Messages

2116

SUP General / Re: tron surfing!

« on: September 18, 2011, 07:15:02 PM »

This is cool, but it's also bad. Does this board come with a shark shield? I honestly can't think of a better way to attract a shark to my board than attach a bunch of bright, blinky lights to it. Even worse, the surfer's doing this at dusk, which is when many sharks feed.

It is beautiful, but I would never do it, even if I was that good a surfer. It seems like it's just asking for trouble of the sharky kind.

-Ian

2117

SUP General / Re: local SUP hate

« on: September 15, 2011, 07:16:02 PM »

“BQE MTK shirt probably means Brooklyn Queens Expressway - Montauk —

The BQE and Montauk are on the western and eastern ends of Long Island.

I should invite the dude to take his SUP hate to my spot up the Hudson a bit. He can bring his longboard or shortboard to surf, and then find out that in 95% of New York there is NO SURF. In the upcountry that means you either have an SUP or a nicely shaped flotation aid.

And to think this guy is from Brooklyn, just like me. I should should give him an old-fashioned, Brooklyn-style smack. (That's done with the hand, not the paddle.)

-Ian

2118

Random / Re: Air swimmers.

« on: August 19, 2011, 08:00:40 PM »

That video was absolutely hilarious. What a fun toy! I loved how the shark had this creepy factor to it. (I just watched The Reef on Netflix, so sharks were fresh on my mind! I'll be that toy might be a lot of fun in a wide open space, like that shopping mall. You could just circle for prey, then go for a messy kill. Chomp!

-Ian

2119

SUP General / Re: SUP (Mis) Behavior in the Lineup

« on: August 10, 2011, 10:55:35 AM »

When I was learning wave SUPing in jacksonville, I accidentally dropped in on one of my instructors. We had a nice double ride, but I felt like an idiot afterward. I apologized to him, and he was cool. I guess being an instructor means you have to allow a certain amount of kook behavior.

-Ian

2120

Gear Talk / Re: Old Windsurfer converted to SUP

« on: August 10, 2011, 10:51:39 AM »

Hey, I've done the same. My wife and I first tried SUP on a 1980s vintage F2 Strato. It had a concave deck but the surface was nice and rough to hold on to, provided you were wearing booties to protect the bottom of your feet. Even after we bought our first SUP, I did most of my paddling alongside my wife on an Exocet Kona One windsurfer. The only advantage of those old windsurfers for a beginner is that daggerboard. You can pop it down for extra stability. It does make you slower, though.

Were any of these boards ideal? No, but they got us started. My wife still uses that Mistral adjustable paddle (heavy!), but I'm sure glad I've graduated to a Kioloa paddle.

-Ian

2121

Sessions / Shmoo Surfing

« on: July 18, 2011, 08:07:13 AM »

I finally got my NSP 11' in the waves. My wife and I joined an outfit in Jacksonville called Black Creek Outfitters who were having an SUP demo day. We had our own SUPs, but we wanted to have our first wave session with others. We went to Atlantic Beach and got into the water with about fifteen other SUPers. There were a few experienced guys on the water too giving tips to us newbies (and wave newbies). The waves were pretty small and mushy, but they were perfect for learning.

I got the handle of it after a while. I'd say after an hour of just getting my bearings and getting used to the up and down I was riding waves. I had to learn that quick paddle, paddle, paddle to accelerate onto a wave, which took a few tries. I've done body surfing and boogie boarding so know the feeling when a wave catches you. My biggest problem in the beginning was pearling the board; I had to get used to moving back a few feet on the board once I caught it. Then it was seriously fun! My wife was having back pain so she was not doing so well. Also her board (Amundsen 11'3") isn't as wide as mine so she was falling more. She initially claimed her board was too wonky to surf on, so we traded then I started catching waves with her board. Not the board!

We got chased from the beach by a thunderstorm, but not after seeing some very cool marine life. Two small pods of dolphins and a manatee. The next day my wife and I returned with our children (twin three year-old girls and a seven year-old son). Since my son Gabriel, whom I nickname the Shmoo, is fairly adventurous I decided to try something really fun. I put a PFD on the dude then he climbed on the nose of my board. I then knee-paddled out to waist-high water and tried catching some of the waves with him. It was amazingly easy. Gabriel stayed prone the first ride but on the second the little dude just stood up and rode the nose in! We repeated it about half a dozen times.

That was probably the coolest thing I've ever done with the kid. I'm hooked. BTW, has anybody every messed up the tops of their toes after knee-paddling? I was bleeding after the second day.

-Ian

2122

SUP General / Re: would you paddle on a really big river? the rhine?

« on: July 11, 2011, 05:17:57 AM »

This is a topic I could go on and on about. I paddle on the Hudson regularly and wrote an article for Windsurfing magazine about river windsurfing. For the article I spoke to man named Frank Bingel who runs a website River Rippers (http://www.river-rippers.net/), and these are, primarily, a group of European windsurfers who sail the Rhine. He told me that while the commercial traffic can be hazardous, it's certainly doable, and there's an active community on the river. I would argue that windsurfing probably puts the person in more harm's way from shipping than SUPing, so the Rhine certainly can be done.

I paddle the Hudson constantly, and also recently the Saint Johns. The bad part about a river is that there's usually a lot of traffic, but the good part is that because of the unique characteristics of an SUP board, you can usually stay out of trouble. Hugging the shore means you stay away from commercial traffic, but it also means you stay away from where the current is strongest. I think the European water rules are the same as the ones in America: commercial shipping has the right of way. That means they have the right to mow you down, and that would be your problem.

I wouldn't go out on a river without a leash. Sometimes, and especially on a narrower river like the Rhine, you can get some odd eddies and cross currents which can carry your board quite a distance. Especially if you're paddling in the off season when the river's kind of cold, I wouldn't go without it. (I'm also saying this because I did that once, and really regretted it after a fall into 50ºF water.

I know the Rhine probably doesn't have this problem, but certain rivers, like the Hudson, also are subject to the tides. Make sure you're not in a situation where you're paddling upstream against the current and the tide (and even wind).

All the warnings aside, rivers can be really cool! You get a constant change of scenery and usually a good choice of launch sites. The private boat traffic can be annoying, but the good thing is that they can also rescue you if you get into trouble.

Happy paddling.

-Ian

2123

Technique / Re: Paddling straight

« on: July 04, 2011, 06:13:27 AM »

I'm not an expert on this topic, but I was dealing with it just yesterday on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. Basically I was paddling on the opposite side as the wind and staying there. When my strokes began pushing the board into the wind, I did a J-stroke to bring it back.

Maybe the issue is that you feel you need to always be changing the side you're paddling on? You don't need to. I got tired on that one side after a while, but then I reversed direction and worked out the other side.

I hope this rather obvious bit of advice is helpful rather than condescending.

-Ian

2124

Gear Talk / NY Times SUP Article

« on: July 03, 2011, 03:45:24 AM »

One rarely sees articles about standup paddling in the Old Grey Lady, but here's an interesting piece about Laird Hamilton and his new designs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sports/new-designs-for-stand-up-paddleboards-sparks-interest.html?src=recg

-Ian

2125

Gear Talk / Re: When transporting, board up or down???

« on: June 12, 2011, 09:43:47 AM »

Windsurfing magazine did an actual test on board arrangement on the roof of a car and how it affected gas milage. It turns out, not to much surprise, that nose-forward, fin-up gave the best results. This implies too that a board in this position has the least resistance to the wind.

One of the things I also make sure to do when strapping my board on the roof of the car when traveling at highway speeds is to pass one extra strap into one door, through the car cabin, then out the other door. Sometimes a board can act like a huge airfoil and gain lift, tearing a board *still strapped to the rack* off the roof of the car. (In my group of windsurfers, this has happened twice.) This has happened to a couple of my buddies. Passing the extra strap through the cabin is a bit of a drag, and it does put some wear on the rubber gasket on the door frame, but it does make sure your board is safely attached to the roof.

I imagine having a board in a bag makes this somewhat less likely to happen because the board's surface isn't a smooth airfoil anymore.

-Ian

2126

Gear Talk / Re: looking for 1st board

« on: June 01, 2011, 07:39:53 AM »

bagalao,

Where in New York are you? I'm a fairly new SUPer on the Hudson River in Peekskill. I just got an NSP 11', which is an all-around board. I've only paddled it once (flatwater), but I like it a lot.

-Ian

2127

Sessions / Re: Newb got bullied.

« on: May 31, 2011, 06:11:13 AM »

Most bullies are cowards. I would verbally confront the guy one the shore, loudly, so everybody can hear. Ask him if he's so selfish he can't share the beach with one other person.

2128

Sessions / Re: First Flatwater Session on NSP 11'

« on: May 28, 2011, 07:59:08 PM »

I understand that this board is a compromise board. I actually like that. There's always a better tool for a specific set of circumstances. I get a little frustrated sometimes with the philosophy of having the specific board for a specific set of conditions. (Windsurfing can especially be like this.) That seems to just encourage the purchase of more and more boards. I mean, if you can afford it, that's fine, but I'm a public school teacher with a small car and thee kids. Since I can only really afford one board, I want an all-around board. The NSP seems to fit the bill nicely.

I'm not really knocking the idea of owning multiple boards; I'm only saying that that idea can go a little too far. I like the idea of mastering one tool for many different circumstances instead of having several tools, one for each set of conditions. With the prices of SUP boards being what they are, that's a lot of clams.

2129

Sessions / First Flatwater Session on NSP 11'

« on: May 28, 2011, 06:14:06 AM »

Yesterday I went paddling on the Croton River, a tributary of the Hudson with my friend. He was on his brand-new Cabrinha 11'6" SUP and I was on my NSP 11'. I have to say, I fell in love with that board the minute I got on it. It was nice and floaty but not too bulky-feeling. It tracked well for flat-water paddling too. This probably had a lot to do with its three fins. I compared this to this to the Cabrinha, and while that board probably gave more forward thrust, it definitely didn't track as well.

We paddled up the Croton River to a waterfall. The current gets pretty strong the further you go up and there were some spots where you really had to paddle hard. My friend had a cheap, three-piece paddle which had a blade that kept falling off. I guess those cheap paddles really are pretty crappy. The first time that happened, we were in the chest-deep, relatively clear water of the Croton River, but the second time the blade sank in pretty deep water. Scott belly-paddled back for a while then I gave him a tow while he held onto my board leash.

I practiced some pivot turns on the SUP. Those are fun. I'm not especially good at them, but I'm going to keep working on them. I'm sure they'll be easier if I take off the two side fins and just go with one center fin. I like the ease which the NSP turns. My wife has an Amundsen 11'3" which is a perfectly fine board, but it doesn't have as responsive a feel as the NSP. I do like though how the Amundsen has padded rails. I managed to chip the side of my friend's board just by knocking it against a rock.

One nice advantage of paddling over windsurfing: there isn't that 20-30 minute setup time. You get out your board, put on booties and a PFD (You heard that, US Coast Guard, I had a PFD?), you put the leash on you ankle, then paddle. I find it convenient to paddle with a camel pack on top of my PFD. On longer paddles, the pack is a great place to stow a power bar or a sandwich.

-Ian

2130

SUP General / Re: Shark encounter with SUP on Big Island.

« on: May 25, 2011, 06:08:17 PM »

Here's another article on the attack, with more detail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390531/It-like-Jaws-Shark-attack-grandmother-reveals-fought-maneater.html

Tiger sharks are nasty critters!