February, 2010

June 19-20, 2010: Kalamalka Lake Classic SUP Race

Posted on: February 22nd, 2010 by Paddle Surf 3 Comments

 

Mark the weekend of June 19-20, 2010 off in your calendar, as there's a new stand up paddleboard race coming to the Okanagan this Summer... The Kalamalka Lake Classic to be held at Kalamalka Lake near Vernon, BC.

Here's what we know so far...

The colourful, warm waters of Kalamalka Lake between Vernon and Oyama, BC will be home to the first major SUP race in Canada – The Kalamalka Classic. It’s a 3-event SUP race at one of Canada’s prime flat water Stand Up Paddling locations and the organizers have partnered with Gatzke’s Farm Market to provide great food, a hammock hangout, bocce’ and accommodations.Overview of the Event:

Dates: June 19-20, 2010
Location: Kalamalka Lake – Vernon & Oyama, BC (3.5 hrs from Vancouver, 4.5 hrs from Seattle)
Organizer: Kalavida Sports Ltd. / Kalavida Surf Shop, Vernon BC
Contact: Kevin O’Brien – oksup@shaw.ca
Host: Gatzke’s Farm Market/Kalavida Sports Ltd.
Sponsors: Sitka,
Nearest Int’l Airport: YLW Kelowna (20 mins)
Nearest Major Int’ Airport: YVR Vancouver

Friday: Registration, Demos, Kal Beach casual paddle, and more to come.

Saturday: (The Kaloya Crossover) It’s a short, loop course that has two different races; one for the newbie’s and one for the experienced paddlers.  Newbies will do a short 2-mile version of the course and the experienced paddlers will ‘crossover’ the land at Kaloya Park as part of their 6-mile loop course.  The afternoon will feature a more casual atmosphere with sprint races for prizes, board demos, vendor expo, followed by dinner at Gatzke’s Farm Market.

Sunday: (King/Queen of Kalamalka) The day that we’ll see the King and Queen of Kalamalka Lake crowned.  This is the long distance paddle and the first male and female to cross the length of Kalamalka Lake (from Oyama to Vernon) will be crowned.  Expect the winning time to come in around 2 hours for the 9-mile trek – An amazing chance to see one of the world’s most beautiful lakes up close and personal.

Event Fees and Registration: To be announced

Classes and Age Groups: To be announced

Prizes and Awards:  To be announced

Accommodations at Gatzke’s:

  • 3 Cabins available (sleeps up to 6 people) *book now!
  • Tent sites
  • RV parking with no hookups
  • Contact Lindsay Wong at: events@gatzkefarmmarkets.com

Click here to get all the details!

Kevin and the boys at OKSUP paddle the Skookumchuck Rapids

Posted on: February 16th, 2010 by Paddle Surf No Comments

 

Kevin over at OKSUP.com sent us this great video, highlighting their SUP trek down the Skookumchuck Rapids on Shuswap River near Mabel Lake, BC.

Just to be clear, this isn't the super heavy Skookumchuck Narrows over on the Sunshine Coast, but looks like a fun time none the less.

Nice one Kevin!

Starboard releases their lineup for 2010

Posted on: February 9th, 2010 by admin No Comments

 

Starboard releases their highly anticipated line up for 2010, which includes a number of great looking smaller boards, a quiver of extremely competitive 12'6 race boards designed by Brian Szymanski of North County Paddleboards, and a bunch of other boards to fill in the voids.

The document is a touch difficult to navigate, but not too bad once you get the hang of it.

As a taller paddler, I'm especially stoked on the 9'0 Hero for waveriding, and the K15 for racing the unlimited class and for all around distance touring.

I also had a chance to check out some of their new paddles as well, some great innovations there as well.. Stoked!

Check out the complete catalog here