Congratulations to Starboard team rider, Ekolu Kalama, for winning the SUP division at the 32-mile Rainbow Sandals Molokai to Oahu Race held July 26…

Ekolu Kalama (white) led the SUP field out from the start and never looked back. Photo: Bernie Baker.

Ekolu posted his first solo win in the record time of 5:02:06…
He was 20 minutes in front of the next solo standup paddler, the legendary Guy Pere…

The 32-mile Rainbow Sandals Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race, presented by Honolua, C4 Waterman, Duke’s Waikiki and Maui Jim, is the unofficial world title of the sport and is considered the most brutal physical and mental challenge in the world for the waterman. The race includes divisions for traditional paddleboarding, standup paddleboarding. Both solo and team in each division.

Results here…

In the SUP division, favorite Ekolu Kalama did not disappoint, posting his first solo win in the record time of five hours two minutes and six seconds. Kalama was emotional about his victory. “My grandfather was smiling down from heaven on me today. Words can’t explain how I feel.”

Australian Jamie Mitchell won the paddle board division. The toughest tidal conditions in years kept Mitchell from breaking the record he set in 2007, coming in 10 minutes slower today at 4:58:25.

Jamie Mitchell conquers crazy conditions off the cliffs of Oahu as he heads home for a win. Photo: Bernie Baker.

“It felt like six hours today,” said Mitchell, who couldn’t believe he came in under five hours. “The first two thirds was good, but that last third… it took forever to get close, then the current, then the backwash. It was definitely the toughest (race) of the last three or four years for me.

While Ekolu didn’t complete the course in a faster time than Mitchell, Kalama sounded like he had more fun on the channel:

“That was like a five-and-a-half hour surf session. I’m not going to have to surf for a while.. I’m good for about a week.”

Kalama and Mitchell were rewarded equal prize money for the first time today, thanks to Rainbow Sandals, each receiving $3,000.

The first solo woman SUP-er was Jenny Kalmbach (6:18:31) from the Big Island…she received $750 for her 1st place effort…as did Kanesa Duncan (6:29:29) for 1st place women’s unlimited prone…

Standup paddling is a lifestyle…it’s a life transformational sport/activity that’s as good for your mind…as it is for your body, heart, and soul…

We often refer to standup as “yoga on water”…

We pride ourselves on having the best selection of standup paddleboards at the best prices with the best service…leave it to us to ensure that your purchase is optimized for VALUE and QUALITY…we’ll get your STOKE factor in the red zone…and keep it there…

Here’s a few of our SUP’s on display…our warehouses are full of the best SUP’s on the planet, just waiting to be adopted…

Over the weekend, we helped quite a few folks with their SUP and paddle adoptions…;-)

Here’s Dani and Colleen…just a few of the fresh wahine faces that will be seen paddling in our local waters…

These women are pretty kewl…lots of impressive accomplishments in their young lives…and, now they are immersed in standup paddling…we welcome them into our ohana…

All of our SUP’s are light, strong, and they have handles…which allows our female clients like these two, and many others that you’ve been introduced to on this blog, to simply strap their board on their truck and go paddling…no big thang…

We love getting phone and email customer testimonials from you guys…from time to time we also receive awesome hand written notes…here’s one from Colorado that we returned home to after our trip out to Utah and back…

Todd and Kass picked up a couple of SUP’s on their visit to Santa Barbara…after their vacation, they dropped them off and we packed them up and sent them out to their Boulder, Colorado home…

We planned our flatwater standup paddling trip to return for the swell of the Summer…the Wedge in Newport Beach had over triple overhead sets…the swell is even filtering into a few Santa Barbara beaches…got to ride a new spot this morning…an ultra low tide mysto reef break…scored solo before the tow-in guys got to it…;-)

Meanwhile…down in SoCal…

Hobie team riders, Bryce and TJ Saeman, sacked up and nailed down a world’s first paddlesurf session at the world famous bodysurfing beachbreak…The Wedge…unfortunately, with conditions this big, there was loss of life…

Here’s a shot of Bryce dropping in on his Hobie 9’9″ CP Stinger SUP…
Image: Mark Boster :: Los Angeles Times

A few more shots of standup paddling on Lake Tahoe taken on our way home from Utah…

Our cabin in the pines…a stones throw from the water…

No more climbing on top of the Sprinter to hoist 14′ and 15′ standup paddleboards off of the roof…

Stay tuned for some images and vid clips of standup paddling in Utah…also, some kewl stuff from the OR show…(Outdoor Retailer tradeshow)…and, some kinda funky weird stuff…ummmmmm…like man skirts…;-)

Deb powering the 12′ Naish Glide in Utah…we’ll have the 14′ Naish Glide in a few days…

We recently did a road trip to Utah and dropped into Tahoe on the way back to the coast…to get to heaven sometimes you have to go through hell…ever driven through the Mojave Desert?…;-)

Deb digging the glide on the Starboard K-15…

The BARK 14′ Expedition will be in stock soon (August?!?!)…promise…;-)

Our pups really enjoyed themselves…lots of water time…

We’ll prolly backtrack over the next couple of days and fill you in on Utah and some of the exciting SUP news that just went down and sone other stuff that is coming down the pipe…

Here’s Nikki Gregg finding a wave (sort of…;-) in Utah at Pineview reservoir…

SUP & Paddle Board Race
Saturday, August 15 @ 8:30AM

In Conjunction with Wine & Roses
Hobie Cat Charity Regatta
Leadbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA

BBQ followed by Charity Auction/Raffle
6:00pm Saturday Santa Barbara Yacht Club

Proceeds to go to Make A Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties

Downloadable entry form…

How about some gorgeous colors with the latest 8.3″ Quickblade SUP blade?

Another new offering…lightweight and durable custom SUP wave rippers will soon be available at our store…of course, they will have recessed handles when done…;-)
Shown are the 8’6″…9′…and 9’6″ models…

Mark your calendars…

In conjunction with Naish, Honolua, and Blacksmith Endurance we are helping to coordinate a Santa Barbara downwind race Saturday August 1, 2009…Goleta Pier to the Pavilion at East Beach (~10.5 mi)…there will also be a short course from Leadbetter Beach to the Pavilion at East Beach (~3.5mi)…the short course will be part of a US Championship Race Series…

NAISH 2009 SUP CHAMPIONSHIP RACE SERIES

The Naish 2009 SUP Championships is a Recreational Race Series that will be held
weekly in 10 to 15 Cities across the US and Canada.

The four to six week series will be held between now and August 31.
The Divisions will include a Men’s and Women’s Class with a board restriction of 12’6” and under. At the end of the series the top 3 Men and Women in each city will receive an invite to compete with racers from across North America for the Championship race in San Diego, CA on September 13th , 2009.

These races are intended to be for the beginner to advanced paddler. The goal is to
increase overall participation and visibility of the sport. Ideally races should be at a time and place that is convenient for participants and spectators to attend on a weekly basis.

Below is a general outline of the races.

Series Outline
Series Length- 4 to 6 Weeks, 1 Race a week
Course Type- Course Race or Downwinder
Length- 30 to 45 Minute Races
Divisions- Men’s Division
Women’s Division
Fee- $20 Series, $5 Race
Scoring-
1- 10
2- 8
3- 7
4- 6
5- 5
6- 4
7- 3
8- 2
9- (and above) 1

The scoring is cumulative and the high score wins.

The Championship Race will be held on Sunday September 13th in San Diego, California.

The Winners of each division will receive a 14’ Glide and a trip to Maui, Hawaii for the 5th Annual Naish Paddle Championships, a 9.54 mile race from Maliko Gulch to Kahului Harbor.

Thank you for being a part of this great race series!