Deep Cove Kayak will be holding a special Stand Up Paddleboard Demo Day on Saturday June 25th, at their Deep Cove waterfront location.
You can test Stand Up Paddleboards before you buy. They will have a fleet of boards from Starboard and Surf Tech so you can check out the fastest, most stable, best surfers etc. 10am-3pm. Talk to the manufacturer representatives. Absolutely Free!!
Spring's just around the corner, and we're looking forward to what's proving to become a massive 2011 SUP season here in Canada.
We're halfway through March and though the rest of Canada is still frozen, we're already fielding daily phone calls and emails from people all over Canada wanting to find out about more about stand up paddleboarding in Canada!
So with that, we're getting started early with our editorial reviews, and thought we'd kick off the season with a quick roundup of some of the boards we'll be running this season.
9'0 Starboard Stinger AST: One of the earliest production "shortboard" SUP shapes, the Stinger is surprisingly stable and maneuverable thanks in part to its cut-away rails which allow for a narrower tail section, and higher volume up front to allow for greater flotation and stability. Don't expect to master this puppy first time out, but definitely check out one of these smaller shapes once you've got a firm handle on some of the bigger waveriding boards... They're incredibly nimble once you get the hang of 'em!
10'6 Dave Mel Epoxy: A new addition in the quiver for the 2011 season, for a waveriding machine this board has a decent amount of glide, making it pretty darn adaptable to flatwater cruising. A great all round ride for wherever you choose to put in.
Another thing I'll say is you can really feel the soul and attention to detail built into this board... The craftsmanship is very impressive and the colour schemes kick ass. The 10'6 has a super cool sea foamy green streak effect which really makes it stand out... The ladies are gonna love these!
10'10 Walden GSI: She's starting to show her age a bit, but this board still performs very nicely in the waves and tours the flatwater surprisingly well.
What's always really impressed me with this board is though it's got a considerable amount of volume in thickness, lending itself to a serious amount of stability, the step deck rails really help to increase this board's agility in the waves, which makes it an exceptional all-round board.
In coming months we'll be giving this board a proper paint refinish as the epoxy has taken an absolute beating from surfing our rocky beaches, and the rails have seen their fair share of beginner dings.
11'0 Dave Mel Epoxy: Similar to the 10'6 Mel, this is another hand built board from Maui that's been built for the waves, but it still has a reasonable amount of glide for the flatwater.
And for what it's worth, the camo deck pad that came with this particular board makes for a super cool yet understated presentation.
12'6 Starboard Cruiser AST: This is the board that introduced me to the sport three years ago, and it still gets a fair amount of water time. The Cruiser isn't the greatest flatwater cruiser due to a considerable amount of rocker... Plus the single fin setup makes it a bit of a bear in the waves, but due to its outline and overall volume it's one of my favorite touring boards when the conditions get rough.
Note that newer models of the Cruiser run a three fin setup, so their performance will be much better in the waves. My older model also has a very shallow carrying handle which makes transporting the board a bit of a hassle, but this too has been fixed in the new model.
If you're looking to get into an all-rounder like the Cruiser as your do everything board, I'd definitely suggest picking up a Bamboo Race Fin, or another type of classic or hatchet style fin to help increase straightline tracking on the flatwater touring sessions.
15' Starboard K-15 AST: The ultimate flatwater cruiser, the Starboard K-15 has incredible glide and speed. It's a bit tippy when the water conditions get choppy, but if the conditions are mellow, this board will blow you away!
A reasonably complete quiver yes, but we're looking to fill some holes.
Next on the list is a Starboard Race 12'6 Brushed Carbon as an attempt to get the PaddleSurf.ca team more competitive on the race scene, as well as a wider surf SUP... Something like a Starboard Hero or Whopper. Ya know, something that'll be reasonably mobile in the waves but still provide plenty of stability.
And if you're a Canadian board builder or distributor and would like to share your shapes with the Canadian stand up paddleboarding community, please feel free to get in touch with us here at Paddle Surf Canada as we're constantly on the lookout for adding new boards to the quiver.
Thanks for reading and happy paddling... Hopefully sooner than later!
I've had a Starboard Race fin for a few months now, but the weather's been pretty unfriendly to stand up paddleboarding around here lately, so only recently managed to finally get it out on the water.
Paddle location was up in Vernon, on Kalamalka Lake with the Kalavida Surf Shop and Bob Purdy from PaddleForThePlanet.ca. This was one of my first times paddling on freshwater, which might have contributed to the strong impressions I have of this fin, but either way I'm happy to report that the fin dramatically improved the flatwater performance of my Starboard Cruiser.
As mentioned, I ran the fin on an older model single fin Starboard 12'6 Cruiser. I've always been a bit frustrated with this particular board as its considerable amount of rocker tends to seriously hinder its glide and tracking, and missing sidebite fins doesn't help in the tracking department.
Starboard's marketing copy alludes to the fact that you can expect to gain 5 strokes per side with this fin, and though I did notice an improvement, strokes per side increased by about three, which I'm more than happy to have!
Though the larger surface area makes changing direction a bit more tedious, I'll gladly take the tradeoff due to the dramatic improvement in straightline tracking.
One note though is the fin's box insert shape is quite large... I assume this is to give the relatively fragile Bamboo the increased strength it needed versus a fibreglass or carbon fin. Problem with that though is I had hard time finding a fin box that would accommodate it.
My Starboard K-15's finbox was too short to accept the extra long base, and I also tried on a couple Dave Mel boards, but the fin's base was just a touch too tall.
I probably wouldn't suggest modifying the fin to fit into a smaller fin box, so might be a good idea to do a test fit before purchasing.
That all said though, as mentioned I did manage to fit it into my Starboard 12'6 Cruiser's without a problem.
Overall, I'd strongly suggest picking one of these fins up, especially if you're underwhelmed with the flatwater performance of your all-rounder SUP.
Starboard/Trident Team Rider Sean Poynter comes second at the Surf Central Pro in Puerto Escondido, Mexico !!
Many thought that he won the event, as he had the top over-all score, but a last minute change in the scoring method (best wave vs best overall) resulted in a last minute drop to second place. Check out some of the awesome shots from the event. Congratulations Sean!
On what turned out to be a record breaking day for weather in Vancouver (not in a good way as it was the wettest August day ever) Deep Cove Kayak held its weekly Tuesday Night Race series again on Tuesday August 31st, 2010.
The original plan was for this to be a full on family oriented event with a kids race, demos and more, but considering the weather, the special events were canceled and they ended up just running their regularly scheduled 7:00PM race.
No worries though, Stand Up Paddleboarding is a watersport anyways so a bit of rain didn't really make a difference... Hardly even noticed it actually!
Of particular interest, Deep Cove Kayak owner Bob Putnam raced a very good looking Starboard Free Race brushed carbon board equipped with Starboard's new Bamboo race fin.
I had a chance to take it out for a brief spin and was really surprised at its stability AND speed... Two characteristics that tend to be mutually exclusive on stand up paddleboards. The brushed carbon (basically just a whitewashed finish over the raw carbon) not only adds to the look of the board, but also protects the carbon from warping in hot weather, while at the same time will do a good job of hiding nicks and scratches, since the finish is already "distressed" in appearance.
The rain mellowed out by race time but the weather was still a tad rough, so I opted to play it safe and paddle my Starboard Cruiser 12'6. This was the board of choice, as two other racers were also on Cruisers. As mentioned, Bob was on the Starboard Free Race, and rounding out the pack was another racer was on a Starboard K-15... So Starboards all round!
In the end I placed right in the middle of the pack at third place. I'm still working on getting that fluid race stroke together, but with some more work on that as well as my cadence, I'm hoping for better results down the road.
With the race season drawing to a close, Deep Cove will be holding just two more Tuesday Night Races on September 7th and 14th, so if you haven't had a chance, be sure to swing down to check out the action.
And if you're a first timer, by all means don't feel intimidated. Everyone does a great job of balancing the atmosphere and making everyone feel welcome!
Thanks to Deep Cove Kayak for another great race!
Just got word from Deep Cove Kayak and Trident Sports that they're going to be holding a BIG stand up paddleboard race this coming Tuesday August 31, 2010.
The race will include a spectator friendly 6:00 start Kids' Race, and a 7:00 start for the Adult Race.
Here's the official word...
We are planning another big SUP Race in the Cove next Tuesday Aug 31.
With this race we are also going to be running a kids race for kids 9-13, that will be held right in front of the center by the waterfront. Races will be short and close to the beach so that spectators can all watch.
We will have demos there for the kids to use, and we would encourage anyone that is willing to lend out their boards so that we can get as many kids out as possible. The kids race will be a 6pm and the adult race will be at 7.
This is going to be a great time... Make plans to be there for sure!
The K-15 is Starboard's flatwater specialist SUP, and that it does next to perfectly... Huge glide with every stroke and incredibly fast when it's glassy. Rougher conditions though? Forget about it.
At 15' by 30"wide, the K-15 is a monster when sized up alongside an all-rounder SUP, and along with the extra 1.5" EVA ring around the top edge of the cockpit, the K-15 looks more like a kayak than an SUP. In fact, Starboard even makes a double blade capable paddle specifically for this board so you can indeed paddle it like a kayak, but that's only really intended for strong headwind conditions, an area in which the K-15 doesn't fare too well.
Similar in outline to Starboard's highly acclaimed light wind windsurf board the Serenity, the K-15 also includes a daggerboard slot and mast track, for those days when you want the wind to work in your favor. The dagger board can also be used to increase stability but with an almost 2 foot draw, you'd best to stick to deeper waters.
The deck drain holes are equipped with scuppers on the underside and work surprisingly well at keeping the cockpit free of water. In theory, you're supposed to be able to close the scuppers, allowing the cockpit to fill with water which will again help to increase stability.
The board is also equipped with a number of mounting points, useful not only to tie down equipment and so forth, but a wheel can also be attached to the tail, making this board a whole lot more manageable to move around... That is assuming you're moving across reasonably flat terrain.
Initial Impression are WOW, this things is fast! Took me a couple hours to get used to the much tippier displacement shaped hull, but once I overcame that challenge it was full speed ahead!
The glide is a completely different sensation than paddling more traditional longboard shaped boards... A couple strokes and it seems to keep on going forever. This also makes it possible to keep up with small, fast moving swell, which makes for incredibly fast downwinders when the swell is reasonably clean.
Using my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS heart rate monitor, initial assessment shows I'm averaging speeds of 2-3 km/h faster than my Starboard 12'6 Cruiser.
The tradeoff for this speed is lack of maneuverability and instability. Though it's possible to catch the tiniest of swells, it's pretty hard to do much on the waves due to the board's awkward dimensions.
I'm really starting to get used to the Startouch finish, which I first encountered on Starboard's 9'0 Stinger I recently reviewed. I first thought the finish would be hard on my feet during longer paddles, but after a few good length jaunts I'm happy to say it's a non issue, and provides good grip without the extra weight. Time will tell if it starts to wear off over time, but if it does I can always throw some Monster Paint on there to restore the grip.
So who's the ideal customer for a K15? If you have regular access to calm, flat water conditions then by all means, do yourself a favour and get one.
I mainly paddle around here in West Vancouver and so far have spent about half my time on the K15, the other half on my all-rounder boards. Problem with this area though is we tend to get a lot of cross up swell where the waves bounce against the rocky shore and back into open water, which creates very unstable and challenging water conditions. Once I have some more experience with the K-15 in these sorts of conditions I'm sure it'll be much more manageable, but for now I just consider myself lucky to have a couple other all-rounder boards in the quiver for those days when conditions are less than ideal.
That said though, I think these sorts of boards are really going to start to become popular in flatwater touring areas such as Vancouver. Sure, we get the odd day of surf in here and there, but unless you're heading down the coast or over to Vancouver Island, opportunities for waves are few and far between that in retrospect and it doesn't make a ton of sense to handicap yourself with a board that's designed to ride waves... That's my take at least. 
Here's a gallery of my board, along with a 9'0 Starboard Stinger for size comparison...
And just to wrap up, Evan from StandUpPaddleSurf.net has done a great job going over the board and introducing some of its features in the following video:
Deep Cove Kayak put on a great race this past Tuesday down in the Cove and everything (well, aside from my time) exceeded expectations! Conditions were exceptional, turnout was outstanding, and the vibe was super friendly.
The race was held in conjunction with Deep Cove Kayak's regular Tuesday Night Race Series, with SUP being the featured event for the night and it was their best SUP turn out to a race by far, with 27 ready and stoked stand up paddlers.
The Stand Up Paddleboard course starting off at Deep Cove, around South to Grey Rocks Island, across to Hamber Island just off Belcarra, then back into Deep Cove for an approximate 4.6km round trip.
For those not familiar with the area, here's a map with my GPS route overlay:
This was my first time participating in a Stand Up Paddleboard race and I now know I've got a fair bit of work to do if I want to get competitive. Racing definitely takes a different mindset and level of fitness from recreational paddling so our typical flatwater "training" regimen of stopping here and there along the way to take in the views, wasn't all that applicable to a racing scenario.
Not saying that you needed to be fast to have fun as there were a ton of paddlers out there taking it mellow and having a good time, but the experience just showed me that there's another level of speed to these boards and with some hard work, I might be able to get onto the podium too one of these days... Eventually... Maybe.
Anyways, I raced in the unlimited class with my Starboard K15, along with three other racers on K15's, one guy on a beauty 14' Ron House Full Carbon and a fifth racer on a Naish Glide. Amongst the unlimited racers I swept up last place but had a great time doing it and look forward to improving next time.
Bob Putnam from Deep Cove Kayak got pretty much holeshot from the start and maintained it throughout the race, followed by Tyler Massey and Daryl Remmler.
Kelvin Humenny blazed the stock 12'6 class with his beautiful hand built wooden 12'1 SUP and paddle. The rest of the stock class was made up of a wide variety of boards, tons of Starboard Blends, Cruisers, and Pins. Also saw a few Jimmy Styks, a Walden 10'10, even an old windsurfer or two... Whatever was available to get out there and have fun!
Lina Augaitis placed second and Ken Stobbart from Trident Sports placed third, both on Starboard Pins, rounded out the top three in the stock 12'6 division.
Here are the complete, unsorted results:
1 Medland Mike 2834 M 12 42.48 PRONE 2 Augaitis Lina 2797 F 12'6 34.05 REG 3 Langford Angela 2884 F 12 37.47 REG 4 Mauriks Diana 2802 F 11'3 38.59 REG 5 Sol Adrienne 2827 F 12'6 45.51 REG 6 McLean Erica 2163 F 12'6 51.49 REG 7 McLean Brenda 2814 F 10 53.25 REG 8 Humenny Kelvin M 12 33.39 REG 9 Williams Brett 2832 M 12'6 37.46 REG 10 Day Garth 2782 M 12'6 38.10 REG 11 Stobbart Ken 2835 M 12 39.24 REG 12 Rollings Dale 2840 M 12 39.33 REG 13 Mortimer-Lamb Andrew 2844 M 11'6 39.39 REG 14 Shwartz Corry 2731 M 11 41.33 REG 15 Matheson Ian 2793 M 10'10 42.12 REG 16 Smith Zac 2816 M 12 43.29 REG 17 Holmes Alan 2843 M 11'6 43.50 REG 18 Stanley Dalen 2833 M 12 45.41 REG 19 Wrohen Adam 2825 M 12 47.21 REG 20 Putnam Bob M K15 31.28 UNLIMITED 21 Massey Tyler 2817 M 14 32.08 UNLIMITED 22 Remmler Daryl M K15 32.34 UNLIMITED 23 Santaga Mitchell 2763 M 14 33.45 UNLIMITED 24 Sacré Declan 2830 M 15 34.09 UNLIMITED 25 Fulde Taylor 2858 M 15 35.00 UNLIMITED 26 Williams Peter 2831 M 14 UNLIMITED
The event wrapped up at The Raven with beers, burgers, video recap on the TV's and lots of socializing amongst the racers. What was great to see is how friendly the SUP scene is becoming here in Vancouver. A lot of the guys know one another from past races and other sports, but those that are new to the game were welcomed as part of the team, and all was very cool and friendly across the board... Hoping that continues for sure!
Thanks again to Bob and his team at Deep Cove Kayak and on that note be sure to read his recap of the race as well!
Everyone I spoke to is stoked for the next race and if you didn't make it this week, be sure to get it on your calendar for next week as they will be running SUP races alongside their Tuesday Night Races every week here on in.
Just got word that Starboard's going to be on hand at the Deep Cove Kayak Stand Up Paddleboard race on Tuesday July 29th with a great selection of their boards available for a minimal rental fee.
Boards that will be in attendance include:
Get there early for the best selection!
Just got off the phone with Declan from Trident Sports, and he mentioned that they're going to be holding a Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard demo clinic down at Deep Cove Kayak tomorrow morning at 10:00AM.
Post up in the comments if you're going to be there, I'll try to make it as well!