Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Local Bend, Oregon SUP Paddle Surfers Head South to the RainBow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle


This weekend, Oct 3,4, is the Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez "Battle of the Paddle" It's a long way down to So Cal for this event, but I'll guarantee Gerry's going!

Here's a link with the info: http://www.rainbowsandals.com/battleofthepaddle/
This is the ultimate SUP Stand up paddling event to attend and everyone can participate too! Karen Wren, from Portland and an occasional contributor of information to our blog, is entered with the Elite group and paddling for Hobie. Good luck Karen!

Tim Henion, of Bend, will be at The Battle of the Paddle via Arizona and doesn't have a way to get his SUP board there.
  • If anyone is going and has room on their roof racks to take his SUP board to him contact Tim: thenion@bendbroadband.com or call Tim @ 503-519-8591
Otherwise, our Friday @ 4:30 gatherings are still on! Just bundle up if it's cold. Meet at the paved parking lot by the Bend Outrigger canoes and Alder Creek kayak. Newcomers are welcome and bring your favorite beverage for afterward. I've missed a few Fridays lately due to weekend get-a-ways for surfing at the coast. I've got some great stories to tell this Friday so hope to see you there!

Aloha,
Randall Barna
www.StandupPaddleFlatwater.com

Friday, September 18, 2009

Oregon's New $5. Boat Tax (or $90. ticket) to Apply to Stand Up Paddleboards. This is Crazy!

Have you ever paddled your kayak, raft, drift-boat or canoe or sailed your boat over pristine freshwater lakes and rivers and felt really good about it? Not only are you having a great time, you know you're also not contributing to noise pollution, fuel consumption and the accidental petro-chemical pollution that can happen with motorized craft.

Don't rest on your laurels. There is another pollutant that is quickly becoming a scourge in freshwater inland waterways, the zebra and quagga mussels. An invasive aquatic species, they invade and clog power plants, industrial and drinking water intakes, foul boat hulls and disrupt aquatic ecosystems.

The invasive mussels hitch-hike primarily from infested fresh waters on trailered boats. States with infested water bodies include: Nevada, California, Arizona and Colorado.

To develop money to fight these species, the Oregon State Marine has implemented a $5.00 annual fee on all non-motorized boats over 10 feet long. You can read more about HB2220 Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program on the government website.

It's not just $5.00 that is the issue. Think of the $90. ticket that is possible if you don't comply. Here's a quote from the Albany Democrat Herald.

"But HB 2220 calls for no criminal punishment at all. It calls for civil penalties for anyone knowingly bringing invasive species to Oregon. And as for being caught without the proper boating permit, the offense is a Class D violation, the least serious kind, for which the fine is $90.
______________________________________________________________

According to Bill Monroe, a writer with the Oregonian, bill HB2220 will include ANY Craft. Here's some of what he had to say in Bill Monroe's Column: A Surprise for Oregon Boaters and Marine Board -- A $5 Permit:

"The Oregon State Marine Board is dealing with a sneaker wave of the first order that came ashore in the hectic last few days of the recent legislative melee in Salem.

With just a few days' notice, and at the Legislature's request to consolidate numerous bill requests about fighting off aquatic invaders, the Marine Board helped draft a new $5 permit required of everyone in the state who operates a boat or floating craft classified at 10 feet or longer.

Pole, pedal, paddle or gas or electric motor, there are no exceptions to the fee that will be in addition to current boaters' permits, fishing licenses and motor boat registrations. Permits would last two years for motorized boats and have to be renewed annually for nonmotorized craft.

"It came to us late in the session," said Randy Henry, Marine Board policy analyst. "Some details are still to be sorted out."

Henry said the bill -- which late this past week was awaiting Gov. Ted Kulongoski's expected signature -- will raise an estimated $3 million per biennium to help protect the state from anticipated invasions of waterborne exotics. Zebra mussels and other unwanted plants and waterborne critters are spreading like bad viruses across state borders nationwide, and many believe it's just a matter of time before they get into Oregon waters.

Most of the money will go to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for the costs of inspections, research, cleanup, boat-washing stations, education and other operations to keep Oregon clean.

Boaters already are asked to wash down their boats every time they use them to prevent transferring unwanted organisms between lakes, rivers and bays. However, out-of-state trailered boats have been confirmed to have entered the state with dreaded freshwater mussels on their hulls. Zebra and quagga mussels multiply quickly, eat up organisms at the base of valuable food chains, clog water intakes and hydroelectric systems and cake up on the hulls of boats and ships of all kinds.. . . READ MORE

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We think that there is a huge difference between a stand up paddle surf board and any of the other vessels this law is going to apply to. Unlike any of the other vessels, SUP boards do not have any hidden crevices or cracks where invasive species can hide. And, SUP boards are NEVER moored, a key condition that is conducive to mussels attaching to the hull of a vessel.

Also, we see no reason a manual craft such as a SUP, kayak or raft has to pay $5. per year when a motorized boat pays only $5 for 2 years. The permit goes with the person rather than the vessel, if you have a quiver of boards and loan one out while you're using another of your boards, the loaner will need a permit. This is ridiculous!

The other problem we have with this legislation is that it hassles honest citizens. It will make law-breakers out of good citizens who don't comply. When this law is active, the average Oregonian taking their SUP board out for a paddle now-and-then or as little as once a year, can be ticketed for not having a registration sticker.

And, what actual difference in our waterways can this legislation make when people are crossing state lines regularly with their powerboats and not getting them inspected? We have fruit inspection stops at state lines. Surely the nooks and crannies in a powerboat as well as the water intake areas in the motor are a more likely source of invasive species hitchhikers than an SUP surfboard.

This legislation seems like a unwise move and is similar in tone to news of a bicycle tax that was being considered by the Oregon legislature. Considering the pollutants avoided by the use of non-motorized water crafts, we would hope that our government would reward rather than regressively tax our non-motorized water toys.

If we need to be educated about an unsuspected danger our SUP boards can cause, we invite you to leave a comment explaining your opinion. We'd like to hear your thoughts about this issue.

To Contact the OR State Marine Board: Email: marine.board@state.or.us
Write: Call: (503) 378-8587
P. O. Box 14145
435 Commercial St NE #400
Salem, OR 97309-5065

Marine Board Members:
  • Paul Donheffner, Director
  • Wayne Shuyler, Deputy Director
  • Randy Henry, Policy Planning Analyst
  • June LeTarte, Assistant to the Director

www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com Thank you for purchasing your SUP gear from us, we appreciate your support.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Gerry Lopez Demos How to Survive a Big Wave on an SUP






Renowned surf and SUP photographer Grant Myrdal took these recent photos of Gerry Lopez on his stand up paddle surf board in some big waves off of the Oregon Coast. Grant owns the copyrights to these photos, so please contact him if you'd like to use these images in any way. (Or have Grant take some photos of you!)

www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com
Thank you for buying your SUP gear from us, we appreciate your support.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Stand Up Paddle Flatwater has a New Logo!!

We have a new Stand Up Paddle Flatwater logo! Back in the "old" days (before computers were the norm) I used to make logos for clients until the early 1990's. I used a pencil, ruler, t-square, french curves and all sorts of other now antiquated design tools on tracing and graph papers. Then I went on to teaching art and my tile business and let graphic design go.

So, it was a lot of fun to whip out the pencil and rough a design for our new logo. Except, now I have a wonderful graphic designer who takes my sketches and does all of the necessary work to have viable graphic artwork. Kudos and many thanks to Lori Snyder, owner of Snyder and Sons graphic design in Bend, Oregon for your fast, efficient and stellar work. You rock!

Lori services clients all around the U.S. via email. She's fast, affordable and even brokers printing. You can contact Lori at snyderandsons@bendcable.com for your graphic design projects.

We're putting together some SUP logo wear with our new Stand Up Paddle Flatwater logo design. Look for some hats soon.

www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com
Thank you for buying your SUP gear from us, we appreciate your support.


Monday, September 14, 2009

Grant Myrdal Surf & SUP Photography Art Exhibit at the Minnesota Market Building





Beautiful, sensual photographs of surf are not what you might expect from a Central Oregon photgrapher, but another surf luminary has moved to Bend, Oregon (besides Gerry Lopez and the Chuns (Kialoa Paddle). Surf and SUP photographer (and all around GREAT scenic photographer) Grant Myrdal moved to Bend a couple of years ago. Originally from South Africa, Grant has toured the world with his camera. One look at his portfolio and we are the richer for his travels.

His renowned fine art photos have been exhibited in New York City, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Newport, RI. He is represented by the Belenky, Sagemore and Montanaro galleries. Grant's adventure sports images have been published worldwide in magazines including Outside, Mens Journal, Surfer, Surfing, The Surfers Path, ESM, Waves and Zigzag.

A selection of Grant Myrdal's Hawaiian water imagery is on display at the Minnesota Market Building, freshly framed by the creative crew at ArtOnTheGo .
  • WHERE: 25 NW Minnesota, Bend, Oregon
  • WHEN: September 2009
  • FOR MORE INFO: contact Grant at grant@grantmyrdal.com www.GrantMyrdal.com
www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com Thank you for purchasing your SUP gear and accessories from us, we appreciate your support.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Laird Hamilton Interview - He's a Genius and His Wife Likes "It"!


A good laugh is the best kind of coffee break. This funny interview with the founder of modern stand up paddle surfing, Laird Hamilton is worth taking a moment out of your workday to watch.

www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com
Thank you for buying your SUP gear from us, we appreciate your support.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Stand Up Paddle Magazine is the New Glossy in the Line Up

Growing along with the sport of stand up paddling are the magazines and websites about SUP. Standup Paddle Magazine is the latest gorgeous new glossy in the line-up. A quarterly magazine, it's available at your local surf shop, Barnes and Noble or by subscription on StandUpPaddleMagazine.com .

We met Mike Muir at the Tahoe-Nalu SUP race in August as he was handing out copies of the second issue of the magazine. We read the publisher, Reid Inouye's column, Publisher's Note and think that Reid makes an interesting point about Standup. Here's an excerpt:

"SUP has split into three directions: flat-water, surf and open-ocean. For the flat-water paddler, all it took was the sun to come out and burn off the cloud cover and the harbors were filled with men and women working out and breaking some serious sweat."

We think that Reid is right -- flatwater is a serious form of stand up paddle boarding and a direction the sport is taking that will only grow. We live in a Northwest flat-water mecca of freshwater lakes and rivers in Bend, Oregon. People of all ages and fitness abilities are learning to SUP paddleboard, a key component to nurturing the sport. If women and kids like the sport, it'll REALLY grow!

And that is the kind of growth we support through our efforts. We encourage everyone to try the sport and we also encourage activities that aren't only about muscle and fitness; like down-river paddles that allow the weaker paddlers to socialize and share the adventure with strong paddlers (the river current helps!).

So -- all of you SUP event and race organizers, be sure to include race categories and prizes for all ages and both genders whenever possible in a race or promo event. When you're creating marketing and sales publicity, be sure to have visuals that include women, kids and older people as well as the usual photos of muscular guys with great tans. Inclusion will win the sport converts. Guaranteed!

www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Sept. 13th Elk Lake Wind Surfing Race Course is a Fun SUP Paddle


Jerry Lear is running this weekend's Windsurfing race at Elk Lake (about 40 minutes from Bend, Oregon) and sent the following info. If your stand up paddle board had a past life as a windsurf course board, here's your chance to get out your old rig and take a spin. Entering the race is free. If you don't have a windsurf rig in your life, you may want to try paddling the race course before or after the race. I paddled parts of the course during the last windsurfing race and it was fun. The light, shifty winds that Elk Lake is famous for gave me an extra workout. Here's Jerry's note:

__________________________________________________________________
Hi there windsurfers,

The last windsurfing race of the season will be this coming Sunday,
September 13th at Elk Lake. The changeable weather patterns this time of year will be a true test of who the real windsurfers are.

Randall will be away and has asked me to run the race.

We will meet at Beach campground as we have been. There will be a very
short skippers meeting at 1:30 with the first race, wind permitting,
beginning at 2 PM sharp.

(The race is FREE -- no entry fees, no prizes, no organization, just a few of us
getting together to race.)

In case you are late or just want to think about it here is the skipper's
meeting. Begin at 2 PM sharp and run 3 races. Depending on the wind
direction we will sail upwind to either the elkwnd or elkwnd2 mark (see
attachment), then leave the elkrch mark to port and finish in the usual way
below the 2 buoys at the start.

Someone has taken our starboard start mark which was too close to shore
anyway but there is still a second mark which we can use for the finish but
not for the start.

For the start there will be a 3 minute countdown and then we will start to
leeward of the start mark which is farthest from shore. We will use an
imaginary start line going at right angles to the wind from that start. We
will also pick an object on shore to be the pin end of the line but will ask
that everyone begin within 10-12 board lengths of the start and no port
starts please.

If you think you might be coming I would love it if you could respond to
this note, but you don't have to do this.

See you Sunday, Jerry
___________________________________________________________
www.StandUpPaddle Flatwater.com
Buy your SUP and windsurf crossover boards, gear and accessories from us. We appreciate your support.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Naish Stand Up Paddleboard Race in San Diego Sept. 13th


Naish ran a race series this summer with about 12 retailers throughout the country. Each retailer held races once a week for 4 – 7 weeks where a cumulative score was tallied throughout. Retailers then awarded the top 3 of the men and the top 3 of the women. Naish then gave these winners an invite to San Diego for the national championship. The top 3 men and top 3 women of the championship then get the above prizes.

Only those racers that competed in the race series are able to win the prizes.

However, Naish is also offering an open race for anyone who wants to paddle that will run at the same time of the championship.

WHERE: 1100 West Mission Bay Drive, Bonita Cove, Mission Bay, San Diego, California
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 2009.
Race registration 10:30 am
Race start 11:30 am
FOR MORE INFO: supchampionship@naishsails.com

For your stand up paddle ocean flat water gear, please shop our site www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com. Thanks, we appreciate your support.