Here's a little video I put together of SUP footage I had on hand from last October's OBX trip, some good sessions at the lake here and at Jetty Park near Cocoa Beach 2 weeks ago. It's about 12 minutes which I realize is way too long for anyone's digital attention span these days, but it's fun and really shows the multi-faceted capability of the SUP idea.
If anybody wants a sharper, larger copy of this video, I'd be glad to mail you a cd -- free, of course.
(Just click and it will play. No downloading or any hassle.)
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=27663&CID=171488
I'm telling you folks, this thing is a major revolution! Power to the people!!!
The SUP has really changed the game. As a guy who always wants to get wet, especially in salt water, I can not imagine EVER going to the coast again without one. The SUP has even motivated Clay Feeter, the orginal founding publisher of WindTracks Journal to get back in the magazine business in a big way. He has the first issue out of "Surf and Sail STANDUP JOURNAL" which you can read about at http://standupjournal.com/current.htm
It's a 100+ page mag that is in the Surfer's Journal tradition of super-high production values and priced accordingly. It will cover not only SUP but long and short-board windsurfing with an emphasis on lifestyle and photography. Only will come out 4 times per year.
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)
Chuck,
I have been wondering.... How hard is it to SUP around with boat/jetski induced chop?
Albert
Video has been removed or has expired
got another link?
Alan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9I-zeyE6nQ
Nice production, Sultan. I esp like the JB tracks... still hard to believe he's free at last.
Well - whenever someone tries it on a lake with boats let me know.
Until then I guess I'll just take the kayak to the Hooch.
Albert
Folks are riding the SUP's all over lakes and rivers. Handling chop and bumpy water is no problem on these big boards. I mean, if they can ride white water rapids on rivers -- see youtube link below -- then us regular folks can handle jetski and boat chop in no time. Of course, that constant jostling of such beat up water like you can get in Lanier in the summer ain't much fun. I would think of a SUP on flat-water (in no wind) as a serene, quiet thing. Or, one cna get aggressive and go for some harder stroking to get some excellent full-body and core exercise.
I'm looking forward to getting on the Savannah River near Augusta soon and seeing how I do in mild rapids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNXdK4-hJmk&feature=related
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)
What kind of SUP is that guy riding? Seems like I've seen one somewhere.
Bill Herderich
I think this SUP thing must be for real. I just got a complimentary copy of a new magazine dedicated to SUP. Its impressive, lots of photos, much bigger than any windsurfing mag. But that's not what impressed. Instead it was a big advertisement by Hobie for thier SUP. Now, I have no idea if Hobie's thing is any good or not. But the fact that a big, non-windsurfing company is getting into this, says to me this thing is really taking off. (If it was just windsurfing company's I think it was just a bunch of guys hoping to turn this into something new. When a big player enters the market, you know its not just based on a hope.)
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
That SUP is a Superlight! About 1985, like mine!!
Mistral Superlight rules. The key here is the spring loaded, clear plastic fin.
But wait theres more!
If you order in the next 3.7 minutes we'll add a special bonus gift
http://www.boardfisher.com/
Now that would truly make it the swiss army board
Alan
Albert
check this out
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kig3UnDaCbk& ... re=related
Alan
For those interested in checking out he magazine Randy is mentioning, I put the link to it in the first message in this thread. (I guess my messages must be way too long, if you missed that, -- just like this one....
The whole SUP thing started about 60 years ago in Hawaii. It was called "beach boy surfing" and thought to be a sissy thing, although one well-known waterman did it for decades and was simply "tolerated" in his uncoolness by the local surf culture. Then, about 2004 I think, Laird Hamilton --we don't need to explain who he is do we?** -- took a SUP out into 20+ ft waves at Jaws. If Laird does it, then it's now cool. He just wanted to see if he could get the speed needed to match "big wave" wave speed without a jetski tow-in. Yes, he could. I give Laird the credit completely for the SUP revolution.
The next year, a bunch of surfboard shapers are making custom SUPs.
The next year, as just 2 or 3 surfboard companies tentatively get into production model SUP's, and given the Exocet KONA phenomena in windsurfing, 2 or 3 windsurfing companies go full force into it with mast tracks in the SUP's also.
At the industry trade show in Orlando last Sept, 2007, it's all about SUP, my brother. Everybody has it. Surf companies, windsurf companies, sail boat companies, catamaran companies, SUP-only companies, SUP-only dealers, paddles-for-SUP-only companies, etc.
Is it just a crazy hype and buzz? No. This is legit. Can a SuperLight and other traditional longboards do similar things as a SUP? Yes, in the hands of an experienced waterman. Can a very experienced surfer (or windsurfer) make a short super-wide AHD ZEN or Starboard START do some similar things as a SUP? Yes, just check it out on YouTube. But, for one board that can surf big and tiny waves, windsurf in flatwater or waves in little or high wind, be a perfect ws-ing teaching platform, ride a boat wake without paddling, be a relaxed, easy walk-on-the-water experience in a quiet stream, river, or lake, there's nothing like the SUP. I'm stoked on it. (Can you tell?)
** Laird Hamilton:
A few years a got the top 25 professional surfers were asked the same 5 questions in a Surf Journal mag interview. One of the questions was: Who is the best surfer ever? 20 of the 25 said Laird Hamilton. And this is a guy who never competed and still refuses to compete. Men's Journal and Outside Magazine repeatedly vote him the #1 "alpha male" in America. Kelly Slater -- now 8 times world champ -- says he'd like to be as good as Laird someday. The dude is capable.)
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)