Messages

1

SUP General / Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....

« on: March 28, 2019, 09:53:52 AM »

The two hardest things I've ever done : 1) racing my 14' board out through the surf at the Salt Creek BOP; and 2) Racing upwind in heavy chop in last year's PPG.  As hard as it is to train and "compete" (I've never even been in the top half), it sure has been fun racing every year.  I'll miss it.

2

SUP General / Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.

« on: October 16, 2018, 01:46:17 PM »

I love every part of the pro surf races.  I love the preliminary rounds where all the action is in the middle of the field with the racers on the cut-off bubble.  I love the finals where lead changes are commonplace and waves bring the field together (or launch the leader).  I love the buoy turns inside the surf zone.  I love the drone-footage.  Etc. etc.   It’s too awesome to give up on it even if it is in decline.

3

SUP General / Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.

« on: October 08, 2018, 02:48:02 PM »

I raced both days and this is my fourth Battle/PPG over the years.  I liked this one the best.  As an Open division racer (and not a good one at that), I did not feel like a second-class citizen.  Everything about this year's event was awesome.

After the open race each morning, I headed to my hotel and watched the pros on-line.  The coverage on-line was so much better than what you could see from the beach.  If they had a big screen with the drone footage, I would have stayed on the beach.

The event seemed well attended.  Certainly not as big as past years, but not small by any measure.  One advantage of the smaller crowd size: parking.

My wife asked if we could come back every year and she doesn't even compete or know any of the big names.

4

Downwind and Racing / Paddle Blade Coatings for a Race?

« on: September 18, 2018, 06:21:21 PM »

So obviously putting a teflon or other slippery coating on your race board is fast, but what about the paddle?  Does it make any sense to coat a paddle?

I have no engineering background at all so this is probably a dumb question.  My uneducated thought is that, no, you do not want to make your paddle blade more slippery.  Any advantage you would get in sliding the paddle in and out of the water would be lost when you are powering through the stroke as the paddle would be more included to feather side-to-side. Do I have that basically right?  Does anyone apply coatings to their paddle blades?

5

SUP General / Re: Pacific Paddle Games at Doheny this weekend..question

« on: October 02, 2017, 12:50:05 PM »

I'm still working my way through the videos of the racing, but at one point they mentioned over a million viewers watching on-line.  That's a huge number isn't it?  I assume that doesn't even count me because I wasn't watching live.

Also, does anyone know why Kai Lenny wasn't racing?

OK, final thought: the top guys in the "Open" division are pretty much pros.  I'm not a fan of guys (and girls) who belong in the Elite division poaching trophies from the amateurs. 

6

Random / Re: Cheap but watery places to live

« on: April 27, 2017, 11:34:19 AM »

I second the recommendation of Eastern Virginia.  My brother is a school teacher outside of Wake, VA.  He lives on a huge farm right on the Rappahannock River which feeds out to the Chesapeake.  So cheap!  So much water!

7

SUP General / Re: SanO SUP Discrimination

« on: August 26, 2016, 10:23:42 AM »

I must be missing something.  I don't see their response as discriminatory.  They apologized for taking time to respond to your request; they discussed your request with multiple entities and concluded that their business (Surfline is not a government entity) is better served aiming the camera at Old Man's -- but still agreed to try to swing the camera a little further south for you.  Where's the beef?

8

Sessions / Re: Reasons to Love the Dawn Patrol

« on: June 20, 2016, 09:24:31 AM »

I love going from "why the F do I do this?!" when the alarm goes off and I pull into the parking lot while it's still completely dark to "I F-ing LOVE this" when I catch a wave at first light.  It is always worth it.

9

Foil SUP / Re: Kai Lenny Downwind SUP Foil

« on: May 02, 2016, 11:21:14 AM »

Mind blown. 

Imagine a retractable foil so you don’t carry the drag upwind but once you reach a downwind leg, deploy that thing and off you go.  This could change a lot of things. 

10

Downwind and Racing / Re: San Diego Hanohano

« on: January 27, 2016, 09:35:51 AM »

They have the start pretty well sorted out now.  Everyone started off their boards in "knee deep water."  If you went in deeper, which people were bound to do, you didn't get as good a push off the bottom at the start so there was no real advantage.  It was a fair start.

As for the timing and course length, the surfskis and OCs started 5 minutes ahead of the SUPs so I think you can take 5 minutes off of the SUP results which may account for the "slow" SUP times.

11

Blue Planet / Re: Got two minutes to check out the 2016 Blue Planet models in action?

« on: January 27, 2016, 09:29:28 AM »

I was thinking about something different when you said "models in action."   

12

Downwind and Racing / San Diego Hanohano

« on: January 25, 2016, 04:21:32 PM »

I’m a little surprised there is no mention here of the Hanohano race in San Diego that took place yesterday.  It was an amazing event – and that is coming from someone who is terrible at racing (I’m awful).  I did no training whatsoever and finished quite deep in the standings, but from a purely participation perspective, it was a great race.  I would encourage anyone within driving distance of San Diego to participate next year.

Anyone else do it?

13

SUP General / Re: PPG

« on: October 15, 2015, 04:48:02 PM »

So apparently, in road bike racing, when a female who starts behind you passes you on the course, it's called "getting chicked."  I've never raced road bikes, but I got majorly chicked this weekend.  Those females whipped me.

14

SUP General / Re: PPG

« on: October 12, 2015, 11:17:52 AM »

I loved the Pacific Paddle Games! 

I came to the event in the physical shape of your typical attorney with a head cold who had just worked two 80-hour work weeks in a row.  My expectations for my performance could not have been lower and I still did worse than I ever thought possible.

We arrived at the beach super early and snagged a great parking spot.  The people parked near me were super friendly and you could tell everyone had the same apprehensions about the swell I had.  Huge sets were rolling in and we all knew we were going to get worked at some point.  A lot of people were talking about sitting out, but I saw all those same people out on the water, so I think everyone tackled their fears.

The open race was early, so as soon as I had the wife and kid situated, I headed out to get acclimated with the conditions.  My heart rate monitor went off almost immediately – beeping and warning me that I was pushing too hard.  That is a bad sign so I knew I was in for a rough race.  Damn head cold and lack of training.

I surfed in at about 8:20 for the 8:30 start (which ended up being closer to 8:45) and grabbed a spot as far north as I could (less wave action over there).  The people around me were super nice and relaxed.  I had a great conversation with a charming kid named Alianna as we waited – you could tell she was going to charge it, and she did.   

My one bummer was that the starters told us all we had to move south to start in between the starter flags.  I begrudgingly obliged but once I did, the starters just moved their flags north – well beyond were I had originally set up.  That was weak sauce.

Still, I got a great start, made it out clean, and then just cruised around the course trying to keep my heart rate below 110% of my theoretical “maximum.”  My favorite part (aside from the beautiful ladies on their 12'6"s passing me like I was at anchor) was when I heard a loud siren on shore and told the guy next to me that the sound was my ambulance – called to meet me at shore to address my obvious cardiac distress.  It was funny at the time.  Maybe not.  Strike that, my favorite part was the beautiful ladies on their 12'6"s passing me like I was at anchor.  Young Alianna (much too young for me to be considering a beautiful lady--I’m no sicko), was the first female to pass me just as I finished the first lap.  She is fast.  Go girl!

After the race, wife reported she was over-heating and kid was getting close to his nap time, so we unfortunately had to pack up and go (hated to leave that parking spot).  I watched the rest of the racing on-line from the comfort of my brother-in-law’s couch in San Clemente with a beer in my hand.

This was a great event for this particular “also ran.”  I vote that everyone needs to do this race next year.

15

SUP General / Re: Where would you recommend to live in San Diego?

« on: August 31, 2015, 10:11:08 AM »

Point Loma.  You have surfing on the ocean side and flat water for fitness paddles on the bay side.  Neither side is more than a mile away.