Open Ocean Paddling Safety

With the popularity of open ocean paddling increasing, all paddlers need to practice and communicate to others the importance of open water paddling safety measures. These include:

• Always paddle with a partner stay within close proximity of one another
• Always use a leash
• Carry a cell phone in a waterproof case
• Carry a whistle
• Carry water
• Practice sun protection with sunscreen, a hat or visor, eyewear, and a surf shirt

Remember if you get in trouble, are falling a lot, or are having difficulty with the wind blowing you where you don't want to go you can always go on your knees and paddle or even prone paddle with your arms. To prone paddle place the paddle blade under your chest with the shaft facing forward.

The joys and benefits of distance paddling are boundless for those who have experienced a good downwind run. Lets make sure everyone can experience this without mishap.

Stand Up Paddle Association of Hawaii (SUPAH)

A non-profit association has been started to promote distance paddle training. It’s called Stand Up Paddle Association of Hawaii - acronym SUPAH. The SUPAH clinics are distance paddle instruction and training for novices through accomplished paddlers. Instructors signed up so far are Todd Bradley, Aaron Napoleon, Guy Pere, Morgan Hoesterey, Kainoa Beaupre and Doug Lock. Here’s the dates and potential topics for the clinics:

1/24/09 Paddling Technique 1 and Ocean Safety
2/21/09 Paddling Technique 2
3/7/09 Open Ocean Paddling and Bump Riding
4/18/09 Equipment and Mock Race
5/16/09 Kaimana Run and Graduation Party
June race season starts

Clinics are scheduled on the Saturdays with no Kanaka Ikaika race. They will start at 7:30am and go for 2-3 hours. The format will include instruction and individual coaching along with the opportunity to try various race boards. Location will be at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai. A flyer with details and pricing will be available soon and a website is being constructed for SUPAH at http://www.suphawaii.org/

SUPAH will also be doing community service projects such as ocean/shoreline cleanups using SUPs and public awareness and educational campaigns on SUP ocean safety and surf etiquette.

2009 Race Schedules

Here is the tentative 2009 race schedule for all races available for SUP. The one-man and paddleboard races graciously provide a categoryfor SUP:

Overall Schedule: http://www.wetfeethawaii.com/2009-SUP-Race-Schedule.htm

The Holiday Burn Off put on by Pa`a is the first race of the year on January 3rd:

http://www.y2kanu.com/htm/09_Oahu/paa/Hol-Burn-09.pdf

See you there!

2nd Birthday Party

Wet Feet is having its 2nd anniversary party on Saturday December 6th. Come by and check out our new logo clothing and party specials including a free C4 paddle with a purchase of a C4 board until December 28th. Register for the C4 sweepstakes to win a C4 board, paddle or accessories. By any board and paddle and get a free beefy paddle bag or pay only 19.95 for the bag with paddle purchase. Free refreshments too!

Race Class Standardization

This is an important topic for race organizers, board manufacturers and racers. There has been some consensus on the subject and what seems to make a lot of sense is the following for race classes:

Stock 12'-6" and under - This was the stock class at Battle of the Paddle and what the Pro Division was restricted to. Boards that qualify are:

12-6 Jimmy Lewis Distance
12-0 C4 Holoholo
12-1 Surftech Laird Surf
12-5 Infinity Custom Race
12-0 and 12-6 Joe Bark
12-6 Starboard Cruiser
12-6 Custom Joe Blair
12-0 Hobie Surf
12-1 Ron House Surf
12-6 Race boards from Battle of the Paddle including Dennis Pang, Hobie, Ron House, and Ohana

Stock up to 14' and no rudder - This is the standard size race board and includes:

14-0 C4 Vortice and Vortice XP
14-0 Ted Spencer/Wet Feet model
14-0 Joe Bark
14-0 Surftech Joe Bark Expedition
14-0 Custom Infinity
14-0 Custom Sandwich Isles Composite by Mark Raaphorst

Open/Unlimited Class - This class includes any length greater than
14-0 or with rudder. All the models below use an active steering rudder:

19-0 Joe Bark
F-16 and F-18 Sandwich Isles Composite by Mark Raaphorst
16-0 Ted Spencer/Wet Feet model
14-8 Starboard The Point

We'd like to hear your feedback on this and hope to have all the race organizers in agreement on standardized classes next summer. The Hawaii organizers that we have talked to think these categories are good and fit the board manufacturers models.

The main thing it to get more people racing! With standardized classes participation is encouraged because racers know they are competing only with those with similar equipment. An added bonus would be some sort of age brackets but that is not as important and will come with time and more participation. ~ Jeff

Photo courtesy of Battle of the Paddle

Demo Board Sale

If you know anything about our demo fleet, you know that we have around 30 demo boards. The smallest board that we have at the moment is an 8'6 Infinity, and we have all the way up to the 14' Vortice and Ted Spencers. The cost of a half day rental (3.5 hours)is $30.00, and the cost of a full day (10am-5:30pm) is $50 for the surfboards and $75 per day for the race/downwind boards. No matter how many demo boards you try, all of your demo prices get applied toward a purchase price if you decide to buy a board.

Right now, in addition to the regular rentals, we are actually selling some of the more popular demo boards. We don't usually have used boards in the shop, so the demo sale is a good opportunity to get a used board.

The Demos that we are selling are...

C4 9'0 Bat Tail--$995
C4 10'0 --$995
Surftech Laird 10'0--$995
12'0 Infinity Tandem Board--$995

The list was longer yesterday, so if you are looking for a used board, stop by and check out what we have.

-M

Battle of the Paddle Footage

My friend Chris Aguilar from Soul Surf Media was there at the Battle of the Paddle with his camera, documenting the race.  Despite the fact that the wind was strong enough to blow him off the beach, he came up with some cool footage of the age group race as well as the pre-race and elite race.

Here is the video from the elite race, age group race, and pre-race, respectively...

-Morgan

The Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle- ELITE RACE from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle - OPEN RACE from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.


Rainbow Sandals - Battle of the Paddle - PRE RACE SEQUENCE from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

Surf Paddles with Low Shaft Angles

Doug Lock has been experimenting with low shaft angles for surfing ever since he tried the Shaw and Tenney wood oar paddle. These blades of these paddles have a low forward bend, less than 5 degrees, verses the normal 10 degrees. He says this provides a quicker more positive power which is desirable for catching waves and manuvering in the lineup. Because there is less forward bend the stroke starts further back so the long paddle shaft doesn't bend as much which adds to the powerful feel. In addition when placing the paddle on the water while riding the wave it doesn't really matter which side goes down. Wet Feet has a couple of paddles that fit this bill. The Blue Soul surfing paddle with a unique blade shape 8.75 inches wide and the Everpaddle Bamboo model with a 8.375 inch wide blade. The Everpaddle looks very cool and "green" but the performance is top notch since the bamboo is over a carbon blade and shaft.













Other New Paddles

Doug likes small blades for distance paddling. He likes to stroke at a high cadence to keep the board momentum up. It works well for him and he is very fast. A new Quickblade 8 inch is his current favorite. Its small size is perfect for the tapping he likes to do and also works well as an all around paddle for women.















On another note Quickblade now offers an adjustable push pin shaft with size ranges from 68-72, 72-80 and 74-82.













C4 has a new race paddle called the XPR It has a "flex tip" carbon kevlar blade which provides "kick" and the weave gives it a distinct look so it is easily distinguished from the other C4 paddles. The blade has a lot of dihedral which in combination the the 8.5 inch width provides plenty of power but with control so you it doesn't pull you off balance during the stroke and there is less tendency to bang the rail. Evan from the stand up paddle blog www.StandUpPaddleSurf.net was able to stay with me at the Coast Guard race using the C4 XPR paddle in the "Battle of the Pake". Don't let this guy fool you with his humble posts.”.

~Jeff

Food Drive Race on Novemer 22nd

Put on by PA`A Hawaii to make some room for the stuffing and get together with paddling ohana for a fun race day. At the same time, they’ll be collecting canned goods to help out those who aren’t so fortunate to make their Thanksgiving a little better.

Registration: 7:30am - 9:00am Hawaii Kai Boat RampCourse: Hawaii Kai to Kaimana (May change due to conditions)

Vessels: OC1, OC2, SS1, SUP

Divsions: OC1 — Open, Masters 40+, Masters 50+ OC2 — Open SS1 — Open SUP — Open

Entry: $25 + at least one canned goodLunch and Awards to follow at Kapiolani Park

Go to http://paahawaii.com/ to also see some upcoming 2009 events

"Life is Good" Comes to Wet Feet

We just got Life is Good Stuff! We have everything from Men's and Women's shirts to frisbees and soccer balls to coffee mugs, travel mugs and the popular hats.




















Come see us and check it out.

There's a Race this Weekend!

This Sunday, November 2nd the United States Canoe Association is having a race. The race is a fundraser for the families of the men lost in the loss of rescue helicopter CG-6505.

Meet at the Hawaii Kai boat ramp at 8am to sign up, and the race goes from Hawaii Kai to Magic Island with lunch after.

The race is open to OC1, OC2, OC6, surf ski, and standup paddleboard.

Race Fee is $20.00, Payable to the Coast Guard Foundation.

Here is the event flyer and contact info...

And results: http://www.standuppaddlesurf.net/2008/11/13/us-coast-guard-malama-ka-mea-hoopakele-race-results/

I think I have a magic board

At the Battle of the Paddle with Steve Boehne, the magician

In preparation for the Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle, Jeff had Steve Boehne from Infinity Surfboards shape us a couple of boards. In order to compete in the elite race, the boards had to be under 12'6, so we ended up with 2 boards, each were 12'5'' long, one was 26" wide, and the other was 28" wide.

It took about 30 seconds paddling around in flat water for me to realize that this board was something special. Love at first paddle, if you will. The glide on the more narrow board was unbelievable, and it felt less like paddling and more like floating across the surface of the water.

Now that the race is over, both Infinity boards are back in Hawaii and have gone on a couple of Hawaii Kai runs. Not only are they fast in flat California water, but they are fast in Hawaiian water as well. It seems like this board just knows how to find the bumps and link them together.

This board is testimony to something that I have believed since I was 13 years old...Steve and the guys at Infinity make magic boards. It doesn't matter if it is a longboard, a standup surfboard, or a downwind board, they are all magic, and they make it difficult to want to try anything else.

If you have a chance, come in to Wet Feet and check out Duke (the wide one) and Eddie (the narrow one).

~Morgan

Battle of the Paddle Race:

The Battle of the Paddle was THE SUP event of the year. The elite category boasted $25,000 in prize money and the age group race had 217 participants. Sponsored by Rainbow Sandals and Gerry Lopez the event was run extremely well for its first time. There were more participants than anticipated so registration took a little longer than expected but otherwise the event went very smoothly. The course was 1.5 miles. The age group race did 3 laps and the elite was supposed to do 5 laps but it was cut to 3.5 laps due to time constraints and a STRONG northwest wind that developed. This was a spectator friendly race as the elites had to do a 75 yd. run on the sand between each lap. In the elite race Chuck Patterson of Dana Point took first followed by Thibert Lusiaa of the Big Island then Aaron Napoleon of Oahu. For the elite women Jenny Kalmbach of the Big Island took first followed by Candice Appleby of Oahu then Morgan Hoesterey also from Oahu. Complete results can be found here:

http://events.bazumedia.com/event/RBP2008

and the race website is here:

https://www.rainbowsandals.com/Battleofthepaddle/default.asp

The event also featured an manufacturers expo which Wet Feet was a part of and an awesome awards dinner at the Surfing Heritage Museum in Dana Point. One of the highlights was seeing 71 year old sufing legend Mickey Munoz take 40th place in the stock division then break the ice on the dance floor that night. For next year the event will be two days and will incorporate early registration and clinics. If you want to be a part of the biggest SUP event of the year in 2009 mark your calendars for October 3rd and 4th.

Setting Up

Drew Brophy Artist and Board Decorator for Ron House

Wet Feet!

Age Group Contenders Mike Fox and Jeff Chang

Age Group Start

Age Group Finish

Jeff Finish

Morgan Getting Ready

Elites Warming Up

Elite Race Meeting

Elite Beach Start

Elites Off!

Elite Winner #67 Chuck Patterson

Jimmy and Karen

2nd and 3rd Candice and Morgan

Mickey Munoz and Friend

Need to Send a Board Somewhere??

Every now and then we are faced with days where there are multiple boards to send out. Luckily, our store manager Clark is a board packing wizard. While preping and packing 4 boards in one day may be too much for the average individual, Clark does it with a certain amount of style. Boards numbers 1, 2, and 3 were no problem, but Board number 4 proved to be a challenge even for Clark.

There was blue tape and bubble wrap everywhere, and just when it seemed like the packing had gotten the best of Clark, he pulled through, with the flair of a true professional. With the minor tape crisis safely under control, he finished packing them up and sent them out. As we speak, there are 4 boards safely on their way to their new homes in Japan.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, come in and let us know if Clark can pack and ship a board anywhere you need it to go. We have deals with several major airlines and can ship anywhere in the world.

Wet Feet Expansion Party

At the beginning of September Wet Feet expanded its home to from 900 to 2,100 sf of SUP heaven! The blessing was performed by Hawaiian Waterman and Hokuleia sailor Ka`au McKenney. After the ceremonial splashing of water with ti leaves throughout the shop, friends and family gathered to celebrate the joyous occasion. Wet Feet is now able to service the SUP community with the largest selection of SUP boards, paddles and accessories in the world!

Wet Feet now offers:

• Custom EPS Epoxy Stand Up Boards in 4 weeks by Steve Boehne of Infinity Surf


• Ready stock of hot and proven Stand Up Boards and Paddles by C4, Chambers, Jimmy Lewis, Surftech, Infinity, Angulo, Ron House Gerry Lopez, Hobie ,Robin Johnston, Quickblade, Kialoa, Werner, Kinimaka and Everpaddle


• Stand Up Open Ocean and Race Boards by Ted Spencer, Steve Bohne, Mark Raaphorst, C4 and Jimmy Lewis


• Huge assortment of SUP accessories, everything you could ever need for the water.


• Stylish Clothing and Accessories


• Large selection of True Ames, Future, Island Fin Design, and Rainbow fins
  Artwork, Jewelry and Photography from local artists including Heather Brown, Jeannie Chesser, Leighton Lam, and Zak Noyle


• Stretch and Mitsu Quads and Fishes
  Paddleboards


• All kine Da Kine


• Kitesurf and Tow-in Gear
  
  Ka`au Blessing

All Eyes on Ka`au

Owners Doug, Karen and Jeff

Todd Payes

Shop Manager Clark!

Kiddies

Kevin Seid of Everpaddle

Rockin Ron and Friends

Da Greatest Customers

Doreen Skedeleski of Surfco

Grinds!

Da Staff Clark, K-lo and Morgan

Janis Magin of PBN and Husband
Olympic Swimmer and
Hawaii Free Dive Icon Sonny Tanabe

Our Awesome Customers

Lips

Friends

Joey from Halekulani

Leighton Lam Surfer and Jewelry Maker Extraordinaire

David Shaw of Coral Reef

Jimmy Lewis



Morgan and Iwalani of Pualani


WELCOME TO OUR WET FEET BLOG

Aloha, and welcome to our blog. We are a surf shop on the South Shore of Oahu that specializes in everything that is Standup Paddling. We pride ourselves in having the largest selection of Standup Boards in the world, and can ship boards anywhere you need them to go.

We will try to answer any questions that you may have about equipment, or anything relating to Standup. Feel free to leave us a comment, and we will try to address any questions that you may have.

Our blog will also have photos and video of Standup events that are happening around town.