Friday, March 27, 2009

Bonga Perkins finds another use for the KIALOA dragon blade

Mel Puu contest 2008
With the release the KIALOA Dragon Hybrid paddle, I thought this photo might be of interest.

This is Bonga Perkins with our SUP paddle we call “da Oar”. In our discussions about SUP paddle design, BP mentioned that he wanted a straight blade, symmetrical on both sides; so when he is scrambling around after a crash, he doesn’t have to figure out which side of the paddle is front and back. My solution was to glue one of our prototype Dragon Boat blades on a SUP shaft, which when I looked at it reminded me of an oar you would use in a row boat. Hence, “da Oar”.

If you look closely at the photo, you will notice that BP has “Bongafied” his paddle. He rounded the corners of the tip area, and than fiberglassed over the exposed foam core. I don’t recommend modifications such as this unless you are a very confident craftsman, as doing so voids the warranty.

Bonga is the 2008 World Long Board Champion, and has a signature line of long boards and Sup boards through South Point Surfboards.

Dave


Bonga Perkins with da Oar

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Contest

Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz hosted the 23rd annual Surf Kayak Contest. An SUP race became a category in 2008 and this year our friends Chuck Patterson and Bryce Saemon came in 1st and 3rd respectively using KIALOA's Methane.

Frome the Hobie Website:

Battling some rather tricky tide, wind and surf conditions. Chuck and Bryce managed to hold of the rest of the highly skilled elite stand up paddle field. With his first place finish Chuck continued his growing dominance as one of the world's premier stand up paddle surfers.

"It was super challenging conditions with with waves being really small on top of low tide and kelp, but it was really great to ride against some of the local santa cruz ledgends, such as Ward Coffey and John Griffith" said Patterson

More info on the race can be found at the Santa Cruz Sentinal.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Siren Demo Days in Florida with Kristy Murphy

Click to enlarge for more info on Siren's Demo DaysKristy Murphy is a professional longboarder and surf instructor. She also has a line of surfboards with Channin Surfboards called Siren. She is the 2001 East Coast Longboard Champion and 2005 WOMEN'S WORLD LONGBOARD CHAMPION.

We're proud that Kristy has chosen to use KIALOA's Methane as her preferred stand up surf paddle. For 5 days in April Kristy will be having her Siren's Demo days where you can demo her boards and learn a little SUP from a pro.

If you are in Florida and want to check out her demo days visit her blog for more information.


Kristy Murphy
Siren Surfboards by Channin
Co-Founder, Sales and R&D
http://www.sirensurf.com/
kristysawesomesurfadventures.blogspot.com


Monday, March 16, 2009

KIALOA Hybrid Dragon

The KIALOA Dragon Hybrid has made it into the hands of some of the LA Racing Dragons. Scott Wu has a nice review on his blog, Ready and Reach

Check it out and see what people are saying.

Thanks Scott

Friday, March 6, 2009

Blane Chamber talks about SUP Board Shapes

Blane Chambers of Paddle Surf Hawaii talks to Jean-Phillipe Wuilmart about his SUP Boards.

Check out Blane's website and Jean Phillipe's.