LAGUNA BAY LONGBOARDS STAND-UP PADDLE DIVISION NOOSA'S BIGGEST EVER

"War on Water"

Noosa's own Laguna Bay Longboards will sponsor the biggest ever stand up paddle division at the 2011 Noosa Festival of Surfing. In a joint announcement, Laguna's Tully St John and festival director Phil Jarratt said the expansion of the division was in keeping with the tremendous growth of stand up around the world.

The four-year-old Stand Up Paddle Pro surfing event will be joined by amateur divisions for seniors (over 45) and women, plus a 5-kilometre "loop" race on Laguna Bay prior to the Festival's opening ceremony on Sunday, 13 March.

"We wanted the SUPS at the Noosa Festival to reflect what's happening everywhere in the world of stand up," said Tully St John. "That is, everyone is doing it, from surfers of all ages to serious watermen and surf paddlers, from kids to mums who see it as a great workout. Laguna Bay Longboards SUPS will cater to all of them, and we expect to attract stand up paddlers from all over."

Festival director Phil Jarratt said he was delighted that a local surf company had come in as sponsor. "Under his various surfboard brands, Tully has been a major player in the local industry for quite a while now, and it's great to see him developing SUPS alongside traditional surfboards. While stand up has developed a life of its own in many land-locked places, on our coasts we want to see it grow side by side with surfing, and so does our governing body, Surfing Australia. We're all from the same tribe, and the Laguna Bay SUPS division at the Noosa Festival will demonstrate that."

Tully said he had been inspired by recent stand up paddle races, such as the Battle of the Paddle in Hawaii and California, to work with surf club officials in creating a loop course close to the beach, so that spectators could watch the entire race "up close and personal". Competitors will paddle five times around a one-kilometre triangular course, punctuating each circuit with a beach sprint. "Racing is always thrilling when you've got the paddle in your hands," Tully said, "But we want to make it just as exciting for the spectators." The Battle of the Paddle at Doheny Beach, California in early October, broke spectator records with almost 10,000 people gathering to watch a thrilling race, with more than 800 competitors in the water.

Entry forms for the Laguna Bay Longboards Stand Up Paddle division are now available on-line at the festival site, or you can download the attached form and fax to 07 5473 5974. For further information phone the hotline.

Other divisions now open are:

Fin-Free Pro, Noserider Pro, Tandem Open, Family Challenge

SUP Australia Inc. Peak Body Finally Born!!!

Standup Paddlesurfing in Australia has been crying out for a national association and finally due

to the hard work and dedication of Tania Nesbitt, SUP Australia Inc. has been born. The aim of the

association is to provide rules, regulation and training in the sport and support clubs with start-up

as well as providing competitively priced insurance packages. The association will also consult with

local councils on SUP School accreditation and genral requirements.

The progress so far..

• 7 Clubs have come onboard.
• Former ASP Head Judge Perry Hatchett has come onboard to compile the rules & regs.
• The surfing rules will follow the criteria as set by the SUP World Tour. (See Details HERE)
• Sponsorship being finalised.
• Event program being prepared, expect at least one major event before the end of the year!

The current Board Of Directors are:

• Jamie Mitchell
• Will Anido
• Darren Borg
• Simon Dodd
• Andrew Cassidy
• Stuart Murray
• Paul Jackson
• Jodie Marsh
• Woogie Marsh

The association is on the lookout for representives from WA, TAS, SA & VIC to sit on the board.

All interested parties can contact Tania at info@sup-australia.com

Expression Session Demo Day

2nd Annual Expression Session Demo Day

WOW what a day.

With a building North Easterly we set up our little tent city of Paddles, Boards & Gear ready for the day.

Suppliers & Manufacturers started filling down Access 12 path with boards paddles, Quiver Kaddies it was a great site to see - imagine only 4 - 5 years ago people were saying this sport wouldn't last.

Bigger and brighter than last year Paddlers started arriving to test out Boards & Paddles on the messy on shore condition.

A huge thanks to suppliers that travelled from Sydney to attend the day.

Walk on Water - LSD & Simon Anderson Boards

Naish

PSH

All Above Board

Green Line

Roar Industries

Laguna Bay

Hobie

Kia Kaha Paddles

Bluewater Players

GSI

Instyle - SIC

Coreban

Lahui Kai

DC

Spot Prize Sponsor - Sea Breeze

I know I am forgetting someone!!!

Photos to come of the day.

We ended with a make shift BOP Style Race in and out through the surf around a buoy out the back - Jnrs, Ladies & Men all going at once.

Big Thanks to the Noosa Beach Boys for all there organising - until next year!

Expression Session 2nd Annual Demo Day

Well we are on the downward slide back into Summer. The Beach Boys Surfing Club is organising its 2nd Annual Expression Session Demo Day.

The Event last year was a great hit even with the weather conditions we had, we all had fun trying out the new boards that were on offer.

Cost is $10 for non Beach Boy Surfing Club Members to cover insurance. We are also putting together an Ocean Clinic with some of Australia's Top SUP Paddlers. Cost for this is yet to be confirmed. We are also working on random spot prizes to make the day interesting.

Dates to lock in
4th September 2010 (Saturday)
Noosa River Mouth

Will get more details closer to the time.

Already confirmed
GSI
Coreban
Kia Kaha
Bluewater Players
Quiver Kaddy

Greenline SUP Shop

Lahui Kai

Expressed Interest
Surf Tech
PSH
Naish


I have tried to contact all manufacturers but if you are interested and you haven't heard from me please let me know.

Noosa Heads Beach Boys Surfing Club

What are our Members Up To

101 Year Old Historical Tour

Helen Tume will be setting off on a great adventure towards the end of August to visit her culture in Holland.

The Beach Boys of Hawaii were the first to catch waves and stand up surf in the 1960's. It was originally called beach boy surfing. Watermen Laird Hamilton & Dave Kalama introduced SUP around the year 2000 on Maui, Hawaii. They conquered the most insane waves and ocean crossing between the Hawaiian Island by SUP. The sport has grown rapidly ever since. From the smallest waves to the coolest waterways. everyone is discovering this new surfing and flat-water sport and learning how fun it is to Stand Up Paddle.

Athletes will experience the ultimate challenge as they paddle 220km (136 miles) in 5 days with weather conditions varying from windless, beautiful and sunny to cold, rainy and stormy. Besides the ultimate challenge the SUP 11 City Tour is also an unique experience. OVer 100 National and international paddlers get to know Friesland from the water. Open fields with windmills, cows, and sheep will present itself along the water ways exchanged by eleven historical cities built from 1700 onward. Participants paddle the original waterways, where the ice skaters started conquering this Historical tour 101 years ago on frozen waters. SUP 11-City Supporters come from all over the country and from all over the world to Friesland to encourage participants from bridge to bridge and from town to town.

We wish Helen all the best with her training and big adventure.

SUP Fryslan

Molokai 2 Oahu

Woogie Marsh is setting off to Hawaii at the end of this month to compete in the Molokai to Oahu SUP Relay Race.

Considered by many to be the World Championship of Paddleboard Racing, the Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard has become the single most iconic event in the paddling community. Both Stand Up Paddling and Paddleboarding champions from around the world will be gathering in the Hawaiian Islands this July to test their athletic ability against the 32-mile crossing of the Ka'iwi Channel. At its deepest point the channel is over 2300 feet deep and creates a funnel effect that shoots billions of gallons of seawater between the islands each hour. Combine this with trade winds and the channel creates seas that can range anywhere from 8 feet to 15 feet on a average day and upwards of 20 feet on an extreme day. Because of the danger the Ka'iwi presents, each athlete is required to have an escort boat and support crew to accompany them across the channel. The first stand up paddleboard and prone paddleboard athletes across the channel will be crowned a World Champion.

The Channel

The Channel: True Name: Ka'iwi' (kah-ee-vee)

Ka'iwi Channel - Translation : the channel of bones, aka Molokai Channel. The Ka'iwi, or Molokai, Channel has a centuries old reputation for being a treacherous body of water that has claimed the lives of many, form ancient canoe fleets, to fisherman and watermen.

The tragic loss of Hawaiian big wave rider and renaissance man Eddie Aikau in the Molokai Channel during the 1978 Polynesian voyage of the Hokule'a Sailing canoe, only added to the mystique and revered power of the channel. After gail-force winds and 30 - foot swells disabled the Hokule'a, Aikau headed off on his rescue paddle-board for land to seek help for his stranded crew mates. His body and his board were never found.

Paddling has been a part of Hawaiian heritage since early Polynesians traversed over 2,500 miles of open ocean, navigating by way of waves, wind and stars. Double - hulled sailing canoes covered the long distances, single hull outrigger canoes covered shorter distanced (such as inter-island paddles), and with the introduction of surfing in the late 18th century, paddle-boarding also became a means of local ocean transport.

Today there are official races for outrigger canoe, surf skis, and paddle-boards. Each take place across the Molokai Channel and each of these races are regarded world-wide as the crowning challenge for each sport.

The Challenge: 32 Miles of Open Ocean

Regarded as the World Championship of Paddle Board racing

Traverses 32 miles of rough water form the North Shore of Molokai to the South Shore of Oahu.

Covers a depth of 2,300 feet and is subject to open-ocean swells of up to 30 feet.

Considered one of the roughest ocean channels in the world.

Ultimate test of endurance - no engines or sails, just a paddler and the propulsion power of his arms.

Wildy varying open ocean conditions challenge a paddler's surfing skills.

Capricious currents and tidal effects test a paddler's ocean navigation skills.

Record crossing time: 4:45:03, set by Jamie Mitchell in 2004 on a prone Paddle Board.

Molokai 2 Oahu

4th July Club Day

The day started with rigging the Canoe at Lions Park. Jason, Dave & Woogie paddled the Canoe around over to Johnsons for some fun little waves.

The Wind was cold but the sun was out and the waters was kinda warm.

Jason, Dave, Taj & Woogie

Woogie & Taj

Next Crew - Jonathan, Mark, Taj & Woogie

Everyone out Woogie's Go!

Taj out on the SUP getting some little waves

Dropping in with Dave on the inside

Mark paddling into a couple with Dave's new Double bend Wooden Blade

on the inside Jo & Levi on the outside

Marita getting a couple before jumping in the Canoe

Levi & Kaiya's Artwork

Taj & Levi share a wave

Next Club Day 1st August 2010 more info closer to date.