New Blog Site

Hi Everyone,

We have switched the Wet Feet Blog over to a new location...In the future, we will be posting to http://wetfeethawaii.wordpress.com/.  Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you over there!!

Thanks,

The Wet Feet Crew

KOOK or KOOL by Blane Chambers

This is an exerpt regarding Standup Paddle Surfing from the Paddle Surf Hawaii website.  You can learn more about Blane Chambers and the rest of the Paddle Surf Hawaii crew at http://www.paddlesurfhawaii.com/.

How are you representing Stand Up Paddle Surfing?
Are you Dangerous to others? Are you a WAVE HOG?

When Beach Boy surfing, there are Kool things and things that make you a huge KOOK!
This section is dedicated to Kook & Kool!

1. You paddle out floundering to a lineup with surfers. You can barely stay standing but proceed right into or outside of the lineup. You paddle for waves while people scramble out of your way only to fall off before you can even get on the wave.... Your big board becomes an extremely dangerous projectile... Kook alert!! KOOK!! KOOK!! KOOK!! KOOK!!

2. You can barely stay standing so you practice in an area where no one is around that you could endanger or bum out. You care about the world wide effects of SUP surfing so you paddle and surf with Aloha. Very KOOL!!

3. You start to get the hang of it and want to surf better waves so you decide to surf a more popular spot. You paddle out and stand outside everyone. The sets come and you paddle in like a locomotive right thru the pack. You get waves in every set... KOOK!!

4. You start to get the hang of it and want to surf better waves so you decide to surf a more popular spot. You paddle out and check out the situation. You see waves off to the side that a lot less people go for. You catch a few of those... Since you don't want to wear out your welcome, you decide to catch only a few set waves at most. You surf with Aloha.... KOOL!
5. You paddle out on an in-consistent day to a crowded spot. You stand outside everyone the whole duration of the lulls. You never sit down so you tower over others the whole time... You make sure you catch a wave from every set. KOOK!

6. You paddle out on an in-consistent day to a crowded spot. You feel like you're on stage so you stand off to the side or sit down between sets because you don't like blocking everyone's view of the beautiful ocean. You catch a couple waves then move to the inside or on to another spot or just paddle around because you figured out how to surf with Aloha... KOOL!!

7. You're pretty good and can get in and around the surf well... You surf crowded spots and catch all the waves you can. Small ones, set waves etc. Because you can surf good you get plenty waves. You're always calling people off your waves. You just can't help yourself to sit sets out so you basically take over the spot for the duration of your surf. HUGE SELFISH KOOK!!!!!!!!

8. You're pretty good and can get in and around the surf well... You go to a crowded spot and check out what's going on. You see some of the lesser quality waves going un-ridden and surf those. You catch a ton of waves but ones that no one really wants. You paddle out and get a few set waves but you make sure others get waves by quietly cluing them in to incoming sets. You become a quiet spotter of sorts for others to score good waves.... You always sit out a few sets. You use your high vantage point to stoke others out. KOOL!! (When you arrive and it's already crowded NOT GOING OUT THERE is the KOOLEST!)

9. You see how cool SUP surfing is because you can paddle fast and want to get back at those greedy longboarders. You decide to get into it to take over and be the dominent surfer at any spot at any time. Do the entire surfing world a favor and don't get into it. You are the biggest KOOK!!!!!!

10. You see how cool SUP surfing is because you can do something that is a challenge, get great exercise, paddle far up the coast at will, have a blast riding waves you never thought would be fun, discover new spots, like to enjoy the comraderie of the SUP surfers around the world. KOOL!!

Note:
If there are more than one of you SUP surfing, everything becomes doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.
Avoid heavy rotations with other SUP surfers when surfing with others.
Be aware of your actions and the actions of others. BE KOOL!

It's our 3rd Anniversary!!!

Wet Feet is happy to announce that on December 12, 2009 from 4pm to 7pm, we will be celebrating our 3rd year anniversary!  To help us commemorate the event, Gerry Lopez will be joining us for a book signing of his recent release, "Surf is where you find it."  We would also be honored if you would join us to help celebrate.  Come meet and talk story with Gerry Lopez, network with other Standup Paddlers in our community and enjoy the complimentary pupus and refreshments!

We also would like to thank all of you for your continued support over the past few years.  We couldn't do it without you!

Hope to see you on Saturday!!!

Aloha,

The Wet Feet Crew

Coast Guard Fallen Guardians Race

The Coast Guard Fallen Guardians Race from Hawaii Kai to Ala Moana was fun! All kinds of craft, 6 man, one man, two man, surfski and of course SUP. In the SUP there were some pretty fast times with Rob Stehlik first, Jeff Chang second and Darin Kohara third. In the women's race Nicole Madosik was first, Barbara Bumatay second and Sharon Stehlik third. Complete results are here:

www.pacificsportevents.com/Races/USCG/Standup_09.htm

The race was organized to show support and gratitude to the men and women of the United States Coast Guard. People who train every day to be ready to answer the call when some one is in trouble at sea. Last year, on September 4th, Coast Guard helicopter 6505 crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a training exercise, all hands were lost. Each of the crew left behind a family. The Coast Guard Foundation has the Fallen Heroes Scholarship fund that is exclusively for the children of men and women of the US Coast Guard who have died in the line of duty. The proceeds of this race will go to the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund. For more information about the Coast Guard Foundation please visit their website at: www.coastguardfoundation.org/

The Standup Project is Online!

Talented producer, and our good friend Chris Aguilar of Soul Surf Media has launched a new online video journal called The Standup Project. Featuring videos ranging from profiles to event coverage, his website is a new way to learn about what is going on in the standup community.

Visit http://www.standupproject.com to see what Soul Surf Media has come up with. Videos are free until January, so visit the site to check them out!

2009 Battle of the Paddle was a Battle!

In the Elite/Pro race the winners were Jamie Mitchell and Shakira Westdor, 2nd Place went to 14 year old Slater Trout and Candice Appleby, and 3rd Place went to Brandi Baksic and Danny Ching. It was carnage going in and out of the head high surf 3 times on each of the 5 laps with places changing every lap. So exciting to watch!

In the 10 mile distance race Danny Ching was first followed by Rober Rojas and Thomas Gallagher. For the women Brandi Baksic was first followed by Candice Appleby and Jenny Kalmbach. Complete race results are here: http://www.rainbowsandals.com/battleofthepaddle/Results1.asp

Race Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetfeethawaii

Video here:

By Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

Races and Roadtrips

The end of September and the beginning of October are a busy time for the Standup racing community. The end of racing season starts next Saturday the 26th with the Hennessey International race up in San Fransisco.

The race starts from Aquatic Park, goes around Angel and Alcatraz Islands, and back for the prone paddlers, and features a shorter, 6 mile race for the Standups. For more information and entry forms for this race, visit the Hennessey Paddleboarding site at http://www.hennesseyspaddleboarding.com/events/hipc.aspx

I am planning on road tripping it up to San Fransisco from Southern California with a friend of mine, and in preparation for the trip, I picked up some Docks Locks from the shop here to keep our boards safe on the journey...I have been looking for an inexpensive way to secure my board to the car for awhile now, and the Docks Locks seem to be the way...

The following weekend is the highly anticipated Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle...This event will include an age group race, an elite race, a distance race, and a SUP relay, all spread out over the weekend of October 3 and 4. Wet Feet will be represented in all the disciplines as well as will have a tent at the SUP expo that accompanies the races.

For more information and entry forms for the Battle of the Paddle, visit the Rainbow Sandals website at http://www.rainbowsandals.com

The Skinny on Barks!

More on the latest Bark boards . . . the Oahu boys Aaron Napolean, Guy Pere, Scott Gamble, Rob Stehlik, Pete Johnson, Reid Inouye and myself have been training and racing on Bark 18s. At Wet Feet we have had the pleasure to closely examine all of them. To the casual observer the 18′ Barks appear to be the same, sleek with a beautiful carbon bottom, colorful top and canoe like displacement hull. But after checking out all the boards that have come to Oahu there are obvious and subtle differences Joe has been putting into the boards to customize it for each rider. The first batch had a clean rolled bottom, much like a one-man canoe but wider. Although heavier, these boards are some of the fastest in flat water and the North Shore races. Rob took second to Aaron, who was on a much lighter double concave bottom, at the recent Haleiwa Joe’s race and I won the Solstice race on one – mostly because a lot of the fastest guys weren’t there! You would think the heavy board would be slower, but in the right conditions with the clean simple bottom it maintains the glide further once you get it going. It does however take a lot of muscle to make work. From this model Joe evolved into the double concave bottom and made the boards much lighter. This has served well in the bump, especially conditions like in the Hawaii Kai run. Some of the boards have very subtle concaves while others are more pronounced. Some have more rolled noses and tails while others are more knifey, some have more rocker while others are straighter. The concaves allow the board to be more stable when narrower and help the board to drive forward on the glide instead of yaw. This makes for a more positive surf down the bump vs. a washy feel. Joe does an expert job at blending all the variables to make magic boards. He is truly a master shaper and has made a LOT of standup race boards so he knows what works and what doesn’t. The result on a downwind run is an easy entry into the bump and an ease of maintaining speed to stay with it as it splits and reforms. The boards have proven themselves in local racing as they are most often in 1st and 2nd place with a hefty sprinkling in the top 7. While a Bark may not be as fast as a planing hull like the Raaphorst and Naish in the big bump it comes pretty close. The kicker is the start and end of most races are flat till you get to the good wind. So the Bark typically will get a lead then the planing hull might catch up but once you near the finish line the Bark will catch up or pull away. As always the motor is way more important than the boat, but if you get a Bark you won’t be able to blame the equipment if you don’t do well in a race!

The Standup Project

If you have followed our blog for any length of time, you have seen the videos that have been posted and you keep hearing about this guy Chris Aguilar who is a friend of mine. Anyway, Chris has been working on an online video journal with all things Standup. The site is www.theStandupProject.com and will be launching in October of this year.

Below is a video that highlights some of the content that will be showcased on his site...

Beach Shorts Trailer- The Stand Up Project from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

Costa Del Mar Sunglasses on Sale!

Costa del Mar sunglasses are on sale! All glasses are 30% off.

All Costa del Mar lenses deliver amazing color, contrast and clarity and are backed for life. If something happens to your sunglasses, Costa del Mar will fix them, and if it it is their fault, they will fix them for free!

For more info on these sunglasses, please see the Costa del Mar website at
http://www.costadelmar.com

Demo Board Sale!!!

We have a demo board sale going on right now for those of you who are looking to purchase a used board. The boards all come with rail guards as well as the items listed next to the photo...In addition to the boards pictured, we also have a 9'0 Surftech Blacktip on sale for $795, and a C4 Vortice Downwind Board on sale for $1295.

11'3 Aquaglide on sale for $795



11'0 Surftech Takayama on sale for $995



10'4 Angulo on sale for $895



10'3 Paddle Surf Hawaii on sale for $895



10'0 Surftech Infinity on sale for $995


9'9 C4 on sale for $995

Pre-Race and Race Day Photos

I just recieved photos from Sanja Du Plessis, who was nice enough to come along on my escort boat from Molokai to Oahu. Here are some of the images that she came away with from the day of the race...

Kevin Seid from Everpaddle and I preparing an offering to the ocean for a safe crossing

Pre-race stretching session

Jeff Chang and his escort boat near the start of the race

Morgan catching a small bump near the start

Team Wet Feet

The Channel gets a bit rougher as you approach Oahu

Jeff battling the wind into the finish line

Almost There...

Yay Jeff!

Morgan almost done...

It's over!!!

My other training partner Nicole and her Partner Ron finish the race!

The trusty Wet Feet Support Crew...Cory, Drew, and of course, THE one and only Chris Chang on the front

Nicole called race day the best day of her life. Ha ha, she is like a crazy person...But she had a big smile when it was all over

On a personal note for me, I wanted to say a special thanks to Go Kandoo Oahu (http://www.gokandoo.com) for providing me with what was probably the nicest escort boat in the whole race. Kyle Kim and his crew over there were so awesome and their help was very much appreciated.
I would also like to thank Joe Bark and his crew in LA (http://www.barkocean.com) for helping us out with our boards for the race. Not only were they the best looking boards out there, but they were fast as well.

We made it!!

Without becoming too emotional about this whole thing, I want to take a minute and write about Jeff Chang who, this past Sunday crossed the Molokai channel for the second time in the SUP solo division. Jeff and I managed to shave 2 hours off our times from last year and finish the 32 miles in just under 7 hours. Throughout this season, Jeff arranged training runs, put up with my mental problems, helped me get my board around, and just made it possible for me to get across the channel for a second time. Jeff is such a humble guy that I know he won't talk about what he did, but I think that he is awesome, and I attribute any success that I have had in the channel to him.

During the race, we both took a northerly line in hopes of avoiding the brutal head winds that were waiting around portlock point. Although we had become separated for much of the race, in the final hours, our lines met up and I was able to follow Jeff in to the finish line.

Special thanks are in order as well to Jeff's son Chris Chang for letting me be his friend. I get to tell people that I know Chris Chang, and consequently people think that I am cool by association, so his friendship is very much appreciated.

Molokai...Day 1

True to form, we showed up at the airport and found the tiniest plane EVER waiting for us.  Our boarding passes looked like Costco reciepts, and I thought that Kevin Seid from Everpaddle was going to have a heart attack as he wedged himself into the plane.  Despite the somewhat um, interesting take-off, the flight was pretty smooth, and the view was awesome.

Now, we are just waiting for Jeff Chang to arrive and then all of team Wet Feet/Everpaddle will be here.  Check back with us for updates on Jeff, Morgan and Kevin...Most people don't travel with a film crew, but we do, so there should be lots of footage coming soon.

It's Getting Down to the Wire...

So, we are 10 days out from the Rainbow Sandals Molokai to Oahu paddleboard race, and it seems like everyone who comes into the shop has racing on the brain.   After months of training, the race is finally almost here, and this year should be a fun one to watch.  If the Battle of the Paddle was any indication of how Rainbow Sandals runs all their races, Molokai should be an awesome event to participate in.  In addition, the prize money has brought in some huge names in the Standup World, and the race on the men's solo standup side will be a really solid field.

For us, the training is finally tapering down, and the days of 20 mile training runs are behind us (for now, anyway). I know that all of us here at Wet Feet are excited to get to Molokai and see what this years race has to offer.  

New Bark Soft Goods In!

Wet Feet is now fully stocked with the 2009 Bark Clothing Line. Come in and check it out!

Molokai Training Days

The Wet Feet crew has been doing loooong training runs for the past few months ranging from 20 to 27 miles. Pictured are the core crew of Aaron, Rob, Morgan and Jeff. Herbie has been joining in as well as others on occasion. After awhile it becomes meditative and quite enjoyable as you study the subtleties of the ocean swells and get better and reading them for longer rides. On the various days we encountered all kinds of conditions from flat and windless to super rough (around Makapuu) which humbled us to our knees. We need to thank Aaron for being a sport and waiting for us!

Independence Day Race

It was a picture perfect day for the 4th of July Independence Day Race put on by Hui O He`e Nalu with Wet Feet being one of the sponsors. The race was a 4 mile sprint from Sunset Beach to Waimea Bay and is traditionally the biggest paddle event on Oahu every year. This year was no exception with 385 entrants of which over 200 were standups! Wet Feet made a good showing with 2nd place finishes in the mens and womens races by Jeff and Morgan on Bark Unlimited SUPs. Enjoy the photos.

Complete race results can be found here:

http://www.pacificsportevents.com/Races/Hui%20Paddleboard/2009/Divisions_Standup_09.htm

Morgan Takes 3rd Overall in the Catalina Rock to Rock Race

On June 21st teamrider Morgan Hoesterey took third place overall in the SUP class of the 22 mile race from Catalina Island to Palos Verdes California. She raced on a 14' Bark in rough and windy conditions uncharacteristic of that channel. Check the video and congrats Morgan!

Bark Takes 1 and 2 in the First Two Summer Paddle Races

Bark 18' standup racers took first and second place at both the Cline Mann Memorial Race on June 16th and the Summer Solstice Race on June 22nd. The Cline Mann was an 8 mile downwind race from Hawaii Kai to the Outrigger Canoe Club near Kaimana Beach. The course was very challenging with a big south swell running causing lots of water movement on the course and making it tricky to find rides. Coming in the finish line racers had to negotiate double overhead close out sets and there were a few yard sales. Guy Pere won the race in a time of 1:19:16 and Scott Gamble took a close second 1:03 behind Guy. The Summer Solstice was an even closer race comprised of a 3.5 mile sprint in windy downwind conditions and small bumps from Kukaimanini (Dead Man’s Curve next to Kawela Bay) to Ehukai Beach Park. Jeff Chang won in a time of 29:45 with Pete Johnson only 1.3 seconds back. The next race is Da Hui's July 4th Independence Day Race, 3.5 miles from Sunset Beach to Waimea Bay. Wet Feet is a sponsor and entry forms can be found here:

http://www.hawaiipaddleboardassociation.com/2009-forms/independence09_entry.PDF

Complete race results for the Cline Mann and Summer Soltice can be found here:

http://www.pacificsportevents.com/Races/Cline%20Mann/2009/Divisions_Short_09.htm

http://www.timelinehawaii.com/Results/SOLSTICE%20AGR%20GRP%2009.HTM#%201

Blair Boards Are Here!

Our two newest demo boards are here, the 8'11" Blair and the 10'1" Blair.

The Dimensions for the 8'11" are: 8’ 11” x 29 ¾” x 4 ½”
The Dimensions for the 10'1" are: 10’ 1” x 32 ½” x 5”

Some of the things that people like about these boards are:

-More kick in the nose of the board, making late take offs a bit easier
-The boards are shorter and more manageable, which makes them more maneuverable
-There is a full concave going into double concave with "V" in the tail, making the board faster

-The fins are moved up 4" further than all other manufacturers so the board is quicker turning.

Here is a video from Joe Blair's Website:

Kainoa McGee Standup at Pipeline

by Chris at www.Soulsurfmedia.com

There are few in the world that are able to take out a stand up paddle board at Pipeline. But Kainoa McGee is an exception to the rule. His water time at Pipe include winning bodyboard championships and being the first to drop knee stance at this incredible wave. Secondly, Kainoa has an incredible story of surviving a near fatal illness after which he learned to surf and shortly there after returned to Pipe within a year to place in the Pipe Masters.

Kainoa McGee Takes on Pipeline: The Paddle Project from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

The Prettiest Board Ever.

So, I found out today that if you ask Joe Bark to make you a "pretty board," he doesn't mess around. Joe Bark and his team were nice enough to make me a 16 footer with a tiller for the upcoming paddleboard race season. After discussing dimensions, Joe asked me what I would like it to look like, and I decided to leave it to his discretion. Yesterday, I anxiously picked up the board and as Doug and I began to unwrap it, I started wondering what his definition of pretty would be.


As it turns out, Joe not only knows how to shape, but he and his guys over in Los Angeles know how to make a board look good as well. It is by far the most beautiful board that I have ever seen.


I took it out for a run this morning, and it paddles as nicely as it looks. I have never used a rudder/tiller system before, so I was a bit worried about how long it would take to get used to, but after about the first 15 minutes, the whole thing made sense.


In short, the board is killer, and I can't wait to try it out in windier conditions.