Author Topic: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....  (Read 14709 times)

kayadogg

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #15 on: March 23, 2019, 02:26:09 PM »
There is a ridiculously simple reason for that. Surfskis are fast, 14' SUPs are not. Surfskis are fast even if you weigh 230 pounds. 14' SUPs are not. Eliminate half of the likely market from competition and turn the sport into a slow race and people won't do it.

I'll pass, the whole sitting down idea just doesn't sit well with me :D isn't there a sit-down zone?  ??? Maybe not, sounds reprimanding. How would you make it great again?
Replicating Gorge Paddle Challenge is highly unlikely.

Sitting down on a surfski is much harder than standing on a SUP.
Surfski's, Foils, Kiting and windsurfing all have learning curves that will deter most people. OC-1's and SUP's are fun the first time. OC-1's are expensive, not usually for rent and awkward to store and handle. SUP easy easy fun.

I completely agree with this. This is why sup’s Leisure class has grown so quickly as the price of admission in terms of both skill and a basic board is pretty low.

My wife and I had the pleasure of paddling an OC6 in Maui last week with some friends  and had an absolute blast. So much so that I started looking for an OC1 for home. We live about a 50 yard walk from Narragansett Bay and storage isn’t a problem so I thought it would be fun to have one at the house. The problem I’m having is actually tracking down one to buy. Closest one I could find was in North Carolina. Kind of a bummer but I’ll continue to keep my eyes open. If anyone here knows anyone within the northeast that has one they would be willing to part with, please let me know. An OC2 would be fine too but I know chances of that are even more unlikely.

RideTheGlide

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #16 on: March 23, 2019, 03:21:38 PM »
My wife and I had the pleasure of paddling an OC6 in Maui last week with some friends  and had an absolute blast. So much so that I started looking for an OC1 for home. We live about a 50 yard walk from Narragansett Bay and storage isn’t a problem so I thought it would be fun to have one at the house. The problem I’m having is actually tracking down one to buy. Closest one I could find was in North Carolina. Kind of a bummer but I’ll continue to keep my eyes open. If anyone here knows anyone within the northeast that has one they would be willing to part with, please let me know. An OC2 would be fine too but I know chances of that are even more unlikely.

I was confused from my whitewater days when you mentioned OC1. This is where my mind went:



Then I poked around and saw the long outrigger boats playing in the ocean.
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TallDude

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #17 on: March 23, 2019, 03:54:07 PM »
There is a ridiculously simple reason for that. Surfskis are fast, 14' SUPs are not. Surfskis are fast even if you weigh 230 pounds. 14' SUPs are not. Eliminate half of the likely market from competition and turn the sport into a slow race and people won't do it.

I'll pass, the whole sitting down idea just doesn't sit well with me :D isn't there a sit-down zone?  ??? Maybe not, sounds reprimanding. How would you make it great again?
Replicating Gorge Paddle Challenge is highly unlikely.

Sitting down on a surfski is much harder than standing on a SUP.
Surfski's, Foils, Kiting and windsurfing all have learning curves that will deter most people. OC-1's and SUP's are fun the first time. OC-1's are expensive, not usually for rent and awkward to store and handle. SUP easy easy fun.

I completely agree with this. This is why sup’s Leisure class has grown so quickly as the price of admission in terms of both skill and a basic board is pretty low.

My wife and I had the pleasure of paddling an OC6 in Maui last week with some friends  and had an absolute blast. So much so that I started looking for an OC1 for home. We live about a 50 yard walk from Narragansett Bay and storage isn’t a problem so I thought it would be fun to have one at the house. The problem I’m having is actually tracking down one to buy. Closest one I could find was in North Carolina. Kind of a bummer but I’ll continue to keep my eyes open. If anyone here knows anyone within the northeast that has one they would be willing to part with, please let me know. An OC2 would be fine too but I know chances of that are even more unlikely.
Boston Outrigger Racing Association? Maybe someone in that group?
It's not overhead to me!
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PT Woody

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #18 on: March 23, 2019, 04:50:45 PM »
End of PPG is sad especially as it confines surf or BoP racing from the peak level of the sport to minor status. Aside from the largely irrelevant ISA race and preceding qualification, is there a significant SUP event in the world that involves surf and buoy turns as the major defining factor?

ukgm

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2019, 01:31:21 AM »
End of PPG is sad especially as it confines surf or BoP racing from the peak level of the sport to minor status. Aside from the largely irrelevant ISA race and preceding qualification, is there a significant SUP event in the world that involves surf and buoy turns as the major defining factor?

Heavy Water ? (admittedly, that's quite exclusive).

Area 10

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #20 on: March 25, 2019, 04:20:33 AM »
End of PPG is sad especially as it confines surf or BoP racing from the peak level of the sport to minor status. Aside from the largely irrelevant ISA race and preceding qualification, is there a significant SUP event in the world that involves surf and buoy turns as the major defining factor?

Heavy Water ? (admittedly, that's quite exclusive).
That’s not really a significant event. It’s just a marketing oddity. 99.99% of SUPers won’t even be aware of Heavy Water. And it’s certainly not going to be a model for amateur participation.

stoneaxe

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #21 on: March 25, 2019, 04:28:26 AM »
CCBC is still here. I think we might see a bump in participation this year but we've never been huge as events go.

I'm going to be doing some SUP 101 clinics on the local beaches and getting some folks out for coastal explorations. Even though I retired from the board of the CCBC I still want to do my part to get folks involved and I've got a good number of local folks expressing interest....easy when its free...:). I'm sure I'll at least get some to join the party.
I'm planning on doing the CCBC again this year. Using this trip to Maui to kick off training (so don't kill me bro).
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photofr

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #22 on: March 25, 2019, 04:56:00 AM »
Here in France, I am seeing a crazy number of racer dropouts as well.

On the other hand, and super excited to see this: there is a staggering number of people getting into Surfskis.

Interesting.  How about OC1s?

YES - OC1 is seemingly increasing in France as well.
I saw this trends a few years back: the more people got into SUP, the more people eventually turned to other more efficient "tools" like surfskis and Outriggers. Those numbers are tiny though, but they do add up.
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PonoBill

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #23 on: March 25, 2019, 10:59:08 AM »

My wife and I had the pleasure of paddling an OC6 in Maui last week with some friends  and had an absolute blast. So much so that I started looking for an OC1 for home. We live about a 50 yard walk from Narragansett Bay and storage isn’t a problem so I thought it would be fun to have one at the house. The problem I’m having is actually tracking down one to buy. Closest one I could find was in North Carolina. Kind of a bummer but I’ll continue to keep my eyes open. If anyone here knows anyone within the northeast that has one they would be willing to part with, please let me know. An OC2 would be fine too but I know chances of that are even more unlikely.

Looks around some locally, dog. Chances are there is a outrigger club somewhere in your area. Google might not be all that helpful, until just recently if you googled Hood River Outrigger Canoe Club you wouldn't find anything. I don't paddle OC6 in Maui, but I DO paddle twice a week in Hood River. We have a very active club with three standard and two unlimited OC6s as well as a lot of people in the small boat group doing OC1 and 2, as well as surfskis. Hood River is 150 miles from the ocean and we have about a hundred people in our club. Anyplace that is right on the ocean seems more likely to be into it.
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ukgm

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #24 on: March 25, 2019, 01:18:58 PM »
End of PPG is sad especially as it confines surf or BoP racing from the peak level of the sport to minor status. Aside from the largely irrelevant ISA race and preceding qualification, is there a significant SUP event in the world that involves surf and buoy turns as the major defining factor?

Heavy Water ? (admittedly, that's quite exclusive).
That’s not really a significant event. It’s just a marketing oddity. 99.99% of SUPers won’t even be aware of Heavy Water. And it’s certainly not going to be a model for amateur participation.

I was trying to be kind !  ;D (BOP style racing really is a dead duck)

ukgm

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #25 on: March 25, 2019, 01:21:46 PM »
Here in France, I am seeing a crazy number of racer dropouts as well.

On the other hand, and super excited to see this: there is a staggering number of people getting into Surfskis.

Interesting.  How about OC1s?

in the UK, a lot of the early serious SUP racers have now moved onto OC1 stuff instead. In 2019, the first OC1 open water national series will run (and it has had an inland winter sprint series for a few years now).

As for surfski's it has been growing slowly and steadily for a few years. It still only sees around 50 boats at most events but its stable and isn't seen as a fashion fad (unlike SUP).

addapost

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #26 on: March 25, 2019, 02:41:27 PM »
My wife and I had the pleasure of paddling an OC6 in Maui last week with some friends  and had an absolute blast. So much so that I started looking for an OC1 for home. We live about a 50 yard walk from Narragansett Bay and storage isn’t a problem so I thought it would be fun to have one at the house. The problem I’m having is actually tracking down one to buy. Closest one I could find was in North Carolina. Kind of a bummer but I’ll continue to keep my eyes open. If anyone here knows anyone within the northeast that has one they would be willing to part with, please let me know. An OC2 would be fine too but I know chances of that are even more unlikely.
Call Sam at Osprey in Westport. She has one and would know of any active groups or other folks. She loves hers.
Bunch of old shit

OkiWild

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #27 on: March 25, 2019, 05:03:31 PM »
It's funny as this is the complete opposite for me. The main reason I started in SUP was that its physical conditioning was far superior to all forms of sit down paddling. It's woefully inefficient and slow though.

Same. That and for some reason, whenever I put a sea kayak in the water, I feel naked without ten-miles of gear... And then seeing all the things I never noticed when sitting in a kayak.

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #28 on: March 26, 2019, 04:32:24 AM »
For many years, athletes got into surfskis when they reached 39-45 years of age. Not much has changed there, except that I am also seeing a healthy dose of younger paddlers getting into the sport as well.

That's just bonus -
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Area 10

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Re: SUP racing growing ? Uhm.....
« Reply #29 on: March 26, 2019, 05:17:30 AM »
It's funny as this is the complete opposite for me. The main reason I started in SUP was that its physical conditioning was far superior to all forms of sit down paddling. It's woefully inefficient and slow though.

Same. That and for some reason, whenever I put a sea kayak in the water, I feel naked without ten-miles of gear... And then seeing all the things I never noticed when sitting in a kayak.
Yes, these are probably the three main reasons for the success of SUP (better for fitness, simplicity, viewpoint) alongside the availability of cheap inflatables. Others are that the standing position is more flattering, that SUPers wear more stylish clothes (and that you look better in a bikini standing up than sitting down), the gear is lighter, and a SUP feels safer because if you capsize in a canoe or kayak etc and are uskilled you are then in a whole mess of trouble. On a SUP you just clamber back on, no drama.

 


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