What: Quiksilver Waterman Santa Cruz Downwind Ryders Cup 14 mile downwind SUP & paddleboard race

The 3rd annual Santa Cruz Downwind Ryders Cup paddleboard race, presented by Quiksilver Waterman Collection, is a 14 mile race that takes paddlers down the rugged coastline of northern Santa Cruz County. Fifteen to twenty-five knot winds are common on this world-class downwind course from Davenport Landing to Main Beach (adjacent to SC Wharf).

Pre-race meeting and registration at Ideal Bar and Grill (base of Santa Cruz Wharf) on Friday May 18, 6–8 PM.

When: Saturday, May 19th 1:30pm

Where: Davenport to Main Beach, Santa Cruz

Website: http://www.grwcsantacruz.com/santa-cruz-downwind-paddleboard-race.php

DONNER LAKE
May 26, 2012

RACE DAY REGISTRATION $55.00
CASH OR CHECKS ON RACE DAY NO CREDIT CARDS
START: 9:00 AM

COURSE / DESCRIPTION: The race circumnavigates Donner Lake. The start and finish is the West-End Beach, Donner Lake. This is a 5 mile SUP & Paddleboard race for men and women of all ability levels.

AWARDS: Men’s and Women’s first, second, and third place awards will be presented in all three SUP board classifications. Paddleboard awards will be presented to the first place male and female.

AGE DIVISION: YOUTH (18 & under) and MASTERS (55+) SUP awards will be presented to the overall men’s and women’s first, second, and third place finish in both age divisions. **MINIMUM of three participants in each division to qualify for an award.

FREE STANDUP PADDLEBOARD DEMO’S AVAILABLE AFTER THE RACE

Register Here

Be there!

When it was announced that Battle of the Paddle Hawaii, one of the most highly anticipated and revered SUP events, wouldn’t happen in 2012, the paddle world was left with a hole in it. What would fill it’s place? Where would we go to paddle and compete in pristine conditions, to test ourselves against each other, and enjoy the camaraderie of this growing sport?

The Quiksilver Watermans Collection Waikiki Paddle Festival is the answer. May 5/6. It’s on.

Amidst a flurry of fun activities, paddlers from around the globe will descend this weekend upon Oahu to have fun, see old friends and make new acquaintances, but most of all, they are coming to race. Plan on coming, but didn’t want to pay hundreds to ship your board? Surftech has you covered with our Rent to Race program.

And speaking of going fast, ladies and gentlemen, we are bringing the HEAT race day. If you are staying home for this one, while you are watching the live webcast, expect to see a slew of elite Surftech Team Riders, including Jamie Mitchell, Candice Appleby, Gerry Lopez, Matt Becker, Jenn Lee, Morgan Hoesterey and Alison Riddle.

Just last weekend Jamie Mitchell was the guest of honor on the red carpet at the Newport Beach Film Festival for the world premiere release of his new movie “Decade of Dominance,” a full length film chronicling his staggering 10-consecutive year reign at the top in the treacherous Molokai-2-Oahu paddleboard race series in Hawaii. We raffled off his 14′ Navigator race SUP and a Quickblade paddle, and raised nearly $1500 for Pipeline to a Cure foundation, an organization that Jamie is an ambassador for, which benefits Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. That weekend was incredible, and a real testament to the growth the sport has seen in the last few years. For this weekend at the WPF, Jamie designed the “Survivor” race course, and since he has competed at the elite level for over ten years now, you can imagine that he has a good idea of what is going to be new and challenging. Video of Jamie explaining the course. Expect the creator to be a major threat on Saturday and Sunday!

Candice Appleby has been equally busy, starting the season by heading out to Australia for a surfing/SUPing/racing trip that she fit in between dates for her new professional paddle workshops with Anthony Vela, called Performance Paddling. Performance Paddling “offers a variety of services to help you train harder, paddle faster, and have more fun,” and includes a small team of up-and-coming groms, specially trained in advanced paddle techniques and disciplines. Candice, coming off of a solid 3rd place finish at the Carolina Cup last weekend, seeks to improve upon that finish in Waikiki, and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Expect to see Gerry Lopez showing the young bucks what style really is on the waves, and determination on the race course. At Surf Expo in Florida, we showed off is new 14′ downwinder/race SUP, which will also be available in 12’6, constructed of race-ready Pro-Elite technology. Gerry has been paddling and perfecting these shapes for some time, and some of you may have seen him on water at the Battle of the Paddle California last year on the early versions. Check in with us on the beach to see if you can take one out for a paddle…

One of the newest additions to the ohana is Matt Becker, who won the infamous Surftech SHOOTOUT at the Lane in March. Amidst pumping swell at the world famous Santa Cruz break Steamer Lane, we saw Matt SUP shredding like he was on a 5’10 shortboard, all the way to the top of the podium! At the recent Carolina Cup, Matt battled hard to place third in the men’s elite race against the seasoned talent of Danny Ching and Chase Kosterlitz, beating many veteran paddlers. Watch out for this guy, folks, he does it all.

Also representing Team Surftech is Jenn Lee, whose experience with distance paddles will be tested in next years Molokai2Oahu challenge, and this weekends paddle races. She knows what it means to be dedicated to training and we wish her the best in Waikiki! Morgan Hoesterey shoots for National Geographic, free dives, surfs, paddles and more. Rumor has it she is working on a story about a looong paddle, so keep your eyes peeled at her blog for details. Alison Riddle is another new team rider, and her water polo and surfing background (USC) has catapulted her into the competitive paddle arena. She finished a spot shy of the top 10 in the Female Elite race at the Battle of the Paddle CA 2011, and has been training hard, looking forward to racing in warm water against the best of the best in just a few days.

All in all, we are looking forward to an insanely fun and exciting weekend with the crew out in Hawaii. Stop by race day and say hi, if you don’t see us in the lineup or singing karaoke first!

Watch Facebook and Twitter for all the fun…

This incredible event will consist of many exciting activities, including the Decade of Dominance movie premiere on Friday, races, parties and events all day Saturday and Sunday. We’re getting excited!

But while we’ll be enjoying some serious fun and games, the reason we’ll all REALLY be there is to compete. And nothing gets you to the finish line more quickly than a proven shape by a top shaper, offered to you by Surftech. Below is a small selection of the hottest new shapes that will be availalbe.

Now is your chance. Your chariot awaits.

You’re invited to see how Jamie’s achievements transpired at the Decade of Dominance movie premiere. The film features Jamie Mitchell, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Gerry Lopez, Dave Kalama and was directed by Brent Deal. Premiere begins at 6:15 pm Saturday, April 28th at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach, CA. Jamie Mitchell will be at the Premiere so don’t miss this chance to meet the man himself and share in his historical 10th straight Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championship victory!

You won’t want to miss the DOD after-party hosted by Locale Magazine at Equinox. Guests will be treated to hosted bars, entertainment and hors d’oeuvres by Daphne’s California Greek.

For tickets and info, please visit www.newportbeachfilmfest.com

Decade of Dominance Movie Premiere
When — 6:15pm Saturday the 28th of April
Where — Lido Theatre 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA
Tickets from Newport beach Film Festival web site — www.newportbeachfilmfest.com

For info and updates go to www.facebook.com/DecadeOfDominance

Last year was the inaugural year for the Duel-athlon, and the 40 knot winds, sideways hail, and overhead shorebreak created an experience which was not soon forgotten. A similar forecast this year scared off some competitors that had heard the tall tales, while others were motivated to want to challenge themselves in this years contest. The 2011 Duel-athlon undoubtedly set the benchmark for a Northern California competition that is outside the norm, and the 2012 SHOOTOUT reinforced that notion. We were fortunate to receive more than our fair share of swell at the world-famous Steamer Lane. Up to double overhead bombs with only four people out is basically a dream come true, and 28 lucky SUP surfers from all over the West Coast lived that dream for three days. The highlights of the weekend are as follows:

Photo courtesy of Scott Ruble

The good times kicked off on Thursday at the Covewater Happy Hour and Q&A with Candice Appleby (2011 Womens Duel-athlon champ) and Anthony Vela (2011 Third Place Mens Duel-athlon) at Covewater Paddle Surf in Santa Cruz. Special guest Matt Becker, 2011 Duel-athlon Men’s champ, showed up and was peppered with questions alongside Candice and Anthony. The crowd was hanging on every word as Candice and Anthony gave them the full rundown, as they do for their Performance Paddling clinics. They discussed paddle technique and equipment, nutrition, safety/etiquette and more. Then the Infinity boys showed up with Dave Boehne, and well as Joe Carberry from SUPmag and Andre Niemeyer of SUPconnect.com, two leading SUP news media outlets. A Q&A that was supposed to last an hour and half turned into a three hour shop party, with Covewater owner Scott Ruble going out for more beer as revelers talked story and got hyped for the weekend. Thanks for opening your doors, Scott!

Day One at the SHOOTOUT saw lingering 6 foot South swell, which would only get better as a big Northwest swell showed up the next day throughout the weekend and changed the whole nature of the wave at the Lane, keeping competitors on their toes in the changing but incredible conditions. The early South offered right and lefts that hugged the cliff wall, with a little bit of refraction that kept you on your toes. Notable goofy-footers Anthony Vela and Brennan Rose were stoked to make some use of the lefts, but were certainly not afraid of surfing on their backhand as consistent rights shaped up nicely. All 28 competitors surfed Day One and Day Two, but only the top eight moved into the Semi-Finals on Day Three. We all finished up Friday night with another party, this time hosted at the delicious Pono Hawaiian Grill. Live music, good eats and drinks, a video highlight reel from last years contest kept the energy high, and competitors got another chance to mingle and enjoy some of the best grinds that Santa Cruz has to offer.

Candice and fan

Day Two started in the morning with the 2012 Duel-athlon! Calmer seas than last year prevailed, so we were able to run the full Surf ‘n’ Sand course, testing the racers paddle skills, ability to navigate shorebreak, and running endurance. Candice Appleby, Anthony Vela, Matt Becker, Brennan Rose, Joe Carberry and several other hearty competitors participated in both the Duel-athlon and SHOOTOUT, proving that their athleticism is truly elite and water abilities quite well-rounded. One particularly exciting aspect to the race was that Andre and Eric at SUPconnect launched a brand new media initiative for the SUP world, hosting the first ever fully LIVE broadcast with commentary, from the Surftech Suite overlooking the race course from the beautiful Dream Inn.

Throughout the day, the world watched live via SUPconnect.com as Andre and various guest commentators like Dave Boehne gave play-by-plays of the action as it unfolded. Already, the plans for the live broadcast will be even more robust, and watch for the same awesome live broadcast in this years Jay Race…

Racers launched off the beach around 9:20am, punching through the shorebreak and heading out to the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf, where they would make their first turn south, heading to the right shoulder buoy that would mark the halfway point. Candice held back for a minute, getting the timing of the sets right before heading out to sea, and gave herself catch-up some work to do as others crashed headlong into the waves and got right through. Once through the pounding shorebreak, she put her head down and sped off on her new 12’6 Pro model BARK raceboard, quickly passing people and making up ground as she took the lead over the women’s field. Team rider Alison Riddle was hot on her tail, but Candice held on to a lead that took her back to the beach first about 100 yards ahead of the pack, and never relinquished that gap.

Vela and Sarrazin battle it out

The men’s race was exciting throughout, with Anthony Vela holding the lead for the entire race, followed closely by a chase pack of Ben Sarrazin, Brennan Rose and Matt Becker. Racers were afforded an up close and personal view of the local sea lions, whose loud barks cheered paddlers on as they battled each other, and the clock. Lap one saw Vela sprinting through the turn arch with Sarrazin at his heels, under the wharf and along the beach to the turn marker. It was apparent that his lifeguard training gave him endurance and secure feet for the beach run, as he pulled away heading in to the second lap.

The second lap stayed close for the men, and Vela widened the gap again on the beach run to come in 23 seconds ahead of Sarrazin with a time of 1:00:00 flat. Candice came in a minute ahead of second place finisher Alison Riddle with a time of 1:08:05, beating a full half of the Mens field. Open course (1 lap) winner was David Meyler, with a time of 29:47, followed by Dino Wilson and Olivier Guincente. (See full results on Results page). With ASP-style flair, Surftech had a VIP zone where certain people got to go directly from the race course up into a hot-tub overlooking the beach to warm up, recount their race tactics, and get ready for their heats in the SHOOTOUT in a few hours.

Nicely formed Middle Peak

As Day Two at the SHOOTOUT continued, we saw the Northwest swell fill in, and the prime takeoff zone shift a little away from the cliff wall. More macking Middle Peak sets were coming through, and surfers had a great time dropping steep faces, throwing in a few cutbacks, and following the wall into Indicators where it reformed into a high performance face in front of the judges booth. Spectator’s numbers grew as the day continued on, reenforcing that one reason Steamer Lane is such a great venue is that is is so spectator friendly because you are literally feet from the action at any given point. Day Two saw Matt Becker continue to absolutely RIP waves apart, and everyone score incredible overhead surf, delivered on a silver platter.

Local talent John Griffith consistently posted high scores, and would end up advancing into the semis for Day Three with seven other skilled surfers. Candice Appleby, despite having the flu, put together a strong score that put her in first place over Joe Carberry and Brennan Rose. Competitors were having so much fun that as soon as their heats ended, they paddled to shore, tossed their jerseys onto shore, and paddled back out to surf all alone in peeling waves for another two hours! Post-contest, Dave Boehne others were seen around the world surfing epic Lane as SUPconnect set up their live broadcast right there on the cliff and were streaming the killer freesurf session!

Becker in the final

We finished off the night at the Cocoanut Grove, where a live band and slyly ordered pizza helped competitors boisterously ring in St. Paddy’s Day with plenty of Guinness and race awards. Open race winners received beautiful new Quickblade paddles, and two partygoers had a chance to answer ocean/other trivia to win two custom St. Paddy’s Day Shamrock QB paddles! One lucky winner was 2011 SUP Movie of the Year filmmaker Chris Aguilar of Soul Surf Media, who was in town filming the entire weekend. Can’t wait to see the video! Another lucky raffle winner walked away with a Surftech Laird 11′. After closing the Cocoanut Grove down, some went across the street to the local bowling alley and karaoke bar and kept the party going til the wee hours of the morning.

Day Three kicked off with double overhead+ sets at the Lane, and frothing competitors could hardly wait to get into the water at 10:20am for the beginning of the Semi-Finals. Semi #1 saw Anthony Vela, Avery Dinauer, Josh Sleigh and Candice Appleby competing, with Vela and Dinauer taking places 1/2 to advance to the Finals at noon. Semi #2 was comprised of John Griffith, Brennan Rose, Christopher Chandler and Matt Becker, with Becker and Griffith advancing. In the finals, Becker basically put on a clinic that could have been called “How to SUP Surf Good, We Mean Really Good.” He smacked the lip, pulled floaters, cutbacks and challenging moves with such wave-riding skill that there was no doubt that he would be crowned the eventual winner. Griffith all put up a strong showing, putting his 8’10″ Surftech Gerry Lopez through its paces and impressing both judges and spectators with his skill. In a battle to the end, Vela came in with just one less point than Griffith for a solid third place. Pretty impressive for winning a race just the day before… Dinauer could be seen smiling the whole way up the stairs from the water, realizing that not many people get the opportunity to score pumping Lane for three days in a row, with only three other guys.

As things wound down approaching the late afternoon, it was apparent that both surfers and fans experienced something special March 17–18, 2012 in Santa Cruz. They came, they scored, and stoke was omnipresent. We couldn’t be happier with the fun, the camaraderie, and conditions and can’t wait to do it again next year. Congrats to all on their performances and special thanks to sponsors SUPmag, Clifbar, Covewater Paddle Surf, Maui Jim, Quickblade and SUPconnect.

More info :: Results | Photos | Facebook | Search #surftechshootout on Twitter for post-race live update feed | Watch for the video, coming soon!

Jamie Mitchell — The Eddie, The Channel & SUP from Surftech Surfboards on Vimeo.

It’s true.

Surftech Team Rider Jamie Mitchell has been on an absolute tear, catapulting himself into the news for a wide variety of compelling reasons.

Mitchell is widely recognized as one of the top prone paddlers in the world, proven again most recently in July 2011 by the staggering accomplishment of winning his tenth consecutive world title in the Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championships. Mitchell raced on a prone paddleboard, breaking his previous record by eight minutes with a time of 4:40:31. Despite his incredible success while racing prone, he may not be getting back on his traditional 18′ unlimited paddleboard again for the M2O. In a post race interview, Mitchell said that “It feels great to set the record. I’m not looking too far ahead, but this may be my last world championship on a traditional paddleboard. This is a great way to move on to a new challenge, but I just want to enjoy this feeling for a while.” (molokai2oahu.com) Will we see the champ on a stand up paddleboard the next time he crosses the 32 mile wide Channel of Bones?? We certainly hope so!

Mitcho — ASL/Oakley Biggest Paddle In

Mitchell has indisputably established that he has incredible strength and endurance in paddling, and is looking for new challenges. So where is the middle ground between that fact and his aspirations? Charging the biggest waves on earth, on big wave guns shaped exclusively by Jon Henderson of Strive Surfboards. Mitchell has been plane-hopping the last several months, searching out and scoring huge swell with a fiery passion. He surfed Himalayas (HI), red-eyed to catch it at Maverick’s (Central CA), drove straight down to Todos Santos (Southern CA) than flew immediately back out to Australia to catch what they were calling “the best day since 2006″ at Cow Bombie. When at Todos Santos, Mitchell earned a Billabong XXL nomination for a bomb that he bagged in early January! Best of luck to Jamie at the Billabong XXL Awards in April. For his efforts in Australia, Mitchell was honored to receive the ASL/Oakley Biggest Paddle In Wave, astounding the world by catching and surviving this terrifying wall of water.

When looking at some of these recent accomplishments, and Mitchell’s quickly unfolding plans for 2012, it is no surprise that Mitchell was presented with the inaugural 2012 Waterman of the Year award from the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

Don’t think for a second that due to his increased focus on surfing that Mitchell will be leaving the paddle at home this year! For 2012, Jamie Mitchell expanded his Surftech quiver, adding two lightning fast race SUPs to his pro line that will join his Randy French shaped surf SUPs. The 12’6″ Latitude and the 14′ Navigator racers are shaped by Adrian Birse, and built in Pro-Elite technology. Mitchell is standing up and standing out on these pro model race SUPs as the Australian Team Captain for the 2012 International Surfing Association competition series in Peru, and will be competing this Friday (2/24) in the 4.5 kilometers SUP technical race, and Saturday (2/25) in the 18 kilometers SUP marathon. Paddle hard Mitcho!

In addition to representing his country internationally, also follow Mitchell as he competes in the Surfing Australia SUP Series. This is a new comprehensive stand up paddle race series that provides “a pathway from grassroots to World Title”. Mitchell said “Like anything you have to start with the basics or the grassroots and in Australia that’s local clubs, through to the State branches and the State Titles, through to the Australian Titles and then the World Titles through the ISA who are part of the International Olympic Committee. So I think it’s important there is support for the only pathway to the Olympic Games down the track. When you look at the track record of Surfing Australia and what they have done with surfing then this series is the right move for stand-up paddling.” (from surfingaustralia.com).

BOP Cali 2011

Here in the United States you can expect Mitchell to compete again in the one of the biggest event series in the world, the Battle of the Paddle, among other races. He won the Elite race in California in 2009, and placed a formidable second in 2010, and 2011. Can’t wait to see how this year turns out!

On top of all this, you can currently win a Jamie Mitchell SUP in “The Great Mitcho” Give-away in Maui, Hawaii. If you haven’t heard yet, Surftech has teamed up with KonaRed, Whole Foods Market Kahalui, and Quiksilver Waterman’s Collection to give away a 9’8″ Jamie Mitchell Signature Stand-Up Paddleboard and $250 in Quiksilver Waterman Collection Apparel! All you have to do is enter inside the Kahalui Whole Foods Market before March 23rd! Go ahead, take a vacation to HI, and sign up to win while you are over there!

Twitter: @JMpaddleboards and visit jamie-mitchell.com for more info.

Meet Sofia DeWolfe.

I love people. I love meeting new people, talking to people I know, talking to random people, it doesn’t matter. I just love people. I had the opportunity to meet someone especially cool a few weeks ago, Sofia DeWolfe. She was leaving Santa Barbara to go back to her family in Idaho, yet made time to hangout with me right before she hopped on the plane home. Of course we met at Starbucks, we both needed our coffee fix. We bonded over peppermint mochas and the fact that we were wearing the same pair of Lululemons. Oh and I mean I guess our love for the ocean too. Turns out she is just as goofy and weird as I am.

We did a fun little interview so I could learn a little more about her…
 
 

So Sofia, when did you get into the SUP scene?

“Well Gemma, I got into SUP competitively about a year ago (June to be exact). I have been paddling for fun for about 3 years and I always really enjoyed it. Steve Gates, the owner of Big Winds shop in Hood River had started a shop team and was really stoked on paddling. He pretty much just asked me if I wanted to start training with him for a few races last summer, and agreeing was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Standup paddling is such an amazing sport because it is a great workout and the people who are involved in it are some of the coolest people on the planet (plus you get to go to warm places!).”

What did you do before you got into SUP?

Because I spend my summers in Hood River, Oregon, I have been windsurfing for pretty much my entire life. That was my main summer sport until I started paddling. It’s so awesome to be able to do something on the water whether it is windy or not! Other than windsurfing in the summer, my main competitive sport is alpine ski racing, which I am still doing. When I’m not traveling for stand up paddling I’m probably at a ski race somewhere, so there is definitely a lot of time on the road. However, it gives me amazing opportunities to meet new people and see so many different places, and it really makes you appreciate your time being home with your family!

What brand/kind of board do you ride?

I paddle Bark boards. [Woohoo!] I normally ride a 12’6 that is a little less than 28 inches wide. They are super fast and incredibly well-built, and the graphics are awesome! They are also super stable, which is a really nice thing when you are in a course with a lot of buoy turns.

When are you going to be back in California?

On the 12th of January for the return to the pier/cold current race in Santa Barbara.

I love seeing other young people get into the stand up world. I forget that even in places without an ocean, stand up still exists and it’s growing super fast. Look for Sofia at races in Southern California this year!

have you met anyone interesting lately?

Weekend in Lake Arrowhead.

I’ve had this blog written for some time, but didn’t get the chance to post it. Finals definitely worked me and left me with no life for a few weeks. Luckily I survived, and am now on winter break and back in LA. Reunited with the Bark clan again! Woohoo!

Anyways, a few weekends ago I headed up to Lake Arrowhead to join the BARK/Surftech/Quickblade crew. We started off in the monster BARK truck and of course immediately stopped at Starbucks. I quickly learned that Morgan Hoesterey and my dad, Joe Bark, can not live without coffee. They asked me if I wanted coffee and I didn’t really want any. I was then teased by Morgan and my dad, asking if they should “heat me up some warm milk” because apparently not wanting coffee made me a baby. Giving in to peer pressure and changing my mind, we all got our coffees for the journey. What they didn’t know is that coffee wires me and gives me tons of energy. They soon learned that the hard way and we had a fun long crazy ride up to Lake Arrowhead. I am now addicted to coffee, thank you Morgan.

The last trip up to the lake, my uncle Andy discovered a hole in the wall Mexican spot right off the freeway. Turns out they have some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had. We stopped there to stuff our faces with amazing burritos.

I came up to Arrowhead with a relaxing mellow weekend in mind. As did Morgan. You can read about her experience with us crazy people here.

Anyways, my dad had another idea in mind, altitude training. Within 5 minutes of walking into the house at the lake, he decides it would be a good idea to go for a run. Oh and did I mention it was less than 35 degrees outside? Charlie, Courtney, Morgan and Jimmy decide to join him. Meanwhile I am trying to hide so I don’t get dragged along on this. I was not about to go for a run in 35 degree weather. Of course Morgan forces me along with her and we go for a run and about halfway into it, it begins to snow. Not hail, not rain, but real snow. This was quite the experience for me considering I have never seen it actually snow before. It began to snow pretty hard and we eventually made it back.

Before the run: Semi Amped!

Don’t worry high socks over leggings are super trendy nowadays… I mean that’s what Morgan told me.

After: Absolutely dead. The snow worked us.

The rest of the weekend consisted of playing board games when it was too cold to go outside. When we did decide to man up and brave the cold, we would go for fun adventure paddles. But what we did most of the time was eat delicious food!

We take board games seriously.

Charlie preparing the lobster…

This is kind of embarrassing, but I have never tried lobster before this. Although my dad always brings home fresh fish and lobster, I usually stay away from trying it.  I love meat but I have never been much into eating the ocean animals. I would rather swim and play with them. But I tried it (against my own will) and although I would rather not admit this, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty tasty!

My friend Corbin and my siblings Emily and Jack decided to get studly and go wakeboarding… while it was snowing. They are crazy kids!

 
Don’t be deterred thinking that just because its cold or snowy outside that you can’t paddle because you definitely can. We went paddling in our full clothes including Ugg boots. It was definitely a challenge to paddle in that weather.  I would like to give a shoutout to everyone who paddles in this kind of cold weather daily: Great Lakes, Tahoe, Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, the list goes on and on. Because paddling in this is not easy, and that’s just an understatement.

Although the weather conditions and unexpected altitude training may not have been what I planned on, it was an amazing weekend nonetheless. Just being outdoors always makes me so happy.  It’s nice to get away and take a little break from school and the real world for a little. Try it sometime, even if it is just getting outside for a run or quick paddle between work or school, it’s the perfect stress reliever and you will feel so better afterwards.

who do you give a shoutout to?

Hello World, or should I say Internet world.

I am Gemma Bark, the new intern for Surftech!

You may wonder who I am or why I would be the one writing on this blog.  I will tell you a little bit about myself first. Well I am 19 years old, I have grown up in Palos Verdes my entire life with my rather large family. Dad, Mom, Jack, Sam, and Emily. Oh and we cannot forget our pet turtle Speedy. (He was my replacement when I left for college.)

Growing up with them has definitely been exciting. I have gotten the opportunity to travel up and down the California coast for races and experience different kinds of oceans. With dad being a shaper, foam doesn’t even bother me anymore. I used to come home to shiny fish gills all over the grass from the fish my dad caught diving. Unfortunately that still grosses me out. Going to class with wet salty hair used to bother me, but now I don’t even think twice to show up to class like that. Wearing a bikini to class was standard for every Friday in middle school and high school. I would walk down straight from school to the cliffs where my dad would be waiting with all my surf stuff in the van. I have been lucky to grow up hanging around some of the worlds greatest people: The Cote’s, Abbott’s, Kyle Daniels, Ryan Addison, Jo Ambrosi, Morgan, Candice, Vela and so many more…From them all I have learned so many life experiences.

I am currently at college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It’s a really cool town an hour and a half North of Santa Barbara with tons of empty land and cattle running around. At times I feel as if I am in the middle of then Midwest but then 10 minutes west you are right back at the ocean. Definitely a change from LA but that’s the fun in it.  And the best part, there is a 2 lane highway to get there. No more 405 traffic! Woohoo!

Anyways, I received two disturbing emails last week. One from Duke and one from my dad (Joe Bark):

If you don’t understand what these are, they are the confirmation emails for the Catalina 50. The 50 is miles. Yep, 50 miles of running up and down steep cliffs over and over again… for 50 miles! Racing season may still be going for some of you but for the most part it’s over. So it’s perfect time for you to start training again but this time for the 50. I heard rumors that most of the Surftech crew is already in.  We got Joel Pepper (Bark Paddleboards web master), Morgan Hoesterey (Surftech/Bark team rider & all-around awesome human being), Charlie Hutchins (my Dad’s partner at Bark Paddleboards), and Duke for sure in. My dad has a way of making people want to join him in crazy adventures like this. Right now he is trying to convince me to do it and for some strange reason I think it may be working. Not that running/walking 50 miles sounds fun, just the idea of doing something crazy with tons of amazing people is enticing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this because 50 miles isn’t something to joke about. It’s a solid 12 hours of walking. I just think back to when I would go to Disneyland as a kid when it was still super cool to go there for every single birthday. Don’t get me wrong, its still cool. I definitely went last week with Talia Gangini but that’s beside the point…

(Talia was too scared so she wanted me to cover her eyes for her.) That’s what best friends do for each other: cover each other’s eyes.)

Think about how you feel when you’re walking to your car after being at Disneyland all day. Just walking around Disneyland on flat pavement tires out my legs and entire body. I know that the only thing I want to do after Disneyland is to sit down and rest my legs and more preferably sleep. The Catalina 50 is going to be like that times 50.

I’ve been trying to weigh the positives and negatives.  These pictures are from last years race.

Positive — Beautiful scenery. Can’t beat that.

Positive — Spending quality time with some of the worlds greatest people.

Negative — Being forced to watch Joel dance the entire time.

(Though for some people that may be a positive).

Positive– This is for a good cause.

http://www.avalon50.com/

what do you guys think? Should I give in to peer pressure and join these lunatics? I’m still in pretty decent shape from paddle season. Running/walking 50 miles can’t be too much harder than paddling to Catalina right?

If I cave to the pressure, does anyone out there want to join me for the 50? If getting the opportunity to watch Joel dance or being bludgeoned by wild buffalo doesn’t entice you, then you may miss out. The race is in January before paddling season even starts, so its perfect timing to do some cross training.  If you’re not in then what are your excuses for not running the 50? Let’s hear them, they better be good…