To celebrate the end of a busy summer of racing, race organizing and adventuring

And, what a TREAT it was! Blue skies, 70F temps and perfect wave after wave!!! The Hoedown draws an assortment of paddlers from Stand-Up Paddle Boarders, to sea kayakers, to competition kayak surfers in tiny flat bottom boats that turn on a dime and zoom around on a wave with the agility of a quarterback and the gracefulness of a professional salsa dancer.

The common bond that brought everyone there and put a huge grin on everyone’s face was the fun crowd, good competition and great waves!

I decided to try my hand at Stand-Up Paddle Surfing for the first time. The waves were friendly, mostly in the 3 – 4 foot range with the occasional set of 5 – 6 footers. Being a beginner, my learning curve was through the roof! From my first time on the water, where I barely got out through the surf, to the end of the weekend where I was consistently catching rides, the sea was a giant classroom!

Saturday afternoon, after Brandon and I had each gotten a few good surf sessions in, I lined up on the starting line for the Sea Kayak and SUP Scramble. This is a 1.5-mile beach-start race. Racers place their boards or sea kayaks up at the waterline, then line-up about 100 yards up the beach on the starting line. With a wave of the flag and a ‘Go!’ from the race organizer, we sprint down the beach to our SUP’s and kayaks, drag them into the surf, hop on, break out through the surf zone, race around an island ¾ mile out, race back, then surf back in. Or so the theory is!

What many of us experienced as we launched into what everyone agreed was the biggest set of the day, was a healthy dose of crowd-pleasing carnage! Apparently, at least according to Brandon, my own display of carnage was a crowd favorite. I paddled off the beach and straight into the head-high waves as I tried to get past the impact zone, but got launched off my board as it shot straight up in the air like a rocket, then repeated the aerials about 4 more times until the set ended.

After all that, I climbed back on and finally headed out towards the turn-around. (Two of the sea kayakers got cart-wheeled back to the sand, and chose to heed the warning of the gods and call it a day right then and there, race over!)

As I paddled on and got closer to the jagged pile of rocks we were to circle, I found myself rising and falling with monstrous swells. These moving mountains of water would break onto the rock outcropping/turn-around with a huge crash, sending foam and froth high and wide.

I noticed the lead sea kayaker chose to brave the gauntlet and took a shortcut between the rocks. One of the monsters appeared just then, lifted his sea kayak like a toy, tumbled him through the center slot and spit him like a watermelon seed out the other side. He rolled up looking stunned, but no worse for the ride. The rest of us went wide – very, very wide — around all the rocks, before heading back to the finish beach.

As I raced back in, there was a posse of about 9 sea kayaks a few minutes ahead of me, then a few more kayaks and the only other brave sole to race a SUP a few minutes behind me.

As I paddled back, I planned my surf into the beach. I wanted to style it! On the approach I let 2 shoulder-high waves pass under me, then began to race in, catching a smaller ride as I did. I glided toward the beach just as gracefully as I had imagined, but then tripped as I hopped off my board. So much for grace!

Back on the sand and with paddle in hand I raced up the beach to the finish, getting high fives and hugs from racers as I crossed the finish line. As the last of the racers finished, we all stood around sharing stories of carnage and listening to the play-by-play from the spectators as they had seen it from the beach. Whether you kayaked, SUPed or watched… everyone loved it!!!

Sunday brought on the surf competition, and Brandon’s chance to compete. I will let him share that story in Hobuck Hoedown Part 2!…

Thank You Bill Walker and all the sponsors, racers, judges, volunteers and spectators. This is an awesome event… and one we already have down on the calendar for next year!

And, as always, thanks to Kialoa Paddles and KitePaddleSurf!

Happy Paddling!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

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Now, after only 2 sessions out on Padden, the shape is forming. And although the “race” component is definitely there, it’s really playing a supporting role to the larger, more heavily-attended “Family Fun Fest” that takes place mostly after the race is over.

Tonight, for example, it was kids, kids, and more kids on boards with mom and dad, standing up, laying down, sitting, kneeling, on their own going upwind, across and back down. It was moms and dads acting like kids, swapping this board for that, paddle for paddle, going out in groups, breaking off and trying their own thing. It was a beach scene with games of catch, waist-deep wading, ducks waddling by, all under the unbelievably warm and beautiful Bellingham summer (finally!) sunshine!!!

More than once I found myself talking to someone on the beach while we watched the scene thrive all around us, and we just kind of broke out giggling at the sheer awesomeness of the atmosphere. Beautiful, athletic, young and old, big and small smiling people having the kind of fun others travel across entire continents to experience, in our own backyard, for FREE.

We’ll look back on this time, this particular summer, and talk about the good ol’ days when it was all rootsy and had the kind of vibe you just can’t find anymore. It’s really, really NOT something you want to miss. Come down and check it out and paddle. Bring your kids, or a friend, or your dog. I promise, you will smile HUGE!

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See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Our first Tuesday night had SUP’ers paddling in from three different parking lots at Lake Padden. The exact details of where and when and what exactly we were doing were vague… but, people got the message and arrived one-by-one. In the end, at 6PM, we had a demo fleet of SUP’s from BellinghamSUP,  quiver of paddles from Kialoa, 6 racers on the starting line, and another dozen or so people there to demo gear, socialize and check it out.

3 of us raced the 4-mile long course, while a second 3 did the 2-mile short course. Alan Lipp took the long course on a board designed by local paddler and Necky designer Tom Swetish. BellinghamSUP’s Dave Comp took the short course paddling the Starboard Pin.  

When we all finished, no one left. We all continued to try each other’s boards and paddles, critique our strokes, talk about what board is good for this or that. One highlight was when Alan Lipp, after winning the 4-mile course, continued on to his car and returned to the beach with his laptop to show us his new SUP designs he has been working on.

 We will meet again next Tuesday at the Lake Padden swim area for more racing and good times. The race begins at 6PM.

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See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Remember, SUP is so new, everyone is a beginner! This is a great chance to get out, meet other SUP’ers, try some gear and train for the Paddle Grand Prix in September!

Tuesday, June 15th at 6 PM at the Lake Padden swim area. There will be a one-lap and two-lap option. Please check back through out the summer, because to keep it interesting, we may change locations! And, if you want to stay informed on local SUP happenings,  check out the local SUP chat group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whatcomsup/ 

See you on the water!!!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Tomorrow we are back to race pace as we head up to Deep Cove to help Team USA defend their title in Part II of the THINK International Challenge!!!

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POSTED BY: Heather

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden