LAKE RIDE

The kids having a blast on the lake cruising the SUP board. The fisherman had no idea what was going on when we hit these small alpine lakes on the SUP board. My buddy busted the board out and did a little fly fishing. Didn't catch anything other than a few hundred mosquito's on the mug. More later. OUT.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS

Were off to the high Sierras for some much needed R and R in the new SUP rig. A little fishing, lots of hiking, and this time some SUP on the clean blue alpine lakes. Just another reason to own a fleet of SUP boards. I always look forward to these trips with family and friends and now with the addition of the paddle boards I can't wait to get there!! Eat, fish, drink, hike and paddle board. Can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing. OUT.

SPONGE BOARD FOR KIDS

My buddy Kelly "Trailboss" Steelman added another model to his soft top SUP line. It's the 8' kids board shown above. It's a sweet looking little rig and not a bad idea for the kids. They can bounce this thing off each others heads in the surf and not get hurt. In fact the soft top SUP board would be a good idea for lots of grown ups as well. For more info call Trailboss at 805 705-5411. OUT.

GERRY LOPEZ 10'3"

I had the chance to take the Lopez 10'3" out in some ankle slappers yesterday and it really is a nice board. Stable and turns on a dime. I also took the 9'1" House quad out Saturday in some angry beach break down south. The quad is made for this kind of surf. The spot we surfed Sat is normally not a friendly area so I expected to get rousted by the locals. Instead I had two guys ask we where I got the quad. Turns out they want to own one. You never know with this SUP stuff. OUT.

RON HOUSE- POPE TRISECT

The new 11'6" Ron House Pope trisect is now available. I haven't tried one yet but plan on getting it in the water soon. Full report with pics later. OUT.

BEN HARPER ON THE WATER

Why the pic of Ben Harper on a SUP blog? Why not. Ben is the man after all. Get yourself one of those water proof ipod holders and do a nice long downwinder cranking some of the best tunes on earth. OUT.

WATER WORLD

I took the Ron House 9'1" quad out for a test run Tuesday and it kicked ass!! I was a little worried about the thing floating me since it is only 27 1/2 wide but it was not a problem. The board paddles strait and strong. I found my new toy for sure.OUT.

SANTA BARBARA SURF CAMPS

Summer is here and the Santa Barbara surf camps are back at Ledbetter beach. Santa Barbara Surf Adventures that operates out of The Beach House surf shop were out in full force today. It was a beautiful day and the kids were having a great time on the small but clean south swell. I was out on my Standup Paddle board calling out waves for the kids. Now that Standup Paddle boarding (SUP) at Ledbetter Point is so popular I can see that there might be some issues between the surf camp and the paddle boarders. I know the guys that run the camp and my kids have been in this surf camp for the past couple of years. This is a super great program for the kids and I would hate to see some out of control SUP boarders hurt someone or take all the waves from these kids. Please do yourself a favor and the sport of paddle boarding a favor and don't get in the way of the kids or their instructors. They aren't in the water all the time and there are plenty of waves on the far outside or the way inside. The last thing we need is to hurt a kid at this camp. The guys that don't like this sport in this town would be all over us if that happened. Anyhow, I realized today that this might be a problem so I wanted to nip it in the bud. Thanks and I look forward to a fun summer on the water. OUT.

GERRY LOPEZ 10'3"

Its a floater!! My better half took the new Gerry Lopez out for a paddle yesterday and she even surfed a few ankle slappers. This bigger version of the Lopez 9'6" is a great all around SUP board and can be used as a beginner board or a good surfer can rip on it as well. Call Wardog at Standup Paddle Sports for more info. 805 962-7877. OUT.

MONSTER PAINT CLEAR TRACTION

New and improved Monster Grip Paint. I have been using this spray-on grip for two years and it really helps when applied to the front of your SUP board where there is no deck pad. I also spray a light coat on my paddle for extra grip. This product used to have an amber color but now it goes on super clear. Look for it in surf related retail stores soon. OUT.

QUATRO

The ass end of the newest and sweetest Ron House SUP boards to date. OUT.

REAL BOARDS FOR REAL SURFERS

Two of the most progressive SUP boards on the market. High performance at it's best. The new Ron House 9'1" and 9'10" quads. Ron has been shaping SUP boards longer and better than any one else and it shows in these two SUP boards. I took both boards out today and I was super happy with the way they surf and float. The 9'1" kicks ass and will for sure become my board of choice when the surf gets good.

Also, Jim Davis from Monster Paint sent me a case of his new and improved spray on grip and it looks and works real good on the front of all my boards. I will post more about the spray grip on my next post. I seem to get the most comments when I talk about the spray on grip so I will add more to this subject later. OUT.

RED BULL SANTA BARBARA

About 35 Red Bull Big Wigs and desk jockeys came to Santa Barbara for some meetings and a lesson on how to SUP. Naturally they chose Santa Barbara for their good times. Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the best place to standup paddle. Most of the Red Bull folks have never been on a SUP board so it was fun to help out and show them the ropes. I have a feeling that Red Bull might be adding some SUP events and athletes to their program after seeing how much fun they had yesterday on the boards. OUT.

NEW RON HOUSE 9'1" BAT TAIL QUAD

Hell yes!! A sneak peek at the new Ron House 9'1" bat tail quad. This bad boy comes in at 9'1" x 27 1/2 x 4 1/8. I will post pics of the new Ron House 9'11" swallow tail/ wing tail quad and the Gerry Lopez 10'3" tomorrow. OUT.

New Gerry Lopez and Ron House SUP boards in the house.

The new 10'3" Gerry Lopez SUP boards will be in shops Wednesday. Also, two new kick ass Ron House Sup boards will be available Wednesday as well. A 9'1" quad and a 9'11" quad. These will be high performance SUP boards with no bells and whistles. If your looking for a SUP board that surfs like a short board these are the boards for you. I can't wait to get my hands on the 9'1". I will post pics of all three of these new boards tomorrow. OUT.

POST

Chuck Patterson getting after it on his custom SUP board. From what I have seen so far Chuck is one of the most aggressive/progressive Sup surfers in the water. OUT.

THE ART OF OVER ANALYZING

I've never seen anything like this in my 30 years of surfing. The over analyzing of the SUP board. Grown men that have been surfing for 30+ years wanking because their SUP board doesn't have a handle or doesn't have a red race strip down the center. Are we not men?! What's the board made of? How much does it weigh? What size boxers does the shaper wear? Where was the board made? What did the shaper eat for dinner the night before he shaped the board? For the love of Pete please give us all a break and just surf!!! OUT.

SANTA BARBARA DEMO DAYZ

Another successful SUP demo today. Big turn out as usual. We topped it off with a great afternoon surf a few miles south and knocked down a few beers at the local pub on the way home. Life is good. OUT.

LOOKS LIKE FUN

Laird Hamilton getting 'er done on a custom Ron House epoxy hand laid glass SUP board.

HOT DAMN! POP TART VS HAND LAID

OK boys and girls, it's time to dedicate some blog space to some real watermen on some real SUP boards. That's right damn it!! I'm going to post some big time SUP home boys surfing some good old fashioned hand laid epoxy boards. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with pop out boards and I have no problem where pop out boards are made. In fact I have surfed just about every pop out board on the market and have liked most of them. Bottom line is this, the pop out board just doesn't have the same feel as a real hand laid glass board in my humble opinion. Are we not men damn it!!! OUT.

SANTA BARBARA SUP DEMO

Another Santa Barbara SUP event. This Saturday June 7th at Ledbetter beach. Lots of boards to check out. You wont find this kind of SUP variety anywhere else. See you there. OUT.

POST

Top pic: Yours truly paddling into a nice glassy California wave. Bottom pic: Steve "Stylemaster" Marsh looking smooth on his Ron House custom 12 foot gun. OUT.

STICKY STUFF AND ANOTHER DEMO DAY

Ever try and take a pad off your old SUP board? Well I have a few times and it is a major pain in the ass!! The 3m sticky stuff is a big time over kill. I am now taking the pad off my 3 year old Ron House 12 footer. I got this wild hair to dial it in again. It takes hours and hours to get this sticky shit off the board. Yes, I AM venting!!

Also, this Saturday June 7th at Ledbetter Beach will be another Standup Paddle Sports SUP demo. Yup, lots of SUP boards to try out. RSVP Wardog at www.surfingsports.com. OUT.