Here are a few pics of one of my favourite new boards: The aptly-named “Racer” inflatable from Starboard (no wonder I like it, it’s the SUP Racer board ;).
I got to play around with the brand new 12’6 version a few months ago in Spain, while last month in Tahiti I spent virtually the entire week on the 14 footer. And I think this “Racer” is leading the charge for a new generation of blow-up paddleboards. → READ MORE
This rad little clip has been doing the rounds of Facebook today. Click through to watch and you’ll see why.
It shows Brazilian paddler Marinho Cavaco putting on a masterclass in wash riding (or wake riding) behind a boat. This clip was filmed somewhere in Brazil, most likely Marinho’s home town of Sao Paulo. Though he’s not actually behind the boat, Marinho is surfing beside it… → READ MORE
Fresh from reclaiming his 11 Cities title in the Netherlands last week, Bart de Zwart has chalked up yet another crazy endurance record: Winning the solo SUP division at the Muskoka River X race in Canada on the weekend. His winning time: 18 hours, 23 minutes. Yep…
Billed as the Longest Single Day Paddling Expedition In The World, the Muskoka River X sees competitors journey 130kms (80 miles) within a maximum time frame of 24 hours. It’s held in the middle of nowhere and the weather was so brutal this year that 46% of competitors failed to finish… → READ MORE
It only took me two and a half years, but the SUPracer.com Facebook cover photo has finally been changed.
As you will see, highlighted by the fact that I’m about to write 1,200 words on a topic most would suggest doesn’t even warrant a simple caption, I take my cover photos seriously. Like the exchange of flags between host cities at the Olympic Games closing ceremony or the inauguration of a new President, the changing of our Facebook cover photo is a weighty subject. → READ MORE
Unless you were living on Mars, under a rock, with your fingers in your ears all last week, you would have heard about a little race called the SUP 11 City Tour that went down in the Netherlands.
The 11 Cities is a unique race. First: It’s long. Very long. Over 200 kilometres all said and done. Second: It’s held across five days, in five different stages. It’s like the Tour de France of SUP.
It’s an amazing event and one that you should definitely add to your bucket list. The SUP 11 City Tour is long. It’s painful. You’ll hate it. You’ll love it. You’ll make great friends. Lasting memories. Sore muscles. Big smiles. You’ll test yourself physically. You’ll test yourself even more so mentally. Oh and your hands will be full of calluses. → READ MORE
The 2014 SUP 11 City Tour is DONE. What a crazy adventure that was. Congratulations to Bart de Zwart for reclaming his crown and showing he’s still the king of endurance paddling.
We’ll have a full recap of this crazy/painful/amazing/awesome event soon, but in the meantime here are the final standings from the solo divisions. You can also relive the week-long live blog, including daily recaps and photo highlights. → READ MORE
Boss Man’s note: Euro Tour. Week #4. There was plenty of action around Europe on the weekend: While the big one was in Bilbao there were also great races happening in Oslo, the UK, France, Austri and the Netherlands.
The race in the Netherlands was the Battle of the Coast, the country’s biggest beach race and this year the Dutch National Championship event as well. That meant a spot on Team Netherlands (or is it Team Holland? Seriously, which one is it?) for the 2015 ISA Worlds was up for grabs. Click through for the recap thanks to our roving reporter and all round adventure SUP pioneer, Bart de Zwart… → READ MORE
On Monday we asked “what” is the Stand Up Paddle Athletes Association. Well now we know “who” it is as well, with the initial Board of Directors line up revealed. And it’s not too shabby…
The new organisation, which aims to promote the sport by giving the athletes a collective voice, will be helmed by: both of the reigning Molokai-2-Oahu Champions, National Champions, State Champions, European Champions, SUP adventure record holders as well as perhaps the most well-traveled SUP athlete in the world.
In case you missed our story yesterday or have completely avoided Facebook the past 24 hours (seriously, every three seconds I see new “such and such likes SUPAA” pop up in my news feed), here’s the elevator pitch (this is the group’s official “Mission Statement”): → READ MORE
The world’s longest stand up paddle race, the SUP 11 City Tour, has just wrapped up in Netherlands. From the 4th to 8th of September competitors paddled over 200kms in five separate stages, Tour de France-style, making it one of the hardest races in the world of SUP racing.
The race is now over and it was Peter Bartl (Austria) and Marie Buchanan (UK) who are the new SUP 11 City Tour champions. Peter finished two and a half minutes ahead of three-time defending champion Bart de Zwart to claim a memorable win. Click through for full results plus video highlights from each stage… → READ MORE
Boss Man’s note: Maui resident and renowned SUP explorer Bart de Zwart has just arrived back in his home country, the Netherlands, to prepare for one of the toughest (and definitely the longest) races in the world of Stand Up Paddling: The SUP 11 City Tour.
The 11 Cities race stretches for a mammoth 220kms, across five days, through the canals and lakes of Friesland province. Paddlers are usually on the water for between four and eight hours every day, with the overall winning times usually around 24 hours in total. To those who have completed this race (or attempted to…) the SUP 11 City Tour is considered one of the toughest, or perhaps THE toughest race in stand up paddling. If you win the SUP 11 City Tour you’re doing pretty well, and one man who has won it more than anyone, in fact one man who has almost never lost is Bart…
Mr. Endurance has won the past three years in Holland and now returns home to try for four-in-a-row. But he won’t just be paddling each day; Bart will be also be giving us updates and thoughts about the race right after every one of the five stages. The race starts on Wednesday but while we’re waiting for the action to unfold, click through to read Bart’s preview of what’s coming up… → READ MORE
Boss Man’s note: Bart de Zwart is one of the most recognisable names in the sport of Stand Up Paddling. Not only as a racer (he’s won the SUP 11 City Tour three years running) but also as one of the most adventurous and inspiring paddlers on the planet. Bart has done many of the biggest and gnarliest SUP crossings ever, from paddling the length of the Hawaiian Islands unsupported to crossing the North Sea.
Bart’s latest adventure was something else though… originally planned as a 450km crossing from Canada to Greenland, weather forced a change of plans but also gave Bart the opportunity to explore some incredible scenery, so click through to check out his inspiring story and photos. Anyone else feeling adventurous all of a sudden? → READ MORE
The undisputed king of distance paddling and three-time SUP 11 City Tour champion, Bart de Zwart is getting set to embark on one of his biggest (and craziest) challenges yet: a 245 nautical mile (280 miles, 450 kilometres) crossing from Canada to Greenland, aka ‘The Arctic Crossing’.
Bart’s previous accomplishments include paddling across the North Sea from the UK to Netherlands and completing the 11 City Tour course (220km) non-stop. Bart also once famously paddled the entire length of the Hawaiian Islands without setting foot on land. That mission was entirely solo, with no support boats and Bart sleeping on his board for five nights in a row, similar to what’s in store for The Arctic Crossing.
The flying crazy Dutchman (who now calls Maui home) will be travelling to Canada next Monday, July 15th, after which he’ll make his way out to the tiny, remote island settlement of “Qikiqtarjuaq” (you can’t even pronounce it, let alone find it on a map!). From there Bart will spend a day or two testing out the safety of his equipment, before setting off for the 450 kilometre paddle straight across the ocean to Sisimiut in Greenland. → READ MORE
The 2012 SUP 11 City Tour wrapped up today in the Netherlands. After five days and 220km of paddling, it was Bart de Zwart who came away with the overall victory.
Mr. Endurance won all five stages to finish a total of six minutes clear of Casper Steinfath. In third place was Peter Bartl, just under 10 minutes behind de Zwart. Meanwhile in the women’s race, defending champ Anne-Marie Reichmann was bumped into second place by Laura Quetglas, who finished in a time of 26 hours, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
To highlight just how long this race is; The top three guys were the only paddlers to complete the race in under 24 hours. Click through for full results… → READ MORE
Results are in from the latest Stand Up World Series event, the Turtle Bay Summer SUP Challenge on Oahu’s North Shore.
As expected, young Maui paddler Connor Baxter won the distance event, while local Andrew Logreco claiming 2nd place ahead of Kody Kerbox. Annabel Anderson was again too dominant on the women’s side, beating out Morgan Hoesterey for the win. → READ MORE
The 2012 Triple Crown of SUP wrapped up on Saturday with the Maui to Molokai race. Epic conditions made for some awesome SUP racing and incredibly fast finishing times.
Connor Baxter was first over the line after somehow maintaining an avg speed of 9.1mph for almost three hours… → READ MORE
The Triple Crown of SUP race series continued on the weekend, with Connor Baxter taking out Race #2 @ Kihei on Maui’s south side. Second over the line was Bart de Zwart with Kai Lenny in third. Meanwhile in the women’s Andrea Moller was once again unstoppable. Click through for full results and photos… → READ MORE
We’ve just finished an amazing two days of SUP race action here in beautiful Bavaria, Germany.
The Lost Mills International SUP Race offered $20,000 in cash & prizes and drew a stacked field of paddlers.
Check out the full race results and some great pics of the action… → READ MORE
The SUP Race Cup (aka the International Mediterranean Trophy) was held last weekend in St. Maxime, on France’s famous Côte d’Azur.
This is probably the most prestigious Stand Up Paddle race event in Europe and the 2012 edition drew the best from the continent, such as Eric Terrien, Gaetene Sene and Casper Steinfath, as well as international stars like Bart de Zwart and Chase Kosterlitz.
Over 100 stand up paddlers competed but it was BIC Sport’s Eric Terrien and Fanatic’s Olivia Piana who were the big winners, with both of them going through the weekend undefeated.
To see who else was paddling fast, click through and check out the full results… → READ MORE
After a hardcore Elite Race the previous day, the Hawaii Kai run was the second chance for the world’s best paddlers to show what they were made of.
Danny Ching was out to prove a point after being beaten by Travis Grant 24 hours earlier. And the Californian led from start to finish for a convincing win ahead of Georges Cronsteadt and Connor Baxter. Meanwhile a super fast Jenny Kalmbach took out the women’s division, in a race that drew close to 200 competitors. → READ MORE
