HOME SWEET HOME....EARLY

Had a great time up at the lake with the kids. Spent lots of time on the SUP boards. It's back to the SUP grind stone now. We had to cut the trip a couple days short so I can get the kid to the JR Olympics (swimming) tomorrow morning down south. Look for lots of good stuff coming from BlueLine Paddlesurf soon!! Yup, BlueLine Paddlesurf lives on! More details soon. OUT.

OVER AND OUT

No,not the blog. I'm heading up to our lake cabin in the Sierras with a van full of SUP boards, kids, wife and a crazy Jack Russell Terrorist. I'll be gone for a week so no blog stuff for awhile. OUT.

Wayne Rich SUP

The master for the new Wayne Rich SUP board right before being packaged and sent to the factory. Can't wait to add it to my quiver. OUT.

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

I jumped in my van yesterday morning at 4:00am and made my trek down to San Clemente to surf with Ron House at Dog Patch and then make my regular SUP business rounds before heading home. I do this trip from Santa Barbara about 3 times a month. Ron told me that Gerry Lopez was in town staying with him so he would also be surfing with us today. Gerry is about 15 years older than me and surfed me under the table. I consider myself to be a good SUP surfer and in good shape but I was truly humbled at how many waves Gerry would catch and how long he would stay out. It's great to have Gerry in the SUP family and he really rips on the boards. He also shapes one hell of a nice SUP board so if you have a chance, get on one. My favorite is the Lopez 9'6". I surfed it for 4 hours yesterday. OUT.

THE RIGHT STUFF

My kid has the good stuff now. I took him out today in some fun waves on his new Ron House SUP kids board and his Quickblade paddle. Now dad is not the only one in the house that has the nice toys. OUT.

BUSINESS TRIP

The nice thing about being in the SUP business is the R and D "test" runs up the coast for surf. Some fun waves today. Another day at the salt mine. OUT.

SNOWBOARDS AND PADDLE BOARDS

I was cleaning out the garage the other day and dug up my old Sims snowboard. This board brings back memories! Back in 1982 or 1983, I really can't remember the exact year, me and my buddy Bob would hang out at the small Sims factory just off of Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. Bobs sister was married to Tom at the time so we had our "in" at the shop. One day we walked in the side door and I saw these cool looking new snowboards and I knew I had to have one and I knew this would be my new sport. They were not allowed at Ski resorts at the time so we would take them up to Tahoe and climb to the tops of the mountains and just rip down the hill. I still have the Sims board and will never part with it. The rest is history and we all know how big the sport got.

Now for the Standup Paddle Board part of the story. About 3 years ago I discovered SUP boarding. The second I saw the board and the paddle I knew this was going to be my new sport and I had to find a board ASAP! None of the local SB shapers wanted anything to do with it so I then found Ron House down in San Clemente. Ron was hand shaping all of Lairds SUP boards and I knew that if they were good enough for Laird they were sure as hell good enough for me. Ron shaped me my first SUP board and yes, I still have it and it surfs like a mo-fo!! I will also never get rid of this board. Ron and I are good friends now and sometimes talk about the good old days. All of us that have had the privilege of getting involved in this sport in it's early stages should take lots of pics and enjoy what a fun sport we have discovered. Be positive, have fun, and just sit back and watch the sport explode just like snowboarding did 25+ years ago. OUT.

Wayne Rich SUP

Local SUP friend Randy Racich testing the master for the new Wayne Rich 10'6" SUP. From the looks of the pics the board works great! Randy is very smooth on a SUP board and has a few years under his belt and he said the board is a winner. Can't wait to get my hands on the production model. Sooooooon. This board will also be available in a Pope-Trisect. OUT.

THE KID HAS A KID BOARD

The kid now has a real SUP kid board made for a kid. Instead of jumping on dads monster SUP board he now can ride a SUP board that will make him work hard and get in SUP shape. The board is a Ron House and it's 7' and 24" wide. OUT.

WAYNE RICH PADDLESURF

Local shaper/surfer Wayne Rich is adding a SUP board to his line of high performance longboards. As we all know, Wayne puts hours of thought into every board he shapes. When he is done he has created a masterpiece that is full of soul. I'm not sure I can say that about many other shapers. Anyone that knows Wayne knows what I'm talking about. I first met Wayne about 9 years ago when we worked together at the Clyde Beatty glass shop over on Grey Ave. Wayne would bring me his boards to sand and add the fin boxes. At the time I was learning to shape boards and Wayne would on occasion let me sit in his shaping room and watch. That's when I realized I was 20 years off the back. I shaped a few boards but now leave the shaping to the guys that have put the time in. Now after some time has passed we will be working together again on his SUP projects. I will rep and sell the boards and needless to say I am super stoked. The above pics of his first SUP board is a 10'6" that will be used as the master for a sandwich wrap epoxy SUP board. This board will be available in a couple of months. The boards will have a beautiful finish with a handle added. At first the SUP board will be only available in limited quanties so if you are interested in having your name added to a pre-order list please call 805 450-9490 to reserve a board off of the first container. This for sure will be a popular SUP board in town and abroad. OUT.

BLUELINE SANTA BARBARA

Yup, like I said in an earlier post, BlueLine PaddleSurf is still in the house. After a little down time, look for this name to make a come back soon. OUT.

SANTA CRUZ ISLAND SUP

It was Junior Lifeguard day at Santa Cruz Island yesterday and like last year we had a few SUP boards. Everyone had their turn on the boards and loved it. Above pics include JR Guard instructor Patrick Rebstock. Also Tucker Ingalls, and Ben Brewer. Ouuuuuuut.

BLUELINE SANTA BARBARA

Didn't want anyone to forget about BlueLine Paddle Surf. Yup, the boards are still around. Almost a year old now. OUT.

BEACH BUM SOFT SUP BOARD

Word!! Kelly "Trailboss" Steelman has the soft SUP board for kids. This thang is 8' and has four fins. He also has these soft rigs up to 12' as well. For more info give him a call at 805 705-5411. OUT.

RON HOUSE

Ron House getting ready to work his magic on a new SUP race board. SUP racing is not big at all here in Santa Barbara but I imagine it will be soon enough so I better get one. OUT.

GERRY LOPEZ 8'10" SUP QUAD

A sneak peek at the new Gerry Lopez 8'10" quad. This board is 28 1/2 wide and will float even the big guys. Don't hold your breath because this board wont be available for at least 3 months. It's super cool to have Lopez as a hard core SUP guy. It's good for the sport. OUT.

Channel Islands SUP demo this Sunday

Another reminder to come and check out the CI SUP demo this Sunday from 9am-1pm at Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara. The folks at Channel Islands are committed to SUP boarding so come out and paddle some nice boards. OUT.

CHANNEL ISLANDS SURFBOARDS SUP DEMO DAYS

STAND UP PADDLE BOARD DEMO DAYS! This Sunday July 6th and Sunday August 24th at Leadbetter Beach Park in Santa Barbara. 9am-1pm. Come check out some cool SUP boards from the boys at CI. I hear that there will be a hollow CI SUP board to take for a spin. OUT.