"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.