To begin their fourth consecutive show at Outdoor Retailer, Boardworks Surf hosted its’ Second Annual Weber River Run on stand up paddleboards. With the growing interest in SUP, especially in the Rockies region in the whitewater category, there could not have been a better way to launch into the show week. “Our Annual Weber River Run is a great opportunity to get our Boardworks team members, reps, dealers, friends of the family, and media people out on the river having a great time together on our Boardworks products. The trip really is an adventure for everyone, and at the end of the day the camaraderie it creates between everyone is priceless.” commented Phil Rainey, GM of Boardworks.
River SUP Instruction with Luke Hopkins from Stride SUP www.ridestride.com
River SUP Instruction with Luke Hopkins from Stride SUP www.ridestride.com from luke hopkins on Vimeo.
Find stand up paddling instruction at: ridestride.com. The US National Whitewater Center is great for whitewater stand up paddleboarding. Here are some basic tips on technic for paddleboarding the river.
When Stand Up Paddleboarding whitewater make sure to have a durable board that can hold up to the rocks and always where a helmet and a lifejacket. The most important aspect of whitewater paddleboarding is maintaining forward speed with powerful forward strokes. This will help to keep you in control of your board and not the river.
While maintaining forward speed be ready to keep the nose of the board out of the water when punching through holes or over ledges. This can be done by adjusting you position on the board further back to get the nose in the air. In this clip I make a small adjustment further back on the board just before going over a ledge. When paddling rapids always keep your knees bent. Having the knees bent will help to maintain balance on the board and to absorb shock when punching holes or going over ledges and water falls. When combining forward speed, keeping the nose out of the water and knees bent it is possible to stand up paddleboard more difficult rapids. Sometimes with larger drops or bigger holes a even wider and lower stance will help to absorb shock from impact. You legs should act as suspension when going over ledges and waterfalls.
Stand up has some major advantages when paddling in rivers. The first is the ability to see further down stream to evalute the river and the obsticles. The boards always float so if you fall off during a rapid you can just climb back on and continue paddling that same rapid. Most rivers are rocky places that demand durable gear. Choosing the right board for running rapids is important. The airlite HD made by Stride Stand Up Paddlesports is specifically designed for the river in every way. Find out more information about the Airlite HD: ridestride.com/store/?cPath=1
-Luke Hopkins
These are small tips, not huge tips. I’m not a pro, but I’ve been listening and living and showing up to races and breaks. If just one of you gets stoked on the sport without pissing off the entire surfing world, then happy, happy.
Here you go:
1. If you’ve never surfed, learn the etiquette, the rules that apply to surfers.
When you enter a lineup (the area where a group of surfers ride waves), there are rules that apply to everyone. They were established in different ways, in different places, to keep people safe and having fun. Nothing gives SUP a worse name than people who paddle out and break these rules. It’s like someone buying a car and ignoring traffic laws. People can get angry, hurt, or worse. Here is a link to a forum post. Ask questions there and people will try to answer them.
http://distressedmullet.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=49#post-153
This is the first and most important step. Don’t go to step 2 until you’ve read and understood the importance of surf etiquette.
This is the housing and mount for GoPro cameras. I got the HD version a few weeks before Christmas and was fortunate enough to have MacGyver as a friend.
It uses the GoPro mount and has a leash to attach to your wetsuit. It works well. You have to find the right angle to capture the scene, but this works great.
Keep in mind, this is a first-generation prototype. The next version will be more polished and we’ll work through some initial weight, leash, and fit issues.
A Distressed Mullet version will be available for sale in a few weeks. Let me know if you are interested. john@distressedmullet.com
Photos of the new and improved visor cam will be up as soon as we build it and get it production-ready.
Naish Stand Up Paddle Board Instruction: Lesson 07 – Coming In/Getting Off
How to stand up paddle board. A SUP instructional. Coming in and getting off of your stand up paddle board. Check out all of the SUP instructional videos at: www.naishsurfing.com Join us on Face…
From Naishinternational on Youtube
Check out these photos from Wsupa on Facebook… (World Standup Paddleboarding Association)…
http://www.mapmyrun.com
It’s easy and a good guestimate of how far you’re going. It works like Google maps. Map new run at the top and go….
So… if you were wondering how far it was from say… Snow’s Cut Bridge to Trail’s End, you could got there and find out it’s around 7.5 miles (Big Jim?)
Dan Gavere standup paddling punchbowl falls on the west fork of the Hood River Aug 20, 2009. Betsy and Bob told us about this. Check out the pads. That’s some serious gear.
A second shorter version:
From Naish international
