Waikato River SUP

Waikato River SUP, a set on Flickr.

A few pics from a recent trip down the Waikato River, Near Taupo

First attempt with the gopro on the SUP

Not super successful, was getting a bit dark and the gopro doesn't cope well with low-light - ill try again in full daylight and see if we can't get some better light and more interesting angles - there's heaps of cool videos on youtube to get inspiration from - watch this space...

Ok not sup but why not!

I took this bit of video in the weekend to try out the gopro. I strapped it to local windsurfer Craig Souters boom and sent him out to see what we could get, i also took a bit of film from the boatramp at the same time. It was great to see it came out ok - needs a bit of anti-fog on the lens but we're getting there. Check it out...

Lifejackets - to wear or not to wear??

As the sup industry has taken the world by storm it's becoming apparent that lifejackets haven't really found favour with paddlers. It's kind of hard to tell someone on a sunny day who's paddling up and down the shore in a bikini that they should be wearing one - I mean you never see them in the promo material from the main brands so they definately can't be cool!  It ends up being the users choice - but many countries have started to introduce rules around thier use, particularly for paddle schools and commercial operators. Personally - I'd never wear one in the surf, or on casual social paddles in sheltered waters... but as soon as i'm on a river or on my own ill grab one for sure.

Other thing is there are lifejackets and there are lifejackets... some of the slalom kayak and kitesurf vests are sweet looking and don't restrict your movement at all so don't think you have to paddle round with a giant orange thing strapped to your chest! Take a look at our photos of the blowfish with the paddlers geared up in adventure gear and tell me they don't look a little bit cool...

If its aesthetics you're after... think adventure sports rather than surf and you'll not only look the part... you'll be safer too.

Source blowfish paddleboards

Lake Okareka SUP Race - Team Liquid Stixx

Lake Okareka SUP Race - Team Liquid Stixx, a set on Flickr.

Kirsten Wilton from Liquid Stixx took a team of 6 paddlers over to Rotorua yesterday to compete in the 3D multisport race. The weather gods were kind - the lake was flat and there was virtually no wind! As you can see from the photos everyone had a great time - thanks to Kirsten for putting the effort in to support the race and get the SUP'ers involved (and for the record - team LSX took the top 3 places in the sup)