The sport of SUP is exploding, and for good reason. It’s a COOL, easy way to get out on the water, it’s a killer workout (or relaxing, whatever you want, really), and it’s accessible to anyone with a hearty sense of adventure.

And yesterday at Boulevard Park we had a chance to gather a few dozen of them together and throw down on a 1.5-mile oval track right out front for everyone to see!

The event was the first ever Paddle Grand Prix SUP race, and together with a handful of truly world-class sponsors and volunteers, and a good showing of spectators young and old alike, we hereby declare the first PGP a grand success!

Honestly, going into an event like this it’s a total toss-up what kind of turn-out there’ll be, what the weather will do, what little fires will pop up and need putting out, and what lessons there are to be learned to grow it and make it better the next year.

All in all, we couldn’t be happier with the way things went down. The racers who showed up and threw down all raved about the event, the course layout, the shwag and the awards.

Oh, and the food! Yeah, we WAY over-bought food – but in a way that meant everyone ate their fill and we ended up filling our freezer with slabs of king salmon and rosemary sourdough rolls to feast on this winter!

We were stoked to have a good number of the event sponsors go out of their way to attend the race and shower compliments and cool gear on every racer and volunteer there.

We were also stoked and blessed to have Michael Lampi come up and photograph the event. His entire 850-photo album is uploaded here: http://snorlax.lampi.us/images/StandUp%20ThrowDown%202010/index.html

We’ll look back on this year and say, “Remember that first year when it was all rootsy and only the most hardcore paddlers were out on the water!?!”

We ultimately want to grow the event and invite paddlers of every discipline. But for this first, inaugural year, it was 21 passionate, adventurous souls throwing down against each other and the challenge of a brand new sport.

We raise our paddles to everyone involved!!! Thanks for the day of Throw Down, and we’ll see you at Paddle Grand Prix 2011!!!

You can see race results @ http://paddlegrandprix.com/2010-race-results-and-photos 

[View with PicLens]

12►

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Hayden was bouncing off the walls ALL DAY

When we got to Bloedel Donovan Park, Hayden couldn’t wait for the race to start and just climbed right in the boat on the beach! We had to carry Double Joy to the water with him already on board.

The Wednesday night regulars all paddled by pre-race to wish Hayden a great first race, and at 6 p.m. sharp we were OFF!

Grinning like a dolphin and enjoying every second of it, we cruised around the 3.5-mile course with a super solid time of 29 minutes, give or take a few clicks of the stopwatch. Hayden LOVED it, and he’ll be a regular next season, no doubt.

Congratulations, Hayden!!! (See Hayden on the Starting Line next to Eric and Nora Gerstl HERE!)

 In between events, we kick around the soccer ball, toss the Frisbee and visit friends, friends and more friends.

If you have never been… GO! It is super fun, super healthy and at $30 for a season pass and a t-shirt, super affordable!

Come to Civic Field Monday at 6PM to check it out!!!
http://www.cob.org/services/recreation/activities/all-comer-track.aspx

Happy Adventures!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

By this fall he’ll have outgrown his 1st boat, so it was awesome to see him get the hang of it before he graduates on to #2.

Enjoy!

OR follow this You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih5ZMRro_gI 

Happy Paddling!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

“What’s Wildside?” someone asked JD just after the race.

“Well,” JD said, “The Columbia’s the state line. You got the Oregon side… and the Wildside!!!”

And what a frothy, world-class playground of a state line that river is. Without a doubt, the Columbia is one of the most insanely energy-rich corridors on the planet. 

On any summer day you’ve got a giant, corduroy-surfaced river gunning for the Pacific, 30+++ knots of wind blowing against it, hundreds of windsurfers and kiteboarders ripping, farm-sized barges barging up and downstream, paddle-wheelers and fishing boats and locomotives and busy highways chugging along both banks…

Then you throw an army of surfski and outrigger paddlers into the mix, send them right up the gauntlet, charging as hard and fast as they can spin their arms and link together the endless cycle of waves, grinning like a bunch of monkeys and hooting as loud as the trains ripping right alongside… This is Wildside!!!

This year’s race and the pre-race shake-down paddle delivered totally epic conditions, once again. Remember: catching and riding and linking swells is what surfskis and outrigger canoes were built to do. In the NW, we end up paddling a TON of flatwater by default, because we love to and need to be out on the water more often than we have waves to ride.

But our craft WANT to run downwind. So when we get a chance to take them in that environment — like EXACTLY what Wildside offered this past weekend — it’s like taking your thoroughbred to the Kentucky Derby!!! And boy, did she run!!!

Imagine linking 6 or 8 or 10 waves together as warm, freshwater spray peels off your bow and paddle blade like confetti. This is the standard in the “mellow” sections of Wildside.

Then anyone who paddles into and through Swell City is going to, again and again, stare into a steepening, opening, ever-growing trough that sucks at your boat like a syren song. And right before you take the drop, you’d bet the farm that you’re going to stuff so hard into the bottom of that trough that the bow of your Chinese-built boat is going to return to its home country.

Somehow, though, as you accelerate and drop in, the trough opens up and you’re just screaming forward. Yeah, you look like a monkey with that smile right about now!!! It’s beautiful. 

Eventually you start paddling again and like magic another trough starts to form up right in front of you, and its on again. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

At Wildside this year, I watched two of the best OC paddlers on the west coast get launched off their boats within minutes of each other. The same thing happened to the lead surfskier not once but twice, and those are just the ones I know about. But here’s the thing: it’s bathwater, so it’s all good. It’s not just world-class downwinding… it’s WARM, world-class downwinding.

Bottom line: You don’t need to fly to Hawaii or beyond, or be in 50-degree water in 50-knot winds, to surf your brains out. You can do it just down the road, amongst all your friends, in a destination people flock to from all over the world to see and experience.

Commit to the next Wildside Relay. You can thank me later!

[View with PicLens]

12►

A few demo’s, Tuesday Night races and a chat group gave folks a reason to meet. But, it was last night – our first race in a 3-race Pre-Paddle Grand Prix Point Series – that we saw and felt the community. 17 racers showed up, including 5 ladies, all ready to throw down! The race began with SUP racer and on-duty and unable-to- race firefighter Beau Whitehead signaling the start by blasting his engines lights and sirens.

While racers were off on the 2.5 mile out and back course, racer husbands, wives and kids played on the beach, took pictures and cheered.  Winds were blowing about 10 – 12 miles per hour as we paddled out of Cornwall Beach, strait into the head wind for a mighty effort to get to the south end of Taylor Dock. Once we turned down wind, it was smooth sailing and surfing home! The race took anywhere from 35 minutes for the winner to 1 hour and 5 minutes for the final finisher.  And when the last racer came in, everyone just hung out. I would bet it was the first SUP race for more than ½ the racers…. and the air was buzzing with stoke!

For the point series, lowest score wins. So, 1^st place gets 1 point, 2^nd gets 2 points, 3^rd gets 3 points and so on. If you miss a race, you get the number of male or female racers attending THAT race (depending on if you are a guy or gal) added to your score!

So, after Race #1… here are the standings….

MEN:

Allan Lipp (35:14)  1 point

Brian Boatman (35:42)  2 points

Joost Zeegers  (36:59) 3 points

Brandon Nelson (38:31) 4 points

 Tom Swetish (40:17) 5 points

Eric Grossman (40:47) 6 points

Dale Plant (41:22) 7 points

Mike Hammer (42:21) 8 points

Rob Cambell (47:02) 9 points

Larry Goolsby (47:16) 10 points

Kimo Jandoc (49:51) 11 points

Brian Smart (50:32) 12 points

WOMEN:

Heather Nelson (38:45) 1 point

Jessica Yoos (55:47) 2 points

Debbie Brown (60:22) 3 points

Michelle Anderson (1:06:47) 4 points

Carolyn Watson (40:27 – short course) 5 points

 Thank You to everyone who came to race and to help out! The next race in the series is August 10^th!
You can keep up on Pre-Paddle Grand Prix Point Series and the September 5th Paddle Grand Prix at
www.paddlegrandprix.com!

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

The 2-mile Shi Shi Beach Trail meanders through the forest keeping kids entertained with 15 bridges, side trails through the woods, trees that have grown in wild, gravity defying ways, and, Hayden’s favorite, tons of banana slugs.  The trail ends with a short, near vertical section that zig zags its way down a wooded bluff.  Hayden held my hand and leaped off every root and took every turn like he was maneuvering his way down a mogul field up at Mt Baker, each leap a heart stopping moment for me fearing his airborne weight would somehow pull us both off the trail for the fast way to the bottom. But, the promise, made nearly a mile back on the trail, of one of Danielle’s homemade chocolate chip cookies when we reached the beach, had him running!

I released my grip on Hayden and let him run the final steep little strait away. He opened his little toddler stride and ran it out with Maddy and I close behind until we popped out of the woods and onto the north end of a beautiful 2-mile crescent shaped sandy beach. We stopped and took in the awesomeness of where we had landed. The ends of the beach were bookmarked with spires of black jagged rocks rising mysteriously in the fog. Driftwood of all shapes and sizes gave the promise of forts, lost treasures from the sea, and hours of exploring and entertainment. Abbey, Danielle and Mischa arrived minutes after us, and Hayden immediately whispered in my ear, “Cookie?!” 

After refueling our engines with cookies we headed south looking for the freshwater creek about a mile down the beach. At this point, it was close to 5PM, we’d been on the trail for about 2 hours, and Hayden had not had his nap and quickly requested, “Up”. With Hayden in arms, a 55 pound pack on my back, and a mile to go, I was definitely missing Brandon!

We arrived at the creek and found a perfect little campsite right next to it. There were a few groups scattered along the beach and in the woods on either side, but, far enough apart you could forget they were even there. We immediately all fell into setting up camp… tents went up and cook kits came out while Maddy and Abbey entertained Hayden and collected wood for a fire. Danielle and I worked on dinner while Mischa built a fire and arranged driftwood logs around it for seating.

And finally, we sat and filled our bellies with warm food, and took in the beauty of Shi Shi Beach. Around 10PM, after a high energy, adventure filled day, Hayden fell asleep in my arms as we sat by the fire telling stories. We all decided it was time to turn in.

Hayden, my 5AM riser, slept until 8AM the next day! We woke to beautiful day with light fog and promises of at least a peak of some blue sky. No sooner had we got the fire going and coffees and cocoas and oatmeal in our bellies and the kids were off! There were buoys and sea weed to drag along the beach, waves to be chased by, tide pools to find and driftwood to explore. I quickly threw together a daypack with a few snacks and juice and followed the trio as they adventured down the beach. Hayden grabbed a piece of bull kelp, held it by the tail end, which he called the leash, and named it “Peace Man”. Peace Man spent the rest of the day with us, visiting tide pools and forts, climbing on rocks, and building sandcastles.

We awoke the third day to a thick wet fog. The ocean waves were fierce as they crashed onto the beach, the water beyond looked wind torn, and the jagged rocks that framed Shi Shi Beach disappeared into the fog. We huddled by our fire, ate some breakfast and while the kids let the waves chase them up and down the beach, Mischa, Danielle and I broke down camp and prepared for the journey home.

An ocean playground, in a gorgeous Olympic Peninsula scene, a short hike to get there…. there couldn’t be a more perfect place to bring your kids backpacking!!!  

[View with PicLens]

12►

Happy Adventures!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

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!

[View with PicLens]

12►

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.

[View with PicLens]

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden