Messages

1

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Looking for recommendations: Hawaii in October

« on: April 11, 2021, 07:41:44 AM »

My wife and I planning our post-vaccine vacation and are thinking about two weeks in Hawaii in mid-October.  Our kids will both be away in college and we are planning for our first vacation without them in a very long time.  Since international travel doesn't seem that appealing to us in 2021, Hawaii is looking pretty good.  We are considering spending some time on Oahu, Kauai, and Maui.  The last time we were in Hawaii was right before my older daughter was born 22 years ago.  We spent our time on the big island (I did the 1999 Hawaiian Ironman) so we would look to visit other islands this time.   I have been paddle surfing the last six summers and into the fall at the Jersey Shore.  My wife doesn't SUP and the main focus of the vacation will be beach, sightseeing, light hiking, etc.  I would like to rent a SUP to do some paddle surfing.  I could also be interested in private SUP surf lessons to improve my skills and get tips on the best spots for me to go if I find the right surf shop.  I realize most SUP lessons would be geared to beginners and on flat water.  Any recommendations on shops I can rent a board from and spots that would be good?  Our time frame of mid-October is pretty set, but other than that our itinerary is still open as we have just started planning.  Thank you.

2

Gear Talk / Re: Looking for advice for next board to progress my SUP Surfing skills

« on: August 06, 2020, 05:30:23 PM »

Thanks All!  Definitely a lot of great advice.  It gives me a lot to think about and research.

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Gear Talk / Looking for advice for next board to progress my SUP Surfing skills

« on: August 05, 2020, 07:21:23 PM »

Hi! I started paddleboarding several years ago in South Jersey (Wildwood Crest) when we bought a beach house.  I love being out on the ocean on my board whether I'm trying to surf or just paddling around with the dolphins.  I'm 6'0", 175 pounds, 54 years old.  Previous to paddleboarding, I didn't have any surfing background.  My balance is good from spending a lot of time in the ocean and I can turn and catch waves.  But I'm just riding them in and not really going down the line or doing much turning after I catch the wave.  (I hope this description of my skills helps.  I'm not a beginner, but to say I'm intermediate would be an overstatement.)  The board I use for surfing is an Adventure Paddleboarding Sixty Forty 9'4" x 31.5", 163 liters. 

https://www.surfindustries.com/stand-up-paddle/adventure-paddleboarding-sixty-forty-mx.php

So, I'm looking for my next board to progress my surfing skills.  I don't really know what to look for.  I know it would have less volume, probably shorter, maybe narrower.  I'm not sure what the usual progression would be.  A 10% drop in volume would 147 liters and a 20% drop would be 130 liters.  As you can see, its just guesswork for me at this point.  There are a lot of surfers at my beach, but I only know a couple of paddleboarders.

Up until now I have mostly been down at the beach house on summer weekends only, so I have to take whatever the conditions are.  That means a lot of days I am just paddling and not surfing.  My youngest daughter is off to college this fall (pandemic permitting, but that's another story).  So my wife and I can spend more time at the beach house and I can hopefully find good conditions more consistently. 

I'm looking for any suggestions for a next board.  Ideally, I would be able to also enjoy cruising around on the board in addition to surfing.  I've done some 6 mile races in the bay in Atlantic City on my 14' board (even this year) and I would like to be able to continue training on the new board before or after a surf session.

I hope this all makes sense.  Thanks in advance.

4

Gear Talk / Re: Advice on first touring or racing SUP

« on: October 06, 2017, 03:07:01 PM »

Thanks All!!

I think an inflatable in the 27 to 28 inch range could be the sweet spot for me.  I pulled up some options from Red Paddle and Starboard that look great.  I will do further research and read more posts here.  Thanks for all your input!

5

Gear Talk / Advice on first touring or racing SUP

« on: October 05, 2017, 05:33:39 PM »

Hello, this is my first post, so I’ll give a little background.  I live in the Philadelphia area and three years ago we bought a beach house in Wildwood Crest at the Jersey Shore. I had been paddleboarding several times and enjoyed it, so when we bought the house I bought two SUPs called the Skinner Good Buddy (10’4” X 33”, 175 liters).  I bought two of the same boards (different colors) so my wife and teenage kids could go too.  Our house is a few blocks from the ocean and a few blocks from the bay, so I could go either place.  I just go in the ocean when I go by myself and only go in the bay when a family member or friend wants to go on flat water.  I have never been prone surfing, but I started to learn to paddle surf at the local surf beach.  If the waves are any good I will try to catch some waves and if they aren’t I will just cruise around for exercise.  I often see dolphin and really enjoy being out on the ocean. 

Last year I decided to get a board that was a little more geared towards surfing.  I went to the local surf shop and settled on the Adventure Paddle Sixty Forty X2.  It’s 9’4” x 31.5”, 163 liters.  I sold one of my Skinner boards to a buddy.   I didn’t want to make a radical jump to a much smaller board.  I love this new board and quickly adjusted.

We are at the beach house every weekend in the summer, with some longer stays and I’m on my board in the ocean most days.  The surf gets better there after Labor Day, but that is also when my kids are back in school and it is much harder to get to the shore.  So, a lot of days in the summer I’m just cruising around and not surfing.  I’m 51 years old, 6’0” and 173 pounds.  I was a hardcore triathlete up until 20 years ago, but now I just workout daily and am merely in good shape for a guy my age.  I’ll usually paddle for an hour or so, not hours on end.

A couple of weeks ago there was a small SUP race nearby in the bay in Cape May, NJ.   There was a 5 mile race and a 2 mile fun paddle.  Having never even seen a SUP race I decided to do the 2 mile fun paddle.  Of course now I want to do some races next year.  I don’t mind if I come in at or near the back of the pack, but I don’t want to embarrass myself. 

One last detail before I get to my questions.  My beach house doesn’t have a garage.  There is an 11 foot wall that connects my kitchen and den and I mounted a rack at a 45 degree angle for my two boards.  From there I can easily take them out the through the sliding glass doors.

I’m thinking about getting a board that I can train on in the ocean and occasionally race on.  I want the board to be faster than the board I have, but I also want it to be stable enough that I can ride in the ocean on somewhat choppy days.   I can go to the bay, but I would rather not.  I have spent a lot of time in the ocean the past three summers and I am very comfortable on my current board.  I just don’t know how much narrower is too narrow for me at this point.

I’m thinking about getting an inflatable board.  That would solve my storage problem.  I also like the idea of being able to travel easily with it.  I’m open to 12’6” or 14’. 

My questions are:

How badly disadvantaged will I be if I try to race on my current board?  I don’t mind coming in last.  I just don’t want to come in last by A LOT.

Any suggestions for a new board?