JULY 5th, 2011 (Vancouver, British Columbia) The Ka’iwi Channel, also known as the “channel of bones”, aka Molokai Channel, has a centuries old reputation for being one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the world. Ka’iwi has claimed the lives of many, from ancient canoe fleets, to fisherman and watermen including the tragic loss of Hawaiian big-wave surfer Eddie Aikau.

On July 31st, 2011, Norm Hann and Bodie Shandro of British Columbia aspire to add their names to the list of those watermen and women that have successfully crossed the channel in the 15th Annual Molokai 2 Oahu Race. Unofficially recognized as the “World Championships” of paddleboarding, stand up paddle boarding is a relatively new category in the elite race. Hann and Shandro will be competing in the 2-man division.

Both men are considered “Canadian pioneers” in the sport of stand up paddleboarding, and are proud of their surf roots. Considered race veterans, adventurers and highly regarded certified SUP instructors, Hann owns and operates Squamish based Mountain Surf Adventures,  and Shandro, Kamloops based Paddle Surf Fitness.

Join them in the race of their lives by pledging in support for the www.Standup4Greatbear.ca organization. Norm’s Standup4Greatbear began as a 400km standup paddleboard expedition to keep oil tankers off the North Coast of British Columbia. The goal was to highlight the traditional food harvesting areas of the First Nations and the wildlife of the Greatbear Rainforest. All funds donated will go to promoting awareness, education and understanding of the significance of the Great Bear Rainforest and the culture of Coastal First Nation’s while preserving its unique status as a pristine example of human respect for and coexistence with the environment.

Partial proceeds raised will also be shared with Hawaii’s Na Kama Kai Youth Organization. Na Kama Kai’s mission is to empower youth by creating, conducting and supporting ocean-based programs, specifically targeting ocean awareness & safety in order to increase the capacity of youth in the community through cultural & environmental education. You may donate to STANDUP4GREATBEAR at: https://www.2mevents.com/basic-pledge/550 TEAM CANADA TO COMPETE IN THE 32 MILE MOLOKAI TO OAHU PADDLEBOARD
RACE IN SUPPORT OF STANDUP4GREATBEAR

ABOUT THE MOLOKAI TO OAHU PADDLEBOARD RACE

• Regarded as the world championship of paddleboard racing.
• Traverses 32 miles of rough, shark infested waters from the North Shore of Molokai, to the South Shore of Oahu.
• Covers a depth of 2,300 feet and is subject to open-ocean swells of up to 30 feet.
• Considered one of the roughest ocean channels in the world.
• Ultimate test of endurance – no engines or sails, just a paddler and the propulsion power of his paddle.
• Wildly varying open-ocean conditions challenge a paddler’s surfing skills.
• Top paddlers can ride swells for 100s of yards.
• Capricious currents and tidal effects test a paddler’s ocean navigation skills.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING TEAM CANADA AND STANDUP4GREATBEAR.

First off a big THANKS to the organizers Kevin and Michelle from Kalavida Surf Shop for putting on a wonderful event full of events, food, and entertainment.

Last year I attended this race with a mere 28 or so paddlers. Most of us were on all arounder type boards and hadn’t a clue about racing SUP but greatly enjoyed the two events. I managed to come out as Queen of Kalamalka. This year I was back to defend my title but proved to be very different with the sport growing at a rapid speed the field more than doubled. I believe there were about 70 or so paddlers out on the courses. There was a recreational league and a competitive one. The competitive racers were racing with high speeds, with a good set of skills, technique, and strategy. We were all out there having tons of fun and trying to get crowned King and Queen of Kalmalka!

There were three different races, all testing different skills on a SUP and all counted towards the final goal of becoming crowned. I brought the board that I have been racing the Tuesday Night Deep Cove races on this year, my NEW 12’6 X 23.5.. it’s fast but it does come with some consequences if one is not careful as it can also be quite unstable, and harder turn around tight corners due to its narrowness and instability. Thank you Starboard and Trident Sports for the use of this awesome board and the growing support! I must say I was a little nervous to use the board for the short course as there were lots of turns and there could have been some bumps etc. I know I can paddle that board well on my own in flat water but wasnt too confident on my abilities to turn etc on it in a crowd with some bumps.. I do have to say for racing I love this board!

Short Course:

I surprised myself here. I used the cross bow turning method, went out hard to get in front of the crowd, stayed on my board and just felt so strong and confident that I started passing some guys, then some more and without really realizing it finished the course amongst the top males… really it was a good confident booster for me especially heading up to the Yukon this week and paddling the Yukon river… It made me feel like I could do it even more.

Sprint Course:

Here we had to use a 12′ or shorter board…I was scrambling to find a board I liked and then Beau and Dale from WA were kind enough to lend me their 12′ board. It looked like a goodie… and that it was. It was sort of like SUP cross. We had three people at the line, it was a sprint to the buoy. The fun part was you could turn around the buoy in either direction (causing mayhem) and finish with a quick sprint to the beach. Somehow our heat was pretty much the same twice in a row… hmmm but i managed to get out in front quick and avoid the chaos of the turn… There was one run where I had a true brain fart and forgot how to turn which in the end saved me. As I was gathering my thoughts about turning I drifted away from the buoy and was found on the outside of the chaos near the buoy, allowing for a quick escape back to the beach. I managed to pull out in front in the final heat for another win!

Long Course:

The long course is what it is all about… This lake is gorgeous and the distance tough but very satisfying! I was back on my starboard New. I won’t lie, when we arrived at the start I was nervous… it was choppy out there… everyone was so excited for the downwinder and I was peeing my pants… hoping I wouldn’t fall off my board too many times…. The start was choppy but Andrew helped me out and told me to stay wide as the rec class got bunched up by the buoy turn.. I managed to stay out of any crashes and up right through the riviera and along the entire lake. It was actually quite fun and the little chop kept me on my toes and made for the time to pass quickly! I spent the first third of the race catching the other 12’6 guys until Beau and I were leading the pack. I think he got tired of me and took off and I couldn’t catch him again… I managed to come in as a the 2nd 12’6 board overall and therefore solidying my overall win as Queen! I felt great throughout the entire paddle down the lake… I used NUUN as my hydration (my fav)

The points were tabulated and Norm and I were crowned! Also a big congrats to Jen D and Kristin T for their awesome performances out there rounding out the top females and Beau and Stu R on the men’s side.

Read more about Lina’s adventures on her blog!

Norm Hann from Mountain Surf Adventures first told us about the twelve Bella Bella high school students who were in the process of building their own cedar strip stand up paddleboards earlier this Spring, and the boards are now finished and out on the waters around Bella Bella.

Here’s an excerpt from Norm’s post on the subject:

After starting in Kitimat on May 8th, 2010 I finished my Standup4Greatbear expedition 11 days later on May 18th in the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella. It was an amazing place to finish as I was greeted by hundreds of community members and youth. I remembered being really inspired by the students that showed up to support their coast holding signs and waving flags.

A few months later I was contacted by Chris Williamson, a wood working teacher at Bella Bella High School, who told me that he had suggested to the students that for their next project they build surfboards but he had emailed to tell me that after the expedition they wanted to build red and yellow cedar standup paddleboards. I was blown away, inspired and excited to hear that a teacher and a group of First Nation’s youth would take on such a project. It is hard enough building one board but Chris and the class were determined to build not one but 12 boards and 12 wooden paddles to move them forward.

See the previous blog post from my visit to Bella Bella this past March to check out the students progress and the wooden paddleboards under construction. After that visit I vowed to make it back to Bella Bella to teach the students how to SUP and to officially launch the Bella Bella Paddleboard Project. The opportunity came up when Jess Housty, a youth leader from the QQS Society, contacted me about the Coastal Voices Festival they were organizing on May 20-22nd . This festival was about celebrating our coast and keeping tankers out of the Greatbear Rainforest by showcasing films and speakers related to the issue. I was invited to share the Standup4Greatbear Expedition which was great since it was the year anniversary of the trip and I hadn’t been back to Bella Bella to share my presentation and say thanks.

A challenge I had though was that I had Quest University in Hartley Bay at the same time. After a few logistical changes and a boat from Pacific Wild I found myself traveling the inside passage for a 5 hour trip to Bella Bella. I passed a number of places that I visited on my trip and it brought back powerful memories. I made it to Bella Bella that evening for the launch of Frank Wolf’s On the Line film documentary about his multi sport expedition with Todd McGowan from the Tar sands to Hartley Bay. I also had a sneak peak at the completed paddleboards, three of students boards were on display in the school’s hallway for everyone to see. The boards were beaming.

Saturday morning was the launch day. The students showed up and transported their own boards down to the beach under the main pier in Bella Bella. Community members started to gather to support their youth. I was offering a Paddle Canada Introduction to Standup Paddleboarding course so the students would receive official certification. Safe ocean paddling and solid instruction was the focus but you could see the nervousness in the students eyes conveying they were fearful about falling in and not looking bad in front of the building crowd. They were game though and even before they stood up I told them how proud I was and how proud the community was of their huge accomplishment. The boards lined up on the beach looked stunning.

They are real works of art but were meant to be paddled on the ocean. Red Cedars are the tree of life for First Nations on the coast as they were used for everything from clothing, to longhouses to traditional canoes. Red Cedar was incorporated into every part of their life. Now these Red Cedar paddleboards were starting a new life on the ocean. We waxed the boards up like they used to do, and one by one we got the students on the board. Every time a student stood up the crowd cheered and horns were honked! Within minutes you could see the fear drop away, replaced with a sense of pride and confidence. I could barely contain them. Soon they were paddling away with that feeling you can only understand if you have stood up on water for the first time, but for these students it was more than that. This was freedom, this was exploration of their traditional territory, this was connection to their land. These youth come from a lineage of ocean going people. They are inherently waterman and you could see centuries of knowledge and skills awakening. It was incredible to watch and be a part of. Their smiles told me everything I needed to know.

Click here for the complete story!

Norm Hann - Mountain Surf Adventures

April 22, 2011, (Vancouver, British Columbia) The Ka’iwi Channel, also known as the “channel of bones”, aka Molokai Channel, has a centuries old reputation for being one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the world. Ka’iwi has claimed the lives of many, from ancient canoe fleets, to fisherman and watermen including the tragic loss of Hawaiian big-wave surfer Eddie Aikau.

On July 31^st, 2011, Norm Hann and Bodie Shandro of British Columbia aspire to add their names to the list of those watermen and women that have successfully crossed the channel in the 15^th Annual Molokai 2 Oahu Race. Unofficially recognized as the “World Championships” of paddleboarding, stand up paddle boarding is a relatively new category in the elite race. Hann and Shandro will be competing in the 2-man division.

Both men are considered “Canadian pioneers” in the sport of stand up paddleboarding, and are proud of their surf roots. Considered race veterans, adventurers and highly regarded certified SUP instructors, Hann owns and operates Mountain Surf Adventures,  and Shandro, Paddle Surf Fitness.

Join them in the race of their lives by pledging in support of the Standup4Greatbear organization. Standup4Greatbear is committed to promoting awareness and understanding of the significance of the Great Bear Rainforest and preserving its unique status as a pristine example of human respect for and coexistence with the environment. Partial proceeds raised will also be shared with Hawaii’s Na Kama Kai Organization. Na Kama Kai’s mission is to empower youth by creating, conducting and supporting ocean-based programs, specifically targeting ocean awareness & safety in order to increase the capacity of youth in the community through cultural & environmental education.

Donations can be made at: www.standup4greatbear.ca.

For further information:

Media / Sponsorship / Logistical Partnership opportunities

Bodie Shandro bodie@paddlesurfit.com 250 318.0722 250 578.8979

Stand Up for Great Bear / Charity / Donations

Norm Hann norm@mountainsurfadventures.com 604 848.8792

Molokai 2 Oahu Race Facts http://www.molokai2oahu.com/

Regarded as the world championship of paddleboard racing.

• Traverses 32 miles of rough, shark infested waters from the North Shore of Molokai, to the South Shore of Oahu.
• Covers a depth of 2,300 feet and is subject to open-ocean swells of up to 30 feet.
• Considered one of the roughest ocean channels in the world.
• Ultimate test of endurance – no engines or sails, just a paddler and the propulsion power of his paddle.
• Wildly varying open-ocean conditions challenge a paddler’s surfing skills.
• Top paddlers can ride swells for 100s of yards.
• Capricious currents and tidal effects test a paddler’s ocean navigation skills.

Bodie Shandro

Battle of the Paddle

Norm Hann

Tahoe Nalu

Here’s an excerpt from the story…

I flew in yesterday to Bella Bella for some meetings to determine the direction for the Virtual Rainforest Initiative project. It is cold and clear in Bella Bella right now with a nice coating of snow on the coastal mountains. I was pretty excited today to come in to Chris Williamson’s class to check out the wooden standup paddleboards they were making.

I completed my Standup4Greatbear expedition here in Heiltsuk territory last May and the students in Chris’s class were inspired to each build a standup paddleboard so they could explore their local waters and traditional territory. I told Chris as soon as i had the chance i was coming down to meet him and the class. Kudos to Chris who took on the project of teaching his students how to build a wooden SUP. This is a huge task which Chris figures the students have already put in 120 hours of work each on their own boards. It is tough enough building one board but Chris is not only building his own board but guiding 12 other students to each build their own board. Really amazing and inspiring leadership by Chris with his class. The boards are made up of a combination of red cedar, yellow cedar and spruce. The students are glassing in the fins and some are getting really close to finishing the boards. I had a chance this morning to meet the class and talk to each student about their boards.The students are also building their own wood paddles which complement the boards beautifully. The students are also designing their own logo’s to personalize each of their boards.

Check out the whole story here!

BE FIRST: This is the first ever commercially guided stand up paddleboard (S.U.P) trip to the Great Bear Rainforest. The GreatBear Rainforest, located on the North Coast of B.C. is one of the most incredible ecosystems in the world. The GreatBear Rainforest contains 25% of the remaining intact temperate rainforest in the world. The area is highlighted by world class wildlife and First Nations Culture. Our exploratory trip here July 2009 on standup paddleboards was featured on the cover of the May 2010 issue of Explore Magazine. We are really excited to return to the Great Bear this August to show paddleboarders this world-class destination.

Norm Hann of Mountain Surf Adventures recently completed the STANDUP4GREATBEAR Expedition. This was a 400km first ever-standup paddleboard trip along the proposed oil tanker route from Kitimat to Bella Bella. This expedition brought awareness to the wildlife and traditional food harvesting areas of the coastal First Nations, showcasing what is at risk if oil tankers were to be allowed on the north coast. Norm has guided in this area for over ten years and knows the people and wildlife intimately. Join Norm on this personally guided SUP trip along the proposed oil tanker route as he highlights this world-class destination and shows you an area at risk. This is a unique, one of a kind expedition that will connect you, educate you and inspire you. Become part of the STANDUP4GREATBEAR Expedition Team.

Trip price per person: $2,750 (CDN) Price includes meals, stand up paddleboard gear, and roundtrip ferry ride between Prince Rupert and Hartley Bay; travel to Prince Rupert and overnight stay prior to trip not included.

Partial proceeds from this trip will go to promote awareness and protection of the GreatBear Rainforest through presentations, community work and future expeditions.

Booking a Trip: To confirm you spot contact norm@mountainsurfadventures.com or call 604-848-8792 to reserve you place on the expedition.

Trip dates: August 23rd- August 29th/2010

NOTE: We have two spaces available. In order to allow guests a unique and intimate experience with the environment and the people we meet along the way we limit the number of guests to 6 per trip.

Nice little shot of him finishing up the expedition and his Surftech Bark 14′ Expedition board.

Check out the video here

Great work Norm, and congratulations once again!

Here’s the word from the source…

Bella Bella, B.C.– May 19^th 2010 – Squamish resident Norm Hann has completed what many thought was impossible.

His 385km Stand Up Paddleboard expedition through Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest started in the Haisla Village of Kitimat, B.C on May 8^th, and ended yesterday in the Heiltsuk village of Bella Bella, where he was greeted by a large gathering of local residents, including school children, hereditary chiefs, elders and other community leaders. With stops in Hartley Bay, Klemtu and as far west as the Moore Islands, the expedition helped bring awareness to the environmental threat the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline and tanker traffic will have on the Great Bear Rainforest, its people and wildlife. Hann also visited a number of vital food harvesting sites for First Nations, which are at risk from potential oil spills. The expedition served to galvanize support amongst coastal residents in opposition to the proposed oil tanker route.

“It was an incredible journey. The weather allowed us to visit wild and remote places rich in wildlife and traditional foods. This expedition confirmed how special and rare this coastal environment really is. First Nations from Kitimat to Bella Bella expressed how valuable their natural resources are to their livelihood and sense of place. They were in full 100% support of not having oil tankers on our coast. Our team was honoured to be welcomed into their communities and we were fortunate to have their guidance throughout our trip.”

Hann runs Mountain Surf Adventures in Squamish and has been a professional outdoor guide in the Great Bear Rainforest for ten years and is very connected to the land and its people. As a fishing, kayaking, wildlife and bear viewing guide he has introduced people from all over the world to the Great Bear Rainforest.

To read a detailed account of the StandUp4GreatBear Expedition please visit
www.mountainsurfadventures.blogspot.com

Vancouver, BC – April 29th 2010 – Squamish resident Norm Hann is the latest recipient of the “Be First” sponsorship program by First Ascent for his upcoming 385km Stand Up Paddleboard (S.U.P.) expedition through Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest.

First Ascent is a line of world-class expedition gear created by Eddie Bauer, whose “Be First” sponsorship program is given to a group or individual that endeavors to accomplish what has never been done, challenge the limits of what is possible, and embodies the drive to be first.

Hann’s STANDUP4GREATBEAR Expedition certainly fits this description as a voyage of this magnitude has never previously been attempted on a S.U.P anywhere in Canada before. Norm’s unique mission will help bring awareness to the environmental threat the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline and tanker traffic will have on the rainforest, its people and wildlife. The expedition will explore vital food harvesting areas along the tanker route and document the importance of these areas to First Nations and the Great Bear Rainforest.

The Great Bear Rainforest stretches from Vancouver Island to southeast Alaska. It is one of the largest remaining tracts of unspoiled temperate rainforest in the world and is one of the most prolific areas for marine and terrestrial wildlife anywhere in the world. It is also the traditional home of coastal First Nations who have used the bounty of the ocean and forest to sustain themselves for millennia.

Hann runs Mountain Surf Adventures in Squamish and has been a professional outdoor guide in the Great Bear Rainforest for ten years and is very connected to the land and its people. As a fishing, kayaking, wildlife and bear viewing guide he has introduced people from all over the world to the Great Bear Rainforest.

“I have learned that what is here – the traditional food harvesting areas, the wildlife, and the philosophies of living in harmony with the earth – is something special and rare that cannot be lost.” Hann said. “I feel indebted to what this amazing place has provided me with and I cannot imagine a people, with thousands of years of connection to their land not having this way of life.”

For more information about this expedition and to get ON BOARD please visit: www.mountainsurfadventures.com and click on STANDUP4GREATBEAR

Contributing sponsors include First Ascent, Surftech, Kialoa, PacificWild.org, Outdoor Research, Mountain Surf Adventures and Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition.