We actually do say YEE_HAW and hey ya’ll ’round here!…at least when Fiesta, the rodeos, and the Mid-State Fair are in town…;-)

Are we having fun yet?…seriously, is everbody S T O K E D ?!!!???

We hope everybody is having a great Summer standup paddling…sure sounds like it from the reports that we’re getting from all over this continent…Witchita, KS…Fairmont, MN…Pensacola, FL…Buffalo, NY…Coure D’ Laine, ID…Put In Bay, OH…Hendersonville, NC…Myrtle Beach, SC…Redondo Beach, CA…just to name a few…

Heck, we just had a client from Alberta, Canada drive down with his family, and picked up a couple of Starboard Fishies from us…Brad was sporting a really kewl new Airstream “Basecamp” full of toyz…he promised us some piccies from his home waters once he returns home…

This just in from a hard core windsurf/surf nut on the Central Cali Coast…

Subject: The Stoke

“A.L. today, all by my lonesome, hot, glassy, inconsistent but waist high
waves, a pod of dolphins hanging out the whole time, just past the impact zone,
with pelican hell divers, and me. There is nothing like dragging your paddle
across the top of the lip, and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Never really told you how stoked I am.

Sea ya ~ GB (Cambria, CA)

Read more of our customer testimonials…

Some of the kewlest newz of all this Summer comes from Brian Caserio at Side-Off Video…BTW, he’s holding the best selection of windsurfing and kiteboarding DVD’s on the planet…

Hey Warren and Debbie,

Thought you might like to see little Spencer in action. Now he asks me to bring “his” standup paddleboard to the beach when we go. He’s hooked. He mostly uses one of my dad’s super old surfboards.

A little background on Spencer Rocket Caserio…
On September 2, 2003, at 2 years, 10 months old, Spencer was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). This is a somewhat rare and aggressive form of childhood leukemia.

“As of July 1, 2008 Spencer was given a completely clean bill of health. No issues whatsoever. In any tests that gave instant feedback he is normal to above normal in all of them. Don’t know what else to say besides Spencer is a rock star. Keep it up. We could not be happier.”

…and neither could we…way to go Spencer!!!…SOOOOO STOKED!!!!

We are getting ready to launch a really kewl new line of standup paddle t-shirts and hoodies…as if our current line isn’t kewl enough, huh?…;-)

The artwork is by a world renowned local Santa Barbara surf artist…here’s a first L@@K at the rough concept draft…believe me, the finished product is going to be an instant collectors item…

Breaking news on the coconut telegraph…

Big news for a BEEEEG Molokai boy…
The two time winner of the 32 mile Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard race , Ekolu Kalama, has signed on with Starboard…
Pic below shows Ekolu on one of the new 2009 Starboard SUP prototypes…

From the Molokai Dispatch
By Jennifer Smith

Is there anything more pure and fantastic than a boy’s dream? How about when that dream becomes a man’s reality?

For as long as Ekolu Kalama can remember he wanted to be a professional surfer, but for almost just as long, people have told him he couldn’t do it. To those people Kalama says, “if it’s your dream, it’s your dream-and no one can criticize it.”

After several years of hard work and trying dedication, Kalama made his dream a reality last May when he became one of the first Stand Up Paddle (SUP) surfers to receive a sponsorship.

SUPing is a newly popularized sport where surfers use elongated canoe paddles to propel themselves on longboards. The oversized surfboards allow SUPers to keep their balance and remain standing whether they’re on a wave or not.

Starboard, a famous board making company in the windsurfing industry, snatched up the Molokai born paddler and surfer in hopes that he will assist in designing a signature SUP board, and help to further popularize the sport.

To understand how a former Molokai High School graduate ended up on the beaches of Maldives testing boards and taking part in photo shoots the story needs to rewind two years.

Kalama was turning 30 in a few hours, and felt what he describes as a “mid-life crisis of sorts.” Sitting on Makaha beach, waiting for midnight to hit so he could jump in the water, he saw his friend Duane DeSoto playing with his kids.

Something about the image stuck with Kalama and while out in the water catching waves and contemplating his life, he stopped. “I said ‘this is the life I want!’”

“Everybody thought I was crazy,” Kalama said, explaining how people reacted when he gave up one of the best jobs on the island, as a firefighter. Friends and family argued that the 10 day per month work requirement left him with more than enough time to surf.

But, Kalama realized he had to make sacrifices if he wanted to go all the way, and it would take nearly two years, and several tries before he would realize he made the right decision.

Broke and worn, “it didn’t seem like the doors were going to open,” Kalama said. The fire department gave him three years to go back, and every month for several months he filled out the paper work to return, but each time “it was like pulling teeth for me to go back.”

Now with a sponsorship and a busy summer schedule that includes stops in Bali, England, California, Spain, and France, Kalama knows his sacrifices were worth it. “I feel like I have natural abilities God gave me,” and I wasn’t able to use them at the fire department.

Kalama credits his cousin Dave Kalama and infamous big-wave rider Laird Hamilton for introducing him to SUPing. “Laird gave me my first board and paddle” nearly two years ago, he said.

“I was surfing before I can even remember,” Kalama said. And coming from a well-known family of canoe paddlers, “it was a common sense natural match for me.”

“It’s been my childhood dream to be a professional surfer,” Kalama said, explaining how excited he is to be doing what he loves. His experience has taught him that you can accomplish your dreams, no matter how great, and he hopes to pass on this attitude to his two young sons.

A two-time World Paddling Champion in the Molokai-to-Oahu race, he said now he just needs to earn a surfing world title.

This segment with Laird Hamilton aired on Good Morning America May 28…
Asked if he could only do one thing, what would it be?
He chose standup paddling…”because of the diversity…lakes…rivers…bays…giant waves…small waves…cross the English Channel…like a dance on water…great for hangovers”…

Gotta give Bill Weir a little credit…first sesh on a standup board in the wind/chop without pad and with slippery wax…the pressure of the TV camera…and King Laird as instructor…can you say “humble pie”?…;-)