ACA Level 3 SUP Surf - Dana Point, CA

Back in November last year Tim Chandler of TRY Standup and myself started talking about an ACA L3 Surf SUP Instructor Certification Course in California.  California is known for surf and this course has never been delivered in this state.  A few months of back and forth emails and Tim was at work organizing and hosting the course.  Because the ACA SUP program is still fairly new, we had no choice but to fly-in an instructor trainer to deliver it.  Keith arrived last Thursday and on Friday morning our group of four candidates met up with him to get started.  

For the next three days we surfed, learned, taught and discussed the extremely intricate and physical aspects of technical surfing all day long and into the evenings.  The waves weren't perfect but did allow us plenty of wave time.  The group of folks was awesome, full of positivity and contributions to the course.  

I entered the course without many expectations.  I love to surf and I wanted to experience an L3 course just to know what it's all about.  L3 is the logical next step after L2, so knowing what students may go through after L2 would help me better prepare them.  I definitely have some material to work with and modifications to make the next time I deliver an L2 course, so mission accomplished.  Personally, I have some things to work on when it comes to my personal surfing skills.  I have a solid base and am working towards surfing at a higher level.  

Keith and I splitting the peak.  Photo:  TRY Standup

Photo:  TRY Standup

Maggie, myself, Tim, Keith & Mitch.  Photo:  TRY Standup

taking our spots in the lineup.  Photo:  TRY Standup

Tim shredding the low volume JP. Photo: TRY Standup

photo: TRY Standup

Santa Cruz Paddlefest

What an awesome weekend.  There was just so much good energy being passed around Steamer Lane this weekend that it would've been difficult to not have fun and feel refreshed.  I had a blast spending time in and out of the water with friends, watching the pros compete and scoring some fun rides on well-formed Santa Cruz waves - a rare treat.

I arrived into town Thursday eve to small waves.  The intensity got dialed up a bit more by Friday morning and by the end of the day I'd had a great double session and a solid warmup after not surfing for four months.

Saturday I surfed in the early afternoon in the Cowell's Classic Intermediate sup surf contest and did well enough to win my heat.  The real high point of the day was the evening session at Indicators and Middle Peak.  Once the contest wrapped at 5:40pm, the waves were free for the riding, so that's what we did.  Mitch, Marion, Michelle and myself had an incredible progression session in 4-6ft swells with great energy from everyone in the uncrowded break.  Michelle broke in her new surf kayak, Mitch was ripping, Marion rode her biggest wave ever and I had the best wave of my life.  Pure stoke and a trip to the post-contest party ended the evening with poke plates and margaritas.  

I had a bad heat on Sunday, but still a good time on the water.  Turns out I finished 5th overall, which was better than I had expected and quite suprising.  Had i picked up any good waves during Sunday's heat, I'm sure I could've done even better.  Lots of love and fun though, so a good time nonetheless.

Santa Cruz Paddlefest delivered.  Weather was great (hot!), waves were great, buzz was great and the boys at Kayak Connection really did a great job on the 29th contest.  Nice weekend.

Santa Cruz Paddlefest

The Santa Cruz Paddlefest weekend came and went in a flash.  I've attended this event as a spectator for the last 6 or 7 years, since before I even lived in California.  This was the first year I've ever competed in the event and the first time I've ever surfed in a competition.  It was super fun!

I entered the Cowell's Classic friendly surf contest on a standup paddleboard and we surfed the 'B' site at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz.  Normally the contest takes place at Cowell's proper, but with the conditions handed to us, everything moved west and we ended up surfing Indicator's, just inside the lane.  

The highlight for me was definitely my final heat on Sunday when myself and two others had the entire break to ourselves for 20 minutes, a huge benefit to entering the contest.  The real kicker was that the other two surfers I faced off against in my heat were about 1/3 my age.  It was inspiring to surf with them, watching them take off on good sized waves without fear or hesitation.  They were both surfing really well and more importantly, they were having fun.  It really didn't feel like a contest, just another fun session in the waves.  In the end, I won my Sunday heat by one point and finished 9th of 32 overall.  I'm pretty psyched with that finish and look forward to getting back on the waves in Santa Cruz soon..

It was a great treat to watch the pros compete in the finals - both the SUPs and the surf kayakers.  They were going big and the waves were impressive.  I'll probably never ride at a level near theirs, but watching them makes me want to get better and makes me feel good about improving my skills every time I hit the water.

BPC represented over the weekend too.  MM raced and won on Saturday and we all finished the weekend with a surf session, tequila & tacos.   I got to connect with some friends I don't see too often and meet some new folks.   It's pretty cool to see the small worlds of standup paddlers & kayakers mixing for the weekend.  Nice event and a great weekend.

working on indoor surfing skills

Black Canyon SUP Trip

In a whirlwind tour with a disparate crew of Bay Area paddlers I finished off 2013 and started up 2014 on a standup vacation!  For four days we called the Black Canyon home and relaxed in it's beautiful surroundings.  Warmed and cooled by the sun and the shade, we camped, we paddled, we laughed, we ate, we soaked, we relaxed.  On top of all that, we paddled upriver - one of my favorite things.  I just love reading the river and riding eddies upstream.  It's a fun challenge and a great way to develop skill.  To top it all off we rallied in Vegas for NYE and got two surf sessions in San Diego before making our way home.

Hoover Dam

The crew

Our campsite on the river

Loaded up for the paddle out - day 4

Never drive away from good surf

Sunshine and warm weather can sure help you have fun.  I spent the weekend in Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon Coast for the 5th annual Lumpy Waters Symposium hosted by Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe.  That crew operates as a true team and does a fantastic job delivering a fun & safe event for all.  On top of all their planning, the weather came together perfectly with abundant sunshine, warm air temps and fantastic surf building from 2ft on Friday to 10ft by Monday afternoon.  Couldn't have asked for more.

It was really fun spending more time in a sea kayak and seeing some friends I only see once or twice a year.  The students did a great job assessing their skills properly and were seriously going for it in our long boat surfing course on day one.  The ideal conditions gave people a reason to go hard and make the most of their weekend.  Sea kayaking felt young this weekend!

Monday is traditionally the coaches play day and this year there were about 15 people ready to charge.  A wise man from Portland told me 'never drive away from good surf' so I didn't.  I opted out of the coach paddle to three arch rocks and opted in to surfing the huge waves at Cape Kiwanda.  It was pretty intimidating paddling out into those monsters, but after riding the rip to the outside and getting a drop or two out of the way, I started to relax and focus.

By the end of the session, I was dropping in on 10 foot faces without hesitation and making them.  A couple got really hollow, a few beat me down, but overall I had an incredible session with only 5 guys in the lineup.  I feel like it was definitely a progression session for me and I'm pumped to get out on more big clean waves...

The view of the sea all weekend!  Haystack rock at Cape Kiwanda

Waves built to 6-10ft on Monday

Adventures in Sea Leader Training

9 paddlers, one panga and 5 days of Sea Leader Training.  While in Baja this week, I sat in on a BCU course run by Ginni Callahan and Santiago Burreuta of Sea Kayak Baja Mexico.  As an observer, I had the best job - no responsibility, no stress.  I helped when they asked, when they were set, I simply paddled.  

We started in beautiful Loreto, founded in 1697 then moved slightly south to a more remote beach.  After 2 more days, we convoyed across the desert to San Carlos, on the edge of Magdalena Bay.  In San Carlos we made ourselves at home at a small eco-hotel right on the water, launching off the property two days and out of San Carlos port the third.  The highlight of the trip was the maddening logistics of getting to the surf.  First we drove to the panga, loaded it with sea kayaks and sups, drove the panga to the water, boated across Mag Bay, put the panga on a trailer and towed it across a low peninsula and re-launched into the surf.  It was an adventure in itself and added a ton of fun to the experience.  Even though the surf was small, it was totally worth it.

All of the students were BCU 3* paddlers, some pursuing 4*, some just out for more personal training.  The big question asked of a 3* paddler is 'Will this person be an asset on a trip?'  For this group of paddlers, the answer was absolutely 'Yes'.