I was a bit nervous paddling the Surftech Bark 14' stand up paddle board into the chest-high surf at Pacific City. I had visions of the nose pearling and sending me into the rinse cycle.
We have two other SUBs in our family - a Hobie ATR 11'2" and an Aquaglide Amundson 11'. I'd prefer to surf on one of those but when we're all out at once, the third board in our quiver is the Bark 14.
Actually, on the very first wave I was pleasantly surprised. I stepped back quickly so it wouldn't pearl and it responded beautifully. It angled beautifully on the little beach break wave and rode like a fast cadillac!
Jumpin' up in length to 14' was like de ja vu, reminding me of my first experience surfing a stand up paddle board 11'6" after the 7'11" Gerry Lopez surfboard that I was accustomed to.
It seemed really long and I had to watch out not to catch the nose on anything but there were some really nice features that made it super-fun! It paddled out super-fast and easy, punching through waves better than the wide-nose boards. It also caught waves super-easy and crusing up and down the shoreline was no work at all.
Aloha,
Randall Barna
Joe created the 14' Bark to be the "BE ALL" board for SUP. He meant to create something that you could paddle in any and every condition - touring, racing, recreational, surfing - you name it. And he nailed it with that board to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI havent seen any nice swells like that down here in Coos bay! How did you avoid the wind? Btw, I SUP patrolled the swim at the Pacific Crest Triathlon this last weekend at Wickiup reservoir. It would be nice to get some other local SUPers out on the water next year to help rescue struggling swimmers. It's the perfect rescue device.
ReplyDeleteHi Steven, I'd imagine you have tons of good spots to SUP around Coos Bay. I've heard the surf's good at Bassendorf Beach. Nobody contacted us from the Pacific Crest but we could certainly gather some SUPs to help. I heard Laird pace set the Hawaiian Ironman.
ReplyDeleteRandall