Messages

211

SUP General / Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?

« on: July 19, 2015, 08:02:43 AM »

Krikeee!!!
They are saying there were two sharks.
Maybe Mick will go fulltime sup. Not sure how much competition he would have in our arena.

212

SUP General / Re: Pleasanton pushing 105 F today and tomorrow. Santa Cruz 70 ish F.

« on: July 03, 2015, 07:02:33 PM »

How is Pleasanton? Any good waves in the area (ie. how far away)?

I know kiting at 3rd ave isn't too far away.

No surf anywhere near Pleasanton. You mean Turd Ave?   Grossest kiteboard spot I've ever been to. I was debuting a new kite and hindenburged it into knee deep mud/cat shit/broken shells. I blame the 200ft tall driving range net immediately upwind of launch. sorry for the rant;) that place is gross though. too bad its probably the most consistent wind in the bay. I rolled up my muddy new kite and vowed never to return.

213

SUP General / Re: Do you SUP as your primary water sport?

« on: July 03, 2015, 07:42:06 AM »

I probably sup more than any other sport currently. I fly fish a lot when there's water sometimes from a sup. I live right next to the Truckee river and on a normal water year I can just walk across street and sup.   Kitesurfing, rafting, almost never mnt bike(I just have one to trade for another paddle board on craigslist). Skiing is my primary frozen water sport. Mostly I just do dishes and wipe little butts(sometimes on a sup).

214

SUP General / Board Peeing

« on: June 28, 2015, 01:29:02 PM »

How do you pee out in the lineup? I just stand there and soil myself while talking to a hottie. I then make it a point to wipeout on the next wave. Sometimes I think that I'm summonsing the Landlord from afar, so I usually paddle away from my oilslick. TMI?

215

SUP General / Re: Board P--N

« on: June 28, 2015, 01:25:50 PM »

I was really hoping this was going to be about peeing on your board while out on water. Guess I'll start a new thread as not to hijack yours.

216

SUP General / Re: We all know he's famous, or infamous, but he's also THE MAN!

« on: June 04, 2015, 06:39:14 AM »

as far as I know.

please..... call her Caitlyn

217

SUP General / Re: The Vas brothers ripping in Hawaii, Mex, Indo, and El Salvador

« on: April 22, 2015, 10:10:07 AM »

OMG... That is some smooth ass ripping! I love how patient he is waiting for the lip to throw and then slashing a huge bucket 15 feet into the air.  Very solid style. And actually using the paddle to rip too.  Definitely some of the best SUSing I've seen. Sweet low brace getting into barrel at 4:30. Thanks for sharing.

218

SUP General / Re: Any multi-talented frothers here?

« on: April 19, 2015, 06:50:12 AM »

The best thing about kiting is you don't have to worry/bitch about it getting windy anymore. Now you just bitch about not enough wind. White man problems......

All three of my children will be kiteboarders when they grow up. It can be a great family sport. I will instill in them the innate spazzyness to chase wind and waves for the rest of their lives. Its my duty as the head spazz in the household. There will be a good amount of fishing involved too, as this fills all remaining time with no surf or wind.

219

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Anyone interested in a trip to Namotu, Fiji?

« on: April 17, 2015, 03:17:41 PM »

I have been oogling out on namotu for the last few weeks ever since I watched Piros' Fiji SUP movie.
Namotu is surf, sup, fishing, and kitesurf paradise. These happen to be all of my favorite activities. Looks like around $3500US/pp for 7 nights incl airfare from LA. All meals included and boat service for downwinders (SUP and Kite)and to remote breaks(5 minutes away).
After alot of forum combing, I concluded that its worth it to pony up the cash and stay right there on the island or Tavarua which is equally as sick(and expensive). A lot of people tried to save a buck and stay on other neighboring islands and take longer boat rides to the goods, and in the end said that next time they would stay on Namotu. I am going to try and go sometime in 2017. I guess many who go, end up making it a regular gig every year due to the outright sickness of the whole place.

220

SUP General / Re: Any multi-talented frothers here?

« on: April 16, 2015, 04:32:57 PM »

That's a sweet crash compilation!
As far as gear goes- Naish, Slingshot, Cabrinha, Caution all make great kites.
Most of the new ones are really good. I have been riding Caution Kites for most of my career. They are designed for wave performance and bombproof construction which comes in handy when they go down in the surf. I also kite in Santa Cruz a lot, where Caution is - so I can have repairs done if needed. All the companies make twin tip and directional boards too. You will probably want to start on a decent sized twin tip as they are easier since you dont have to switch your feet to jibe. You will want a surfboard shape once you get into wave riding.

221

SUP General / Re: Any multi-talented frothers here?

« on: April 16, 2015, 03:02:56 PM »

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about Weasl's friends who got hurt. That's super sad and unfortunate.  I started kiting in 2001. Yes, there can be horrendous carnage when attaching your body to such a powerful tool as a giant traction kite.  But its fun as hell when it goes like its supposed to! Don't be discouraged. Plenty of people do it without major incident.

Start with a few days of lessons in a place with good wind and you will take 99% of the danger away. A majority of the people that I've seen get worked by a kite are the ones who have the "just give me that thing. I can do it" attitude. Once you get proficient at handling the kite, it gets really fun. It then turns into tow in surfing.

Kiting got me into surfing and suping. You can smack 100 waves in a couple of hours on a kite. Its kinda stupid how fun and easy it is to pick waves off and destroy the lip with extreme prejudice over, and over, and over, and over with very little physical exertion.

It also pairs real nice with sup surfing in the morning and then kiting when the wind comes up the rest of the day.

You will probably need 3 kites of varying sizes and a harness and board. I would avoid buying used kites. The last thing you want while you are learning is equipment failures. Get new, bad ass kites. You will probably have to drop around $3k to get set up, but then its free after that.

If you live somewhere where you see people doing it regularly, then waste not another windy day. Kitesurfing on waves is by far the sickest thing I have ever done. (susing is a close runner up) When properly powered, a skilled kiter can yank himself 50 feet up in the air and 300 feet across with out any waves or ramps and land like a feather. He can also smack a single, reeling point break wave 20-30 times.

Send It!!!!!

222

SUP General / Re: I really want to move to Maui. Realistic?

« on: February 07, 2015, 08:19:11 AM »

Thanks again for all contributions.
It seems that with my job and my wife's nursing skills that we would have a good shot at making it financially, or at least scraping by in Maui. I'm checking that off of the list of things to stop us.

 The school thing seems like we would have to just go and see. Homeschool is always there. My job lends itself well to hanging out with kids when the wife is working.

Renting a place will be expensive and small. A two bedroom would probably work fine. I think we would adapt. Seems like we might end up hanging out on the lanai or in the yard more often.

Biggest hurdles: Convincing my wife that it will be awesome and worth it.
Her main concern is losing our friend/help with kids network that we have developed here. You can't make new old friends. I understand that, but am more optimistic that we will make new friends and network. I am much more a social butterfly than she is. Being super far from family will suck at times too. Also, leaving our jobs that are working well now. Wife has been at ER for 8 yrs and I have been running my business for 4.

Pressure:
We currently rent month to month here. Lately we have been looking at purchasing a house across the street. I get anxious thinking about buying and committing to staying here. We have been renting for the last 5 years and it has been a weight lifted compared to previously owning our home. Interest rates are super low and our market is appreciating at a healthy pace. Great time to get back in.....and get stuck. Kids are young enough to be able to transplant easily. But if we left Reno in a year or two, I am sure this will be a bigger problem. So, I am feeling like the stars are aligning nicely to pull the trigger. But school and real estate are putting pressure on the situation. I am not that bothered by the real estate pressure, because I understand the market fluctuations. There will always be another house at another time.

A decent proposal may be to just go try it for a year and see what we think. Maybe we stay, maybe come back. This is an easier sell. My wife loves warm and she loves beach and she hates wetsuits and cold water. She was a pretty decent kiteboarder before kids too. She also enjoys mushy longboarding.

This thread has answered many questions I needed answered to at least be able to present it as an option. This has been a great guide to moving to maui for a spazzy landlocked waterman and family.

If it get squashed in committee, I will just focus on longer and longer trips there until someday I don the sarong and blow the conch.

223

Gear Talk / Re: Different Fins for shallow white water

« on: February 01, 2015, 09:54:41 PM »

You dont relly need fins for whitewater, esp if its shallow. If you are just going down rivers, its mostly just spinning and making little moves. If you are flatwater paddling and eddie hopping upstream then a fin goes a long way. Corran was making a semi floppy rubber one that worked ok. I rigged a windsurfing dagger board on the back of my plastic river sup and it worked great bc everytime i would hit a rock it would just fold up.

224

SUP General / Re: I really want to move to Maui. Realistic?

« on: January 31, 2015, 02:43:28 PM »

Looking over all of the opinions in this thread, I am steered toward my original thought on Maui; take long vacations there until the time is right to move there.  It wasn't all selfish wanting to move the family there. The biggest draw was wanting to have my kids grow up to be little watermen and woman. And this could only really happen while living there full time. 

It would be painful to drive by Lanes, with overhead surf and 25kt wind(perfect kiting conditions), on the way to work. I deal with this no matter where I live though. In Reno its a powder day, or kiting on Tahoe, or a mayfly hatch. Life is about balancing work and play. I have always lived in cool places and only worked so that I can play. Kids change that a little. I'm sure my kids will develop a strong play ethic, and make ample time in life for it like I have. Of course working and generating income to play is super important. 

I think that this thread has brought out thoughts that we have all had about where we live and where we might want to live. The truth is that no matter where you live, if you are an adventurous spirit, you will have a good time in life. Don't stop taking risks. And like Eleanor Roosevelt famously said "Do something everyday that scares you". Thinking about transplanting my family to Maui scares the hell out of me. But it is really exciting! I moved to Tahoe 17 years ago with $200 in my pocket and visions of deep powder and steep creeks to paddle. It was one of the most exciting days of my life! And it worked out fine.

PS- Spookini- I know that I am a spring chicken in this forum. That Is why I am grateful to have all of old salty opinions. Thanks to all posters!

225

SUP General / Re: I really want to move to Maui. Realistic?

« on: January 31, 2015, 07:31:59 AM »

Been away from here for a couple of days, so it feels good to check in with the surfing life.   
Ol' man winter is kick'n are arse again this morning.

Great topic here

I hate to p!ss on anyone's parade, but you might find out in life that your wife and kids could have other interests than yours.

I'm all about the surf, however life seems to be easier when all of the family members get a chance to do their own thing too.

You sound like my wife