Quite possibly my new favorite thing is watching my husband try funny tricks on his Stand Up Paddleboard.
I call this the SUP halfsie-psyche-round the world-bomb. ; )
As you can see, I'm having fun going through some of the footage of our Hawaii trip.
More to follow soon!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thursday SUP: South Anna
Last week brought a decent amount of rain to Virginia which meant one thing to us....
The waters were UP!
We decided to hit South Anna River for a leisure paddle last Thursday evening and took Kozy, our boxer along for the ride.
Beavers, heron, flying fish and owls were all part of the scenery that evening.
I recorded a little video with my camera during the trip but because the river was moving so quickly I had to hold the camera by the cord in my teeth to make sure I didn't get pushed into trees as I recorded. SO....the video goes sideways for a bit while I'm paddling myself back into the middle of the river.
Kozy did amazingly well for a 2 hour journey. He only fell in 3 times!
It's so funny and wonderful seeing him on the board with Jody!
Anybody going out for a paddle this week?
The waters were UP!
We decided to hit South Anna River for a leisure paddle last Thursday evening and took Kozy, our boxer along for the ride.
Beavers, heron, flying fish and owls were all part of the scenery that evening.
I recorded a little video with my camera during the trip but because the river was moving so quickly I had to hold the camera by the cord in my teeth to make sure I didn't get pushed into trees as I recorded. SO....the video goes sideways for a bit while I'm paddling myself back into the middle of the river.
Kozy did amazingly well for a 2 hour journey. He only fell in 3 times!
It's so funny and wonderful seeing him on the board with Jody!
Anybody going out for a paddle this week?
Monday, May 23, 2011
SUP Cross: Riverrock 2011
The SUP Enduro was awesome...the SUP Cross was WICKED!
Jody, our friend Sean and new friend Bryan of Black Dog Paddle and a handful of other Stand Up Paddlers took to the whitewater on the James River in front of TONS of spectators and showed them how truly awesome SUPing can be.
The SUP course was pretty insane. Competitors had to navigate their way around several bouys and through two or three sets of rapids...and oh yeah...it was also full body contact if necessary! LOL!
Everyone did an AMAZING job!
Congrats to everyone that participated!!!!!
You guys ROCKED RiverRock!
Jody, our friend Sean and new friend Bryan of Black Dog Paddle and a handful of other Stand Up Paddlers took to the whitewater on the James River in front of TONS of spectators and showed them how truly awesome SUPing can be.
The SUP course was pretty insane. Competitors had to navigate their way around several bouys and through two or three sets of rapids...and oh yeah...it was also full body contact if necessary! LOL!
Everyone did an AMAZING job!
Congrats to everyone that participated!!!!!
You guys ROCKED RiverRock!
Monday, May 16, 2011
SUP Enduro: RiverRock 2011
It's Monday and I'm STILL blown away at how awesome SUP Enduro and SUP Cross was at Dominion Riverrock this weekend!
I competed (I use that term loosely) in the SUP Enduro which was a 2.7 mile race along Haxall Canal on my ShuBu and have learned the following:
* Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboards are not meant for racing.
* All Stand Up Paddlers are AWESOME.
* Talking throughout the entirety of a race to onlookers and friends does not help you go faster.
* Richmonders treat underdogs very, very well.
When we arrived to the starting area I was immediately greeted by Camille and Bryan Smith of BlackDogPaddle.com! We'd been chatting with them back and forth on our Facebook page so it was truly a pleasure to finally meet them in person!
We were also really excited to see Macky Hall of Chesapeake Boardsports ready to rock the race!
I was pretty intimidated by all of the technical race boards but each SUPer's smile put me at ease.....it was OK my board was inflatable, it was OK if I wasn't fast....we were all out here to have a good time.
The race course was simple: 3 laps up and down the Haxall Canal.
The start of the race was FUN! Everyone ahead of me was pretty darn fast but I got to play on their chop!
Pictured below is Macky in the red shorts and Cherie in the red shirt (1 of 3 of us gal participants) taking off!
It was really cool being in a race with such talented SUPers!
Pictured below is Camille on her 2nd lap while I'm still trying to finish my first! Camille dominated!
Fifty-four minutes after the start and after a heck of a fun work out I crossed the finish line...
I sooooooooo want to do this again!
But I'm going to get a proper board for next time. ; )
Because there were only three of us gals in the race, we each placed (each of us winning a cash prize)! =)
Congrats Camille and Cherie on a race-well-paddled!!!
I competed (I use that term loosely) in the SUP Enduro which was a 2.7 mile race along Haxall Canal on my ShuBu and have learned the following:
* Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboards are not meant for racing.
* All Stand Up Paddlers are AWESOME.
* Talking throughout the entirety of a race to onlookers and friends does not help you go faster.
* Richmonders treat underdogs very, very well.
When we arrived to the starting area I was immediately greeted by Camille and Bryan Smith of BlackDogPaddle.com! We'd been chatting with them back and forth on our Facebook page so it was truly a pleasure to finally meet them in person!
We were also really excited to see Macky Hall of Chesapeake Boardsports ready to rock the race!
I was pretty intimidated by all of the technical race boards but each SUPer's smile put me at ease.....it was OK my board was inflatable, it was OK if I wasn't fast....we were all out here to have a good time.
The race course was simple: 3 laps up and down the Haxall Canal.
The start of the race was FUN! Everyone ahead of me was pretty darn fast but I got to play on their chop!
Pictured below is Macky in the red shorts and Cherie in the red shirt (1 of 3 of us gal participants) taking off!
It was really cool being in a race with such talented SUPers!
Pictured below is Camille on her 2nd lap while I'm still trying to finish my first! Camille dominated!
Fifty-four minutes after the start and after a heck of a fun work out I crossed the finish line...
I sooooooooo want to do this again!
But I'm going to get a proper board for next time. ; )
Because there were only three of us gals in the race, we each placed (each of us winning a cash prize)! =)
Congrats Camille and Cherie on a race-well-paddled!!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
SUP Huguenot Flats to Pony Pasture
Last weekend was absolutely GORGEOUS! So much so that we were able to get a few paddle sessions in before this weekend's SUP Enduro and SUP Cross races at Riverrock.
The wind was working against us which is exactly what we needed to show us that we were absolutely not ready for any kind of race! But that doesn't matter....SUP Enduro and SUP Cross was AWESOME (more on that later). ; )
Once we were satisfied with how far we'd paddled up river we turned our boards around, rested our paddles on the boards and enjoyed the downwinder.....
until we realized we were on a collision course with a huge swarm of bugs in front of us....
and as we floated closer...
we heard the buzzing.
This was not a swarm of gnats (as we thought)....but a swarm of tens of thousands of bees.
As soon as we realized this my husband yelled to get down and we both laid out flat on our boards.
The swarm passed right over us.
It was...intense...to say the least.
I was about to roll over into the water and put my ShuBu over my head!
Unreal.
The next half of the afternoon we teamed up with fellow SUPer Sean for a downwinder from Huguenot Flats to Pony Pasture.
Once we got to the dam off of Riverside drive just before Pony Pasture I took out and walked my board around the whitewater obstacle I wasn't quite ready for.
My husband on the other hand was determined to get his board over the dam.
The rapids at Pony Pasture were F-U-N! I was on my knees the entire time because I didn't have a helmet but it was still pretty exhilarating!
Thank you weather gods for such a fantastic weekend!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
SUP Vacation Hawaii: Kihei Beach
During our visit we took the opportunity to hop over to one of the other islands for a few days.
Maui.
My Dad's favorite island.
I understand why.
In addition to a whale watching tour and biking down a dormant volcano, we rented paddleboards in Kihei on the South tip of Maui.
My husband chased waves (and caught a fair number!) while I cruised the outer parameters of the break.
I have to admit...the view of Maui from the water was pretty awesome.
But what really made this paddle the most memorable to date.....
my new paddle buddies...
Green Hawaiian Sea Turtles!
I guess they weren't scared by my easy-cruisin because they decided to stick around me for a little while. Long enough for me to open my dry bag and get my camera out!
At one point a fairly large turtle started swimming directly toward me. I was nervous for about a second as he was pretty big in comparison to my board, but he detoured at the last moment next to my board allowing me to get this awesome shot...
SUPing Kihei beach in Maui....an experience I won't soon forget!
Maui.
My Dad's favorite island.
I understand why.
In addition to a whale watching tour and biking down a dormant volcano, we rented paddleboards in Kihei on the South tip of Maui.
My husband chased waves (and caught a fair number!) while I cruised the outer parameters of the break.
I have to admit...the view of Maui from the water was pretty awesome.
But what really made this paddle the most memorable to date.....
my new paddle buddies...
Green Hawaiian Sea Turtles!
I guess they weren't scared by my easy-cruisin because they decided to stick around me for a little while. Long enough for me to open my dry bag and get my camera out!
At one point a fairly large turtle started swimming directly toward me. I was nervous for about a second as he was pretty big in comparison to my board, but he detoured at the last moment next to my board allowing me to get this awesome shot...
SUPing Kihei beach in Maui....an experience I won't soon forget!
SUP Vacation Hawaii: Kahana River
Aloha!
Apologies for not keeping up with the blog! We recently returned from visiting family in Hawaii and have just now gotten back into a regular routine.
Let's jump right in!
It was wonderful being back in the place where our love for SUP first started...but my husband and I have different SUP needs.
I need flatwater and awesome scenery.
He needs waves.
I'm happy to report that Hawaii took care of both.
For our flatwater excursion we sought out Kahana River on the East side of Oahu. It's not well known and actually very easy to miss but absolutely worth a drive from the other side of the island.
We put in at Kahana Bay Beach Park (below)...
If you're looking out at the ocean from the park the mouth of Kahana river is to your right. In fact you drive right over it to get to the beach park, which means you get to SUP under a vehicle bridge....(always fun!)
Once you paddle past the bridge the river opens up and you're suddenly completely enclosed by lush greenery.....
I kept hearing Sir Richard Attenborough say "Welcome...to Jurassic Park" in my head.
You can paddle all the way up the river but it narrows quite a bit and presents some obstacles along the way (if you enjoy them)...
We actually had other family members waiting to use the paddleboards after us so we didn't paddle the whole river but next time.....we're going all the way. ; )
Once we got back to the beach park we handed the boards off to my two younger brothers and girlfriend and followed them along the shore to snap some photos...
And oh yeah....did I mention there is a rope swing at the mouth of the river?
Kahana Bay Beach park definitely has something for everyone. And if you like to paddle flatwater it is the perfect location.
Apologies for not keeping up with the blog! We recently returned from visiting family in Hawaii and have just now gotten back into a regular routine.
Let's jump right in!
It was wonderful being back in the place where our love for SUP first started...but my husband and I have different SUP needs.
I need flatwater and awesome scenery.
He needs waves.
I'm happy to report that Hawaii took care of both.
For our flatwater excursion we sought out Kahana River on the East side of Oahu. It's not well known and actually very easy to miss but absolutely worth a drive from the other side of the island.
We put in at Kahana Bay Beach Park (below)...
If you're looking out at the ocean from the park the mouth of Kahana river is to your right. In fact you drive right over it to get to the beach park, which means you get to SUP under a vehicle bridge....(always fun!)
Once you paddle past the bridge the river opens up and you're suddenly completely enclosed by lush greenery.....
I kept hearing Sir Richard Attenborough say "Welcome...to Jurassic Park" in my head.
You can paddle all the way up the river but it narrows quite a bit and presents some obstacles along the way (if you enjoy them)...
We actually had other family members waiting to use the paddleboards after us so we didn't paddle the whole river but next time.....we're going all the way. ; )
Once we got back to the beach park we handed the boards off to my two younger brothers and girlfriend and followed them along the shore to snap some photos...
Below is the mouth to the Kahana River.
And oh yeah....did I mention there is a rope swing at the mouth of the river?
Kahana Bay Beach park definitely has something for everyone. And if you like to paddle flatwater it is the perfect location.
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