Good day for a LONG Stand Up Paddle Board

These past few days have been great for the BIG Stand Up Paddle Surf boards. What... I though all SUPS boards were big. When the surf is ankle to knee I like to bust out my Ron House 12 footer. This board has been the fun old faithful. I've paddled it 20 miles plus, surfed itty-bitty wind chop and bombed the double overhead stuff on outside reefs. It's the all around stand up paddle length. If you're new to the sport and trying to figure out what size you should consider all these boards can do. If you're menehune size you can go 10.5- 11 feet, most adult males should consider a 12 footer if building a SUPS quiver is not an immediate option.



Today looks like more of the same surf. Small 2-3 feet of we're lucky. Get there before the winds show up. It does look like there is some long period southern energy headed our way. Cross your fingers and keep paddling. Here's what today looks like.

Evening SUPS session

Sunday evening, the sun is out, the wind is calm and the tide is pushing. Papa-G, the Major and myself pack up and make for an evening session. As we drive south the sun starts to disappear and we start seeing signs of more wind than we didn't hope for. We pull up to see small lines, minimal crowd and an almost unwelcoming texture on the surface.

We paddle out and patiently pull through disappearing waves and the transitioning tide waiting for it to settle on the bottom. The sun starts to go down down, wind stopped and the tide settles. Wave height jumps two feet and "juicy" becomes the word of the session. Made some new friends tonight and hopefully was a good will ambassador for the sport of Stand Up Paddle Surfing.

Decreasing south swell. Get it while you can!

Saturday Stand Up Paddle Surf treat

Usually don't find myself in the line up on Saturdays but the stars and planets aligned and I was able to get wet and SUP before an afternoon appointment. Wave and interval was perfect for a little spot that I like to frequent. 2-4ft surf with no winds until around noon plus the weekend crowd disappeared around 9AM.

Lefts rights and lots of walls. Too much south for this spot and the tides were making it perfect for Stand Up Paddle Surfing. Big deep spot on the main peak was my friend.

So now that today's session is history, what will manana bring??? Maybe 2-3'+ as the new SSW starts to fill in throughout Sunday?? Maybe.... and maybe the sun will come out too!

Happy SUPin' and Paddle with Aloha. (which means don't paddle into a line up and snag the first wave right out the hands of the guy that was sitting there for 20 minutes in perfect position. You know who you are KOOK! I saw the whole thing and you were wrong!)

Mildly windy afternoon Stand Up Paddle Surf

Friday afternoon, the winds are blowing 10+ knots out of the northwest, pua hana for the day.... yeah it's time for some Stand Up Paddle Surf. Lately I've been mingling more with the lay-down surfing scene. Another of my buddies is going to pull the trigger soon and get a SUPS board. Today he had to pull out the longboard and the other guy was on a 6'0" with lots of volume so he could get into this dying south swell. I'm on my 9'6" and could have brought the 12 footer with the crumbly surf.

I think the wind ran off most of the crowd cause when we rolled up the line up was light. The waves were 3-4ft and soft, inconsistent but playful. We all had a fair amount of good rides. The sun broke out after about 45 minutes of surfing. Great way to end the week and start the weekend.

Saturday SUPS

It finally feels like a summer day here in San Clemente. The ohana and I head down to the beach to spend the afternoon down by the water. We grab our piece of of sand, the keiki gets his buckets and sand tools, momma has her beach chair and I slide out through the channel to catch some waves.

The line up is pinched together on this one peak, close to thirty guys. Long boards, shorts boards, soft top boards and now one Stand Up Paddle Board. The wind is blowing in such a way (combined with the funk in the tide) that the rights have an almost non-makeable section where the pack is sitting. And if one was to sit on what looks like it would be the shoulder, it would actually be the perfect spot to connect. So I choose to pick up "the leftovers" and NOT stand in the middle of the lineup.

So, these "left overs" are actually the place to be. Lefts and rights come in and it doesn't take long for the crowd to see that they're about 50 feet in the wrong direction. They move over so I cruise to a spot I little less inconsistent but with nobody there. Size wise it was a little bit bigger and every once in a while one connected right through the line and I ended up paddling a long way back :-)

After my wonderful SUPS session I hang with the boy building sandcastles. Life is good.

Remember to Paddle with Aloha and be a King not a Kook!

Stand Up Paddle Board

The title should be more like Happy 5th of July, not Stand Up Paddle Board, but what--ever. And since I'm rambling, I ate way too much this weekend.

So anyways, it's no secret, but if it is I'm not going to spoil it. Everybody is stuck in traffic and headed home from the long weekend... this year sponsored by the SEC.gov Everyone except those I was out with this evening enjoying post fireworks summer time lines. Me and one other Stand Up Paddler were sharing waves with a handful of locals.

Oh and we could use a little more sun to go with these waves, and a little less eddy please.

But really, Happy Birthday America!!! Be sure to recognize the ongoing battle for our freedoms, the cost associated with them, and may God continue to bless us.