Amy Schumer goes SUP!

Okay, now it's official that comedian Amy Schumer is the happening thing -- because she's gone stand-up paddleboarding with her girlfriends. In an interview Monday night on the Daily Show, she told host Jon Oliver about having a marvelous holiday with her circle of friends. And Jennifer Lawrence came along for the day they went jet-skiing and had all kinds of fun.
As the saying goes, Pics or it didn't happen. Here's a photo that Schumer put up on Instagram and Twitter:

You can see many more images from that holiday if you google "Amy Schumer" and paddleboard. The page also comes up with images from her press conference with relative Senator Chuck Schumer in which they both speak in favour of gun control legislation in the wake of a cinema shooting at a showing of her film Trainwreck.

Standup Paddling Across The Atlantic

People have rowed and kayaked across the Atlantic, but if his plan comes together, next January Nicolas Jarossay will attempt to become the first person to stand-up-paddle unsupported across the mighty ocean.
He plans to paddle from Cape Verde off of Africa to Martinique in the Caribbean, a trip 4,000 km trip estimated to take 60 - 75 days using a specially designed paddleboard 6.3 metre paddleboard with a pod at the front for sleeping.
Jarossay is not the only person lining up an Atlantic corssing by SUP. Chris Bertish is also planning an SUP crossing from Morocco to Miami starting in November, 2016.

How Many People Does It Take to Paddle an SUP?

Apparently, the answer is 7. That is, if you're the Jamie O'Brien SUPquatch Team and you're SUPing in some crazy surf in Hawaii. Check out the fun clips below:

Get Up, Stand Up

Louise and I decided to head to the dark side today and try our hand at stand-up paddle boarding. It's something we've always wanted to try as The Gorge near where we live would be a great place to SUP. We could carry the boards down the hill easily and launch into its flat and calm waters.
We hooked up with Jason from Epic Surf Co. for a lesson.


We met early on this cloudy and drizzly morning at Gonzales Bay, a small but sheltered bay on the southern shore of Victoria.


The first thing we liked about paddle boarding? These boards are light!


But then the hard part began, getting on the board and standing up.

It's not as easy as it looks. First you have to get on your knees, then try and move to your feet, then stand up. It sounds simple, but it takes some getting used to. And it didn't always go well.

But finally, she's up!


Louise was really good at it, and really got the hang of it. Although she had a few falls, she was really good about getting back on the horse and trying again, and managed to stand up quite a few times and went for a couple of long paddles. I was able to get up on my knees, but really found myself having a hard time balancing on my feet. I did manage to stand up a few times, but I didn't stay up for long. :)
There's something about not being on solid ground that my feet don't like. I have the same feeling if I'm in skates or rollerblades -- my feet total rebel, they want to be on the ground, ground that preferably isn't moving. It's odd...while on the paddle board on my knees, I had no problems. (Although you can't edge really well on a paddle board. As I found out.)

Most of the time, my view was this:

I was starting to refer to it as "fall down paddling."

But Louise was a whiz at it.



Will we do it again? Not sure. No question we had fun, but I am not sure we were convinced enough to try it again. We'll sleep on it and see. And you will see it here, if we try it again.

Trip length: .5 km
YTD: 26.08 km
More pictures are here.

SUP Instructional Video

Louise and I are discussing trying SUPing. I'm not sure if this instructional video will help. Probably not.

Now THIS Is A TRIP!

Just reading in the New York Times about a man who paddled 2,500 miles around Florida. Left his job, planned for a year building strength and social media skills, and got on his paddleboard. By the end of 2013 he paddled the entire Florida coastline! Along the way he hosted 60 shore cleanups and won a boatload of environmental awards. Click here to read the article about his epic journey.
He says "I'm just a regular guy who changed his life to do something big." Rock on, Justin Riney!

SUP from Cuba to Florida in 28 hours!

Check out the news! Paddler Ben Friberg made it all the way from Cuba to Florida on a 14-foot stand-up paddleboard -- in 28 hours. The Telegraph wrote about his crossing and included a video, and CTV news as well, and the Miami Herald. At least two other people have made similar trips on a surfboard, apparently.

Hummingbird! and Heron Diva

This weekend I kept out of the way of the stand-up-paddleboard race in Cadboro Bay's Gyro Park, and took my little inflatable over by the yacht club. It was a good opportunity to check out the yachts, which apparently multiply in summer weather. I guess a number of people get their boats out of the yard, or maybe come along to this bay from other places now that it's summer.
Low tide was really low on Saturday... but hey, that's what's going to happen when the full moon comes close to the summer solstice. It was a good opportunity for me to go along the shoreline looking for stone bowls. There are plenty of bowls at a Willows Beach site, but so far I haven't found any in Cadboro Bay along the intertidal rocks.
A hummingbird did come by, though, and buzz around the wet rocks for a while. I've never seen one over the water before. There's nothing for hummingbirds to eat for several yards along the Uplands shoreline, but there are flowers in the gardens. That must be where the bird flitted away to.
Back at the beach, there was a photographer with a large-lensed camera on a tripod, carefully taking photos of a great blue heron. The bird was elegantly stalking along, hunting the little stickleback fingerling fishes that darted around in the shallows. It became apparent that the heron was well aware of the photographer, and "working" the camera with all the aplomb of a high-fashion model. Stride, stride, vogue, stride, pose. Herons don't have a good side -- they look fabulous from every angle.
Another pleasant paddle outing on an ordinary day -- with birds.

The SUP Race in Cadboro Bay is coming!

Check out the SUP Race coming this Saturday in Cadboro Bay at Gyro Park Beach! You can read about the event here on Facebook. Competitors can sign up for the race at this link.
People wanting to get to Gyro Park on Cadboro Bay can arrive by bus -- take the #11 from downtown or from the University, and get off at the corner of Cadboro Bay Road and Sinclair Road by Pepper's grocery store.
Taking the bus is a smart idea because on Saturdays the parking lot at Gyro Park gets pretty full. Taking the bus with a stand-up paddleboard is inconvenient -- unless you're carrying one of the four models of inflatable boards from Advanced Elements. These boards fold up neatly into carrying bags that can fit into cars or be carried on the bus.

SUP crosses the Strait of Georgia

Latest madcap adventure in the Salish Sea -- a paddler took his stand-up paddleboard across the Strait of Georgia from Steveston to Victoria. There was a terrific photo of Bruce Kirby on the front page of the Victoria Times-Colonist and a great follow-up article on page 3 with another photo. With six weeks of training, Kirby went from a brand-new paddleboarder based in Kimberly BC to doing a challenging four-day ocean expedition sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op.
"The trip, supported by Mountain Equipment Co-op, is raising awareness and funds for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s campaign for a national marine conservation area to protect the busy southern Strait of Georgia," wrote Times-Colonist reporter Judith Lavoie.

It's a pity there wasn't a photo of his escort boat crew -- a two-person film crew in a kayak. One of those paddlers was 18-year-old Kalum Ko, on his first time in an ocean kayak. These boat-users were careful, and attentive to the weather... but OMG guys, please keep safety in mind. Also -- experience and training help us have more fun as well as be safe!
Already this summer there are people suffering injuries or dying in summer sports activities on lakes, rivers, and ocean settings. Let's be careful out there. Safety equipment is for everyone. Keep track of the weather and water conditions! Accidents happen, but fewer accidents happen to people who are prepared.
At least Bruce Kirby knew to wrap tinfoil around his toque to make himself a better target for marine radar for the ferries and other vessels. My dad was a marine electronics technologist -- he gave us good advice about being visible on radar, but mostly he said to keep our kayaks out of the way of other boats.

Stand-Up Paddle Race Coming Up!

There's a series of races with stand-up paddleboards happening around Vancouver Island this summer. Look for the Victoria race on July 11 at Ocean River Sports, at their shoreside location on the Upper Harbour next to Capitol Iron.
Ocean River has a website page about this event here. Check it out!
Now if I only had a sense of balance, I could enter... shall have to be a cheering fan instead.

S.U.P. the Great Bear Rainforest

Family Camping and Canoeroots Magazine is reporting that Norm Hann of Squamish, BC, has just completed a 385 kilometre trip on his stand up paddleboard along the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest. To quote:
"Norm’s unique mission was to help bring awareness to the environmental threat the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline and tanker traffic will have on the rainforest, its people and wildlife. The expedition explored vital food harvesting areas along the tanker route and documented the importance of these areas to First Nations and the Great Bear Rainforest." Hann blogged about his trip here.
Hann was the recipient of a grant from the “Be First” sponsorship program by First Ascent for his 385km Stand Up Paddleboard (S.U.P.) expedition.