the less experienced paddler looking to find the perfect glide,
however, needing a shape that is more forgiving, capable of taking on sloppy seas and
giving the stability that allows one to get on glide and minimize fatigue, the F-14 brings
gliding to the masses and is also an amazing all-round fitness board."

So now we come to the two major points of difference between the Shaka and the F-14 as I see it. Price and availability.

Price. I have always thought that the SIC boards were expensive...really expensive. Some people (especially those into racing) are willing to pay what I call that "premium" price but I tend to be more of a value (aka budget) shopper and I'm not into racing. Fun and fitness on a durable high quality product that matches my skills and needs is what I'm after. At $2400 (online) retail, the F-14 definitely falls into the "pricey" category. When you compare that price against the Angulo Shaka at (online) $1400-$1600 (EST build) and $1600-$1700 (XLT build) you can easily see what I mean by premium price.

Availability. SIC has built itself into a proven powerhouse in all areas. Mark Raaphorst's
SIC designs are second to none worldwide. The company has chosen to prove itself in the competitive arena and more often than not, SIC comes out on top. They have built their business into a solid, profitable enterprise with a distribution system that ensures you can get a board just about anywhere in the world where SUP is happening. Check SIC's website for retail locations and if you're in NorCal or Santa Cruz, Covewater carries a full line of SIC boards and they have demos so you can try before you buy.

Ed Angulo is a senior shaper and one of the most experienced designers in the world of wind surfing, surfing and SUPs. Way back in the day on Maui, Mark worked for Ed. But today, Angulo Designs is the weaker business compared to SIC. Production and availability seem to be limited for the Shaka which is too bad because it's a great board at a reasonable price. Therefore, depending upon where you live, getting a Shaka could be difficult. Check the Angulo Designs website for contact info and availability.

Summary. Both boards will do what I want them to do. One is more expensive than the other. One may be more readily available than the other. Build quality appears to be very comparable. If you want the most red hot design emanating out what is arguably the most red hot, cutting edge company in the SUP world today and are willing to pay a few more dollars, then SIC may be your call. But if value is your most important criteria then you may want to chose the Shaka. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

14

Gear Talk / Re: New Board Delam

« on: July 10, 2013, 11:18:02 AM »

Bummer! I've never heard of an L41 (I've owned/own five) delaminating because of over sanding. Actually I've never heard of any board delaminating because of over sanding. Over sanding will create thin spots that are more susceptible to dings/damage in the fiberglas. Leaving it exposed directly to the hot sun for too long could do it though. Especially if the board is pigmented with a solid color. Even an opaque color will heat up really fast. If your board is hot to the touch then it's time to get it in the bag or the shade, whichever can happen the quickest.

Stretch does a lot of glassing and has got a very pro set-up with a top notch crew at his factory. They don't make mistakes very often. Not to say it couldn't happen, shit happens, but it would be rare. Hope you got your board back asap and didn't miss any good waves.

15

Gear Talk / Re: Simmons Inspired SUPs - The Debate

« on: May 28, 2013, 09:11:52 AM »

This post in is response to several earlier queries re The Original SIMSUP being available in Japan, or internationally, and the question...does Kirk know anything about it.

The Original SIMSUP has gone into production. Kirk knows all about it and worked with the company (that shall not be named) to ensure high quality boards built to his spec, etc. etc.

Not advertising here, or posting a picture just offering info. Everyone knows there's a website so if you want to know more check it out. (No link here, I'm sure you can find it.)