Zen Waterman

Best Paddle Length for Stand-Up Paddleboarding | Blue Planet Surf

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 21:15:00 +0000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StuZbBpbOkg

In today's video, we dive into the best paddle length for your stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) needs. Key Topics Covered: All-Around Paddle Length: Ideal for entry-level paddlers using bigger boards in flat water. Suggested length: Around 10 inches above your head. Advanced Paddle Length: Slightly shorter paddles for better control and reduced shoulder strain. Methods: Wrist watch level and Shaka sign method (6-8 inches above head). Application-Specific Lengths: Racing: Shorter paddle for low-volume boards and dugouts. Surfing: Very short paddles (head high or lower) for quick maneuverability. Personal Preferences: Factors like board size, paddling style, and blade size affect optimal paddle length. Avoiding Injuries: Proper paddle length to prevent shoulder and lower back strain. Blade Size Considerations: Smaller blades for efficiency and better catch versus larger blades for more power. In this informative video, Robert Stehlik from Blue Planet Surf offers a detailed guide on selecting the best paddle length for stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). Understanding the right paddle length is essential for comfort, efficiency, and preventing injuries. The video covers three methods to determine the correct paddle length, variations for different SUP activities, and the differences between adjustable and fixed-length paddles. Choosing the Right Paddle Length All-Around Use For entry-level paddlers using bigger boards in flat water, a longer paddle is often recommended. Robert suggests a length where the paddle reaches about 10 inches above the head when standing upright. This length is suitable for casual, upright paddling on larger boards. Advanced Paddling As paddlers gain experience, they might prefer a shorter paddle. Shorter paddles reduce shoulder strain by keeping the arm lower, allowing for more powerful and controlled strokes. Wrist Watch Method: The paddle should reach the wrist watch level when standing. Shaka Sign Method: Using the Hawaiian Shaka sign over the head, adjust the paddle to be about 6-8 inches above the head. Application-Specific Lengths Racing and Low-Volume Boards For racing and using low-volume boards or dugouts, a shorter paddle is recommended. Since these boards keep the paddler closer to the water, a shorter paddle provides better leverage and efficiency. Surfing For stand-up paddle surfing, even shorter paddles are preferred. Advanced SUP surfers often use paddles that are head-high or even lower, such as forehead or eye level. This shorter length allows for quick transitions from side to side and provides more maneuverability and power during takeoffs. However, beginners might find shorter paddles challenging as they require more leaning and can strain the lower back. An alternative method: placing the paddle upside down and adjusting the length so the neck of the blade is at face height. This ensures the blade is fully submerged during paddling, keeping the handle ergonomically positioned. It's crucial to avoid having the elbow above the shoulder, as this can cause injuries. Blade Size and Preferences Choosing the right paddle length is personal, and paddlers should experiment to find what works best for them. Preferences may vary depending on paddling style, board size, and blade size. Smaller blades offer quicker acceleration and efficiency, while larger blades provide more power but can be cumbersome if not fully utilized. Injury Prevention Ensuring the correct paddle length helps prevent shoulder and lower back injuries. Using a paddle that's too long can place undue pressure on the shoulders, while a paddle that's too short may cause the paddler to lean excessively, straining the lower back. Search Keywords Best paddle length for SUP, Stand-up paddleboard paddle length, How to choose SUP paddle length, Adjustable vs. fixed-length paddle, Paddle length for beginners, Advanced paddleboarding tips, SUP paddle length guide, Paddleboarding shoulder injury prevention, Optimal paddle length for surfing, Efficient paddling techniques, Blue Planet Surf paddleboarding tips, Stand-up paddleboarding for beginners, SUP paddle adjustment methods, SUP paddle blade size, Preventing paddleboarding injuries, Paddleboard gear setup, SUP paddle ergonomics, Paddleboard racing tips, SUP surfing techniques, Choosing SUP equipment We hope you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the blueplanetsurf YouTube channel, we post a new video every Saturday morning, Aloha! Please come visit one of our shops on Oahu: Hale'iwa shop and rental location: Blue Planet Hale'iwa 62-620F Kamehameha Highway Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712 Tel (808) 888 0786 Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm http://www.blueplanetadventure.com Honolulu store- - Hawaii's SUP and Foil HQ: Blue Planet Surf 1221 Kona St Honolulu, Hi 96814 Tel (808) 596 7755 open 10 am to 5 pm Hawaii Time, closed Wednesdays and Sundays http://www.blueplanetsurf.com

How to Kayak for the first time in a two person kayak

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 17:20:00 +0000

How to kayak for the first time in a tandem kayak: this video covers the basics, including: going out in ideal condition: easy launch, calm water, staying close to shore, preparing for getting wet, don't take anything that will sink if you capsize. Using a sit on top kayak, getting in and out, paddling in unison or tandem, steering, paddling backwards, safety and more. Visit the Blue Planet Adventure Company in Haleiwa if you want to learn to paddle a kayak for the first time! You will find us at the end of the Rainbow Bridge, Aloha!

Please also watch: How to Kayak in 5 minutes: https://youtu.be/68KMZXAstSs We hope you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the blueplanetsurf YouTube channel, we post a new video every Saturday morning, Aloha! Please come visit one of our shops on Oahu: Hale'iwa shop and rental location: Blue Planet Hale'iwa 62-620F Kamehameha Highway Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712 Tel (808) 888 0786 Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm http://www.blueplanetadventure.com Honolulu store- - Hawaii's SUP and Foil HQ: Blue Planet Surf 1221 Kona St Honolulu, Hi 96814 Tel (808) 596 7755 open 10 am to 5 pm Hawaii Time, closed Wednesdays and Sundays http://www.blueplanetsurf.com

Downwind Foil Race Recap- BlueWater Classic- Wing Foil Race and SUP Foil Race

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 18:32:00 +0000

The Molokai 2 Oahu Race was cancelled again this year and a shorter course on Oahu took it's place- The BlueWater Hawaiian Classic. The organizers set up a special, shorter course for SUP foilers to be able to race in the bumps- from Portlock Point to the Windsock at Kaimana. They also opened the race to Wing Foilers and we ended up having the biggest field yet of foiler racers on Oahu gather at the start off of Portlock Point. The video voiceover touches on the history of the race, training, participants, equipment used, technique and strategy, results and more. Photo credit: Pat Meyers videos by: Jeff Chang, Derek Hamasaki, Kevin Lee, Robert Stehlik and others editing: Lucas Purcell and Robert Stehlik These are the official Foil Race results for the foil divisions: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cga7DCJLfAo/ molokai2oahu The Foil Division featured both Wing and SUP from China Walls to Kaimana Beach! The classic Hawaii Kai run a was perfect match for Nani Dalene who dominated with 2nd overall 🔥 🌺Men Wing FOIL Robert Stehlik 26:30 Eli Maioho 28:06 Josh Lawrence 28:23 🌺Women Wing FOIL Nani Dalene 27:55 Glennel Jordan 47:70 🌺Men FOIL Jack Ho 28:19 Andrew Gibbons 30:24 Eric Sterman 30:50 🌺Women FOIL Andrea Moller 46:00 Here is a link to the complete GPS data from my Garmin watch: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9267864602 We hope you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the blueplanetsurf YouTube channel, we post a new video every Saturday morning, Aloha!

History of SUP

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 21:08:00 +0000

Watch this video for a brief summary of Stand Up Paddleboarding:

History of Stand Up Paddleboarding

There are many examples of paddling in a standing position and it seems to come naturally.

I’m going to go over some of the earliest recorded records of humans standing up while paddling, a short history of SUP surfing in Hawaii, and how modern stand up paddleboarding and surfing has become so popular worldwide.

Fishermen in Peru and Ecuador used reed rafts for fishing and for going in and out through the surf around 3000 years ago.

Hasake were used in Israel with records dating back to the roman empire and are basically big SUP’s with a two sided paddle. Still used by lifeguards today.

There are also many native tribes that paddled standing up in dugout canoes

SUP Surfing

Was known as Beach Boy surfing- culture emerged in Waikiki when first hotels opened.

Most famous beach boy was Duke Kahanmoku- he introduced surfing to California in 1912 and to Australia in 1914, known as fastest swimmer alive with 2 gold medals in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920 and many world records in swimming.

Duke was known to surf standing up on a long board, using a long paddle.

In the 1940, John Zapotoki started used a big longboard and custom made wood paddles to surf in Waikiki until he was 91 and saw his sport boom

Pops Ah Choy was a Waikiki beach boy well known to standing up surfing with a hard had

Ron “Canoe” Drummond surfed a canoe standing up with a paddle in Dana Point, California.

More recently, Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama picked up paddles and stood up on big longboards during an Oxbow photoshoot which started the moden area of Stand Up Paddleboarding and its global popularity today.

Brian Keaulana added “Beach Boy Surfing” division to the Buffalo Big Board contest at Makaha and the sport started growing rapidly.

I was lucky enough to be involved in distributing the C4 Waterman boards, some of the first SUP’s available to buy which was around 2007, before that SUP boards were custom made. I was coached in SUP surfing and downwinding by early pioneers and C4 Waterman founders Dave Parmenter, Todd Bradley, and Brian Keaulana.

The early explosive growth of the sport had leveled off before the pandemic but then blew up again during the pandemic as a safe way to get exercise while being socially distanced.

SUP History trivia:

The Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard Word Championship Race added a Stand Up Paddleboard division in 2006. Kevin Horgan won the race in 7:23:14

Travis Grant set the current M2O SUP solo record time of 3:59:52 in 2017

Gerry Lopez and Rainbow Sandals organized the first “Battle of the Paddle” race in 2008 with a $25,000 prize purse. The maximum board length was 12’6, which created a new category of boards.

these were the top 3 finishers of the first BOP:

Men:

1) Chuck Patterson

2) Thiebert Lucia

3) Aaron Napoleon

Women:

1) Jenny Kalmbach

2) Candice Appleby

3) Morgan Hoesterey

As of 2021, the global market for Stand Up Paddleboard gear is estimated at $1.4 Billion, growing at 10% annually, with the top 5 brands controlling a market share of about 15%

As of April 2022 the top 3 most liked Stand Up Paddleboard videos on YouTube (all proudly brought to you by blueplanetsurf):

1) “How to SUP in 5 minutes”- thumbs up: 19k, 1.5 million views

2) “Top 10 SUP Beginner Mistakes”- thumbs up: 11k

3) “SUP Tips: How to paddle straight on a Stand Up Paddleboard”- thumbs up: 9.3k

Thank you for watching!

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

Flip Rescue: learn the technique that could save a life- tips from the S...

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 17:16:00 +0000

I'm proud of the graduates of our recent PSUPA instructor training class. To get certified as Stans Up Paddleboard instructors, they went through 18 hours of online training plus assignments, passed the written test, completed CPR and First Aid training and finally completed the "beach day" where we put all that knowledge to practice, do mock lessons, and finally end with rescue techniques. If you are helping an exhausted paddler that is too weak to get back on the board or unconscious, the best way to get them on the board is the flip rescue. You have to start with the board upside down, get the arms of the drowning victim over the rails so their armpits are on the rails. Then you have to apply your body weight by either kneeling or standing on the opposite rail and fall back while holding the victims wrists to flip the board over so the victim ends up on the deck. Then you turn them around, get on the back and prone paddle them to shore. Watch our group doing this for the first time and go over the most common issues and takeaways. I highly recommend practicing this technique with a partner so you are confident and know what to do if you ever have to use it. It could help you save a life! We will soon have an online course available that covers all the theoretical knowledge to become a certified SUP instructor, so stay tuned for more information on the training program. For more information, please visit PSUPA.com, here is my instructor trainer Bio on the PSUPA page: https://www.psupa.com/trainer/robert-... Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed the video, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to see our latest videos posted on a weekly basis. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bpsurf/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blueplanetsurf Blue Planet Surf - Hawaii's SUP and Foil HQ 1221 Kona St Honolulu, Hi 96814 Tel (808) 596 7755 open 10 am to 5 pm Hawaii Time, closed Wednesdays and Sundays http://www.blueplanetsurf.com Find Paradise Aloha! Transcript: Aloha friends, it's Robert Stehlik with Blue Planet Surf! today's video is all about the flip rescue on a stand-up paddle board which could save someone's life so just yesterday we completed a 18-hour stand-up paddle instructor training class and the participants on the beach day where we practice in the water finished with the flip rescue using standard paddle boards and i wanted to share the video of how we're doing it give some pointers and my hope is that for those of you watching you can learn something and one day possibly save someone's life so for the demonstration i chose the biggest heaviest participant Alim with the biggest board to make it a little bit more challenging the scenario here is that Alim is close to drowning he's uh totally exhausted can't get back up on the board my first priority is to flip the board over upside down and then help him onto the board with his armpits kind of over the rails and here's a little bit off center so i'm sliding him towards the middle of the board and then with my leash still attached to my board i end up having the my board right behind his head so that's kind of a dangerous situation so i decided to ditch my board take off the leash and push the board off so to get the maximum amount of leverage i'm gonna have to stand on the board so i put both feet on the rails of the board and get a firm grip on his wrist and lean back and use my body weight to flip him over so once again in slow motion all my weight is on the rail and the firm grip leaning back using my body weight for momentum and leverage and then just flipping the board over and now alim is on the top of the board and i can rescue him so here alim is demonstrating i'm kind of already out of it he's helping me to the board now this he has to still flip the board upside down so it's a little bit difficult while i'm holding on to the board to flip it so sometimes i think it might be best to just flip the board first and then help the victim because doing both at the same time is a little bit challenging as we found out so practice makes perfect just as with anything else and uh if you've never tried this it's good to try it with a partner uh just practice it a bunch to until you feel comfortable because if you ever have to use it in an emergency situation you don't want to have to figure it out as you're doing it so here i was a little bit off center again and alim adjusted me a little bit towards the center of the board and in this case he probably could have just used his knees for leverage but he's putting one foot on leaning back and no problem for him to flip me over and of course a bigger heavier taller person is going to have an easier time flipping the board over versus a shorter more petite lighter weight person it's going to be a lot more challenging to flip that board over so then the next step is to spin the person around on your board and get on behind them and then paddle them in in this case he asked me to help him paddle but i'm pretty exhausted so i'm letting him paddle me back in to save my life so that was a great demonstration and we we're moving on with the other participants on the right side is nicole with Zorida and they're demonstrating with a smaller board it's a 9'4 fun stick which has kind of really curvy outline and a glossy finish so the bottom of that board was really slippery and because the rails are so curved it's it was kind of easier to slide off to the side and here the there's a board right behind her so nicole pushes it out of the way and that's an important thing to remember to make sure nothing's behind you when you're falling back make sure your board is not right behind you she tries to stand up but kind of slips off and then on her second attempt she's just using her knees on the rails and that gives her enough leverage to be able to hold on to the wrists and flip the board over so and then Zorida's ending up on the deck and she's able to paddle her back in now nicole was up to the challenge she wanted to try the worst case scenario so she's gonna try to flip a limb to see if she could do that with a big heavy paddler in trouble and a big wide board that definitely makes it harder of course the wider the board is the more challenging is to flip it over on a surfboard or a long board it's definitely easier to flip that board over and you don't necessarily have to stand on the bottom of the board but in this case she's definitely going to have to use all her body weight and all the leverage she can muster to get alim on the board i liked how she communicated with alim so i'm going to let you listen to that so i thought that was really good how she checked in with the victim and making sure he's okay and to see if he can get up on him by himself and kind of explaining what she's gonna do um so here she had to flip the board over and uh almost lost him but and then another hard thing is sometimes yeah like if they can't hold on to the top and you have to figure out how to get around on the other side and obviously we're doing this in shallow water and sometimes they were cheating a little bit and using the bottom to stand on but you know obviously you don't want to use the bottom you want to pretend that you're in deep water even if you could touch the bottom okay so on her first attempt she's kind of struggling a little bit getting a good grip on alim and she's holding onto his wrist but doesn't really have a good grip on his wrist so what happens when she leans back her hands slip off and she's not able to flip alim over and like i said alim is a big heavy guy and she's petite and lighter weight and shorter so she really has to use her body weight and leverage to the max to be able to do this flip so here's her second attempt and she just doesn't carry through the momentum quite enough and she's really trying but um you know once once that momentum stops you stop moving then uh you just gotta start over again so here's her third attempt she's really determined to do this which is awesome i think and um you know you just gotta practice it to be able to do it and when when it matters right so on our third attempt she's got a really firm grip on around his wrists okay so once she got alim on the top of the board she can now spin him around so he's facing the front and so well done excellent rescue and that's probably to be the one of the hardest scenarios but of course it's even harder if you have to do this with an unconscious person someone that's not able to help you at all so then that that would be the most difficult scenario in this in this scenario we're assuming that the person is still conscious and can at least help a little bit which definitely makes it easier so in this case zory was able to kind of hold her victim a little bit while she's flipping the board over which can be tricky and another tricky thing is getting up on the bottom of the board you know like you have to have the right amount of leverage to get up on top and just as with getting onto a stand-up paddleboard it helps to kick your feet kind of behind you like you're swimming and then that helps you get up and then like we said this cord is super slippery so she's using her knees and then make sure you get a really good grip on the wrists she's standing up and it's too slippery to stand up but just using her knees she's able to flip flip the board over once i put my feet up i had to commit because that first time i did it and that's that's when i like lost it right hard to do right yeah okay so now it's barbara's turn and she also did a good job communicating with the victim so let's listen in on barber's conversation i'm a certified instructor you're in good hands do not worry okay so what i'm gonna do is i'm gonna flip over the board hanging onto your hands okay i'm gonna try to hold your hands here okay so that was really good how she reassured the victim that she's in good hands and explaining what she's going to do but once again that those slippery rails and the curvy slippery rails in the bottom of that board made it hard harder so um here's another attempt and you do have to watch out like if she slides off towards the tail the fins can be kind of dangerous so you want to make sure that you don't slide the victim into the fins like kind of that happened a little bit right there and you want to make sure that they're that you're really centered in the middle of the board so it doesn't slide to the back or the front but definitely don't want to slide towards the back towards the fins so be cognizant of that and then on this board it was definitely just easier to to use the knees instead of trying to stand up but um here she's able to do it standing up and you know if you have a bigger wider board and a heavier victim then you definitely have to get up on your feet otherwise you're just not going to have enough leverage to flip it over something to think about too when someone's drowning in the water they might struggle and kind of pull you down while you're trying to flip the board over so sometimes the best thing to do might be just push them off of you push them away while you're flipping the board and then help them get on in this case brian's asking eileen to hold on to the opposite rail of the board which is hard to do on a stand-up paddleboard because the the rails are so you know so wide so that's a little bit tricky can be tricky to go around on the other side of the board while the victim's on one side so but that worked out and then brian's able to get up and put all his weight on the rails get a firm grip on the wrists and then use his body weight to fall back and after everyone was able to complete a successful flip rescue we met and went over the takeaways so let's listen to that when you did it with that you i think you tried three times right and yeah and so what what made the difference on the third attempt so the first attempt i just completely flipped and let go of the lame i didn't have a good grip and so even you know he was so so unconscious but he did show me a better grip so the second time i almost got it but i didn't commit and so i wasn't able to flip him the third time i had the good grip and i literally had to throw my body back stand up and throw it back and when i went to once i committed to throwing myself back i could feel the board flipping over the water so that was a big feeling of accomplishment for me okay that's good any other um yeah i failed my first time yeah even though i had a small board and a small person i failed the first time because i wasn't positioned in the middle and my board was slippery so i found myself going off to the side okay so by you know doing it again in the center and going straight back made a huge difference and another takeaway was having someone conscious because one time she was actively conscious and helping me and the other time she wasn't it made a huge difference because if they're conscious you can invoke their help you can say grab onto my wrists too you can vote for their help and that makes it so much easier okay and the bottom of the board is slippery so it's it's easy to have it slip out underneath you if you're not centered right yeah that makes sense Alim do you have any takeaways just to add on to what nicole and barbara said really committing to it because initially you feel like either you or the person you're helping will get injured but if you commit to it all the way neither yourself or the person you're helping actually gets injured just all the way through okay sorry did you have any takeaways from the flip rescue technique i was using my knees because i was slipping from the feet and i had like a small girl so i was easy it was easier for me using my knees with my body weight because her board was slippery yeah so i don't know yeah i think when you have a really heavy person you need you need to get on your feet and you need to use all your body weight but otherwise just on your knees this is good do you have any takeaways commitment to it i was kind of a little giddy by getting up on my knees and kind of kind of being over someone's head and trying to stand up this little freaky so i think if you commit to it you don't you won't think about that so much i know that yeah helped right good okay so i just wanted to say a special thank you to my freshly certified group of stand-up paddle instructors you guys all did an amazing job well done and thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights i hope everybody enjoyed this and found it helpful if you liked it and think it's helpful please give it a thumbs up down below subscribe to the blue planet surf youtube channel and we'll see you on the water aloha keywords: Blue Planet, SUP, Stand Up Paddleboarding, paddle boarding, How to, Stand Up, Paddleboarding, Robert Stehlik, Blue Planet Surf, Honolulu, Safety, leash, wind, tips, coaching lesson, how to paddle board, how to sup, paddleboarding for beginners, first time paddleboarding, Ala Moana, Oahu, flip rescue, rescue technique, save a life, lifesaving, lifeguard, PSUPA, instructor training, class, leverage, takeaways

Blue Planet Show Wing Foiling- Rob Whittall- Ozone Wasp V2, Armstrong A+ system-

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 20:47:00 +0000

Watch all episodes of the Blue Planet Show here:

https://www.blueplanetsurf.com/service/blue-planet-show-wing-foil-interviews/

How to choose a Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) for beginners

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 18:16:00 +0000

Paddle board buying guide: Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) is a fun, safe way to get exercise, even in the middle of a global pandemic. This video is a beginner's guide to help you choose the best paddleboard for your needs and budget. Covered: inflatable SUP vs. hard boards touring vs. all round board The Basics 1.) Conditions/ Functions 2.) Height/Weight 3.) Future Goals The Dimensions 1.) Length 2.) Width 3.) Thickness 4.) Volume The Shape 1.) Nose 2.) Tail 3.) Rails 4.) Rocker Line Some great tips on how to choose the first Stand Up Paddleboard when you are getting started. Get educated on the dimension, volume and shape features that matter for you before wasting money on a board that is not right for you. SUP's are NOT one size fits all and keep in mind that you get what you pay for. At Blue Planet we have a big selection of boards ranging from inexpensive, user-friendly starter packages and used boards for those on a budget to high end, high-performance boards for expert riders, and everything in between. Come to Blue Planet, the SUP HQ and get some expert advice on picking the right board for YOU. Aloha! For more information on choosing the best SUP board and graphics, please visit: https://www.blueplanetsurf.com/service/best-sup-standup-paddle-board/ CHOOSING THE BEST STAND UP PADDLE BOARD Aloha SUP’ers and mahalo for dropping in with Blue Planet Surf. One of the most frequent inquiries we get at our shop in Honolulu, Hawaii is how does one determines what size and type of board is right for them. As avid water enthusiasts, our main objective at Blue Planet Surf is to provide sufficient info to potential paddlers, so that they are equipped with the best knowledge to make the best decision when buying their first or additional boards for their quiver. With the right knowledge, one can choose the ideal board to suit their surfing and paddling needs and ultimately have more fun on the water. Thank you to our customers for voting Blue Planet as Hawaii’s Best Stand Up Paddle Shop. 12 BASIC POINTS Below you’ll find 12 images and graphs that will help you with the complex process of finding the right board(s) for you. As a surfer of many years (bodysurf, bodyboard, shortboard, longboard, and Stand Up Paddleboarding), I personally consider over 100 different variables when I’m choosing my own boards. For a first time SUP buyer, it would be excessive to consider so many variables, so we wanted to simplify the process for our customers. The boys at the shop and I were able to narrow a potential paddler’s focus down to 12 basic points which we use at our shop in Hawaii every day to help our customers find the perfect stand up paddle board for them. Keep in mind that surfing and paddling needs are very specific to the rider and their locale, so our images and graphs may not depict info that is 100% accurate for you and where you plan to use the board. If you have any questions about it contact Blue Planet Surf in Honolulu, Hawaii; or consult your nearest SUP/surf shop for more info. First and foremost, the paddler must consider what type of paddling they intend to do. By determining if an individual will be surfing, racing, cruising or doing a hybrid of those, they will have already narrowed their board selection down. In general, the shorter and smaller the board is, the more surfable and maneuverable it will be, while the longer and more streamlined the design is, the more efficiently the board will cover distance and the better the board will be for racing. For cruising, one should consider boards that are in between those two spectrums, and skew their choice either shorter or longer depending on how they want their board to perform. Height and weight, along with skill level, are the next big factors an individual should pay close attention to. Because paddle boarding requires the board to be on top of the water at all times (different from shortboards where the board may be fully submerged when not planing on a wave), height and weight dictate the amount of floatation the board will need to offer.

New Balance Board- preview of the Blue Planet Balance Surfer

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 07:21:00 +0000

Introducing the Blue Planet Balance Surfer, a new product we are launching on Kickstarter, for details: http://kck.st/2lfc84l

What initially started as a quest for comfort, has now evolved into a patent-pending design that provides 3 different levels of balance challenge in 1 tool-less Board. Competing and training for long-distance races like the Molokai to Oahu race kept me in shape but I was still experiencing back and neck discomfort after long days at my computer. My chiropractor recommended raising my monitor to eye level, and I realized if I mounted it on an arm I could use it as a standing desk as well. Standing up regularly helped my back but I was still prone to bad posture and would constantly lean against my desk and load one hip with all my weight. But after using an old balance rocker board I used for SUP training, I noticed how my posture improved from the small balance rocker which was requiring me to stand upright and centered yet still allowed me to focus on my work. I began prototyping new balance board versions, hired a 3D designer to perfect the prototype design, researched manufacturers and here we are today.

With 2 previously successful Kickstarter campaigns and such a great experience interacting with the crowdfunding community, we obviously thought of Kickstarter right away when deciding how to launch this product. We love bringing new products to this community and hope you can support us in this next launch.

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik, founder/ owner of Blue Planet Surf

How to Stand Up Paddle with Verena Mei

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 22:54:00 +0000

Learn how to SUP with Verena Mei and Blue Planet Surf.

Verena is a professional race car driver. She grew up in Hawaii and recently moved back to Oahu. She got into Stand Up Paddleboarding and has been a great customer and supporter of Blue Planet Surf Shop. In this series she is getting tips on safety, technique, board handling and more from Blue Planet Surf founder Robert Stehlik. We will post regularly new videos on our blueplanetsurf youtube channel and plan to release the parts of this series in the Spring of 2016. For new videos please check back here and subscribe to our youtube channel.

Watch the first video in the series:

How to Stand Up Paddle Board with Verena Mei, Part 1: Safety

SUP is a great, fun, health and safe sport if practiced with some common sense.

Basic points covered in this video are:

1) Be aware of conditions. Light wind and protected water are the best conditions for beginner and learning quickly. Light winds are fine but the chop created by the wind will make balancing more difficult and you should always make sure to paddle into the wind first to make sure you can get back to where you started. Don't go out if the wind is strong, offshore winds (blowing you away from the shore) can be very dangerous as they can carry you out to sea and usually get stronger the farther out you get.

2) Always wear a leash. In Hawaii we are not required to wear a personal floatation device when Stand Up Paddle boarding but you should always wear a good leash and make sure it is attached securely, that way your boards is always attached to you and acts as your floatation device.

3) Know how to swim. This should be self explanatory, but before you learn how to SUP, you should learn how to swim first. The rule of thumb is: don't go out further from shore than you could swim back on your own power.

This is the second video in this series: board handling and gear

In this video you learn how to protect your board from heat and fin damage, how to safely lift up and carry your board and some things to consider when choosing your first board. At Blue Planet we always recommend trying several SUP's before choosing one as nothing beats trying a board to get an idea of whether it will work for you or not. Balancing should be challenging at first, as your balance quickly improves. We often talk to customers that bought their first board without trying it first and then finding out that it is just not a good board for their needs. Let's face it, it does not matter how cheap a board is or how great the deal seems to be, if you don't enjoy using the board and it sits around collecting dust, it's a waste of money. We want you to get out on the water and enjoy your board, so we want to make sure you get one that is right for you.

Click here for more information on how to choose the right board and watch the video.

Click here for more information on our free SUP Clinics for Blue Plane customers.

Keep watching the playlist to see all 11 episodes on "How to Stand Up Paddle with Verena Mei"

Stand Up Paddle Technique Drill: Catching Bumps and Waves on a SUP

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 15:19:00 +0000

Re-posted from this Blue Planet Blog posting:
http://blueplanetsurf.com/blogs/news/75266693-sup-tips-catching-waves-and-bumps-flatwater-drills-to-help-you-get-ready-for-open-ocean-stand-up-paddle-boarding

If you are new to downwind stand up paddle boarding, and want to get ready to do some open ocean downwinders, these are some tips and drills you can practice in flat water to help you get ready for riding bumps on a SUP. Check the bottom of this page for information on coached downwinders.

This post is focused on downwinders and catching/ gliding on bumps, but this drill is also helpful for catching breaking waves if you want to learn to stand up paddle surf.

In this first video I'm showing how to take a few quick accelerating strokes and then pause, glide and skim/ brace the paddle to keep you stable and balanced while gliding. If you are doing a downwinder in light winds, this is what you will end up doing: a few quick accelerating strokes, then pause and glide while you are getting pulled along by the bump in front of you. In light wind you usually won't have to move the feet back, you can keep the parallel stance close to the center of the board. It's good to practice this drill in flat water to break the habit of paddling with long, powerful strokes at a steady pace. Downwinders are about quick sprints and glides, so you have to learn to break up your pace. The first step is to practice taking 3,4, or 5 quick strokes and then let the board glide for about the same amount of time, so you are only paddling for about half the time. Don't worry about moving your feet at first and just get into a good rhythm of accelerating and then gliding and skimming your paddle for balance. Try to skim it as far out to the side as possible with the paddle at a low angle to the water for side to side stability and behind you for front to back stability. Just skim the paddle lightly over the surface, you don't want to break, just keep the paddle very close to the water or skim very lightly over the surface. While skimming the paddle acts as a third leg which will give you more control and will allow you to feel more comfortable in rougher conditions. If you do loose your balance you can lean on the paddle and push your center of gravity back over the center of the board.

This next video shows how to start in "first gear" by taking quick, short strokes for powerful acceleration. You want to focus on keeping your stroke in front of your feet and using quick bursts of power to accelerate. Practice this in flat water as well as you will not have time to focus on this when conditions get rough.

When the wind is stronger and the bumps get steeper, you will also have to move your weight back on the board to keep the nose from piercing and to allow your board to release and accelerate by planing on top of the water surface and to reduce the amount of wetted surface. So, once you are good at stroking quickly to accelerate and then gliding while skimming the paddle, the next step is to also practice moving your feet back as you stop paddling and glide. As the board slows down and the tail starts to sink, you then have to move your weight back forward close to center quickly and take some more quick acceleration strokes. The video below has some helpful tips for moving your feet around on the board without rocking the board and loosing your balance:

If you do this for a while, you will notice that these quick sprints followed by pauses of gliding will actually be very hard work and your heart rate will go up to a higher rate than when paddling at a steady pace. I find that my heart rate goes up significantly higher in downwinders than when flatwater paddling which is why it is so important to relax and rest while you get a free ride when gliding on and connecting bumps. If you don't rest it is hard to catch the next bump. There is a misconception that when the wind blows hard you hardly have to paddle anymore. The reality is that you have to accelerate more quickly and paddle even harder to catch the faster moving bumps on the really windy days if you want to keep up with the really fast guys. The goal is to move as close to the speed of the bumps as possible and the stronger the wind is and the longer the fetch (the distance the wind has to create bumps), the faster you have to move to catch them.

The next video covers the five most common mistakes made by first timers on downwind runs and will be helpful to watch as well if you want to improve your downwind stand up paddle technique.

Thank you for watching!

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik

Copyright Blue Planet Surf 2016, you are welcome to re-post or share this content but please credit Blue Planet Surf and put a link to www.blueplanetsurf.com

Resources mentioned in the videos:

For more information on our weekly SUP training group, please visit:
http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/2012/10/weekly-time-trials-in-hawaii-kai-video.html

For information on SUP lessons and downwind coaching by Robert Stehlik, please visit: http://blueplanetsurf.com/collections/lessons

For information on downwind coaching with Jeff Chang/ Wet Feet, please visit: http://www.wetfeethawaii.com/pages/lessons-tours.html

For information on coached downwinders with Jeremy Riggs on Maui: http://paddlewithriggs.com

Safety first: Downwinders can be dangerous. Always go with a partner or group and if you are going for the first time, go with an experienced paddler or coach. Have a plan and set up meeting places if you loose sight of each other, with can happen quickly in open ocean conditions. Take a cellphone in a waterproof case and/ or a EPIRB. Always wear a leash and make sure all your equipment is in good condition.

Equipment used in the videos:

Rasta downwind board: 14' x 28" 2016 Bump Rider: http://blueplanetsurf.com/products/140-x-28-bump-rider-2016

Blue downwind board: 12'6 x 28" 2016 Bump Surfer: http://blueplanetsurf.com/collections/2016-blue-planet-sups-2/products/126-x-28-bump-surfer-2016

Paddle: Kai Zen with 88 blade: http://blueplanetsurf.com/collections/paddles/products/blue-planet-2016-kai-zen-cf-paddle-early-bird-pre-orders-until-12-31-15

Catching waves and bumps in First Gear: Quick Acceleration strokes

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 15:36:00 +0000

When I first started Stand Up Paddling, I was struggling to catch waves. I was pulling on the paddle as hard as I could and figured the harder I pulled on the paddle and the more the shaft was bending, the more power I was applying and the faster the board would go. Despite pulling as hard as I could I was missing a lot of waves, I also kept breaking paddles. It seemed to make sense that the harder I pulled and the more the paddle shaft was bending, the faster I would go.

A big breakthrough for me came when Brian Keaulana gave me this tip after watching me try to catch a wave: "You are starting in third gear!"

He explained that first gear is short, quick strokes, way up in front, just tapping the water, not long, hard pulls. That was a turning point for me, I learned how to use these quick accelerating strokes and it worked like a charm. Not only was I no longer breaking paddles but my board would accelerate with just a few quick strokes and I started catching more waves. This technique also works well in downwinders, whenever you need to accelerate to catch a bump. Even in flatwater races you can use them at the start, after turns, or to catch up to a draft. So I encourage you to watch the video, try this first gear acceleration stroke, and you will be a more well rounded paddler. Not all strokes are the same, learn to use different gears when paddling and switch them up as needed.

The gear analogy works: everyone knows that if you start in third gear, you will wear out your transmission and clutch and no matter ho hard you gas the engine, you will not accelerate quickly. So take it easy on your body and gear and accelerate more quickly and easily by starting in first gear!

This video demonstrates how to accelerate quickly on a Stand Up Paddleboard by "starting in first gear". Quick, short, strokes create lift and smooth acceleration that will help you get the board on a plane to surf a wave or catch a bump in downwinders.

We hope you enjoy our videos, please give us a thumbs up, check out the other SUP tip videos on our channel and subscribe for our latest videos posted weekly. For more information on our weekly training group mentioned in the video, please click on this link: http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/…/weekly-time-trials-in-haw…

Also check out our private coaching offerings here: http://blueplanetsurf.com/pages/lessons

Thank you for watching,

Aloha, Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Quick, short bursts of power will help you get up to speed to catch a wave or bump

On downwinders the goal is to get the board to plane over the surface of the water and surf the open ocean wind swells.

Gear used in this video: Kai Zen paddle with 88 blade, the blue board is the 2016 12'6 x 28 Blue Planet Bump Surfer, the rasta board is the 14' x 28" Bump Rider. Drone video shot with the Hexo+ drone, land video by Evan Leong of standuppaddlesurf.net

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Taoism and Surfing: Go with the flow. By Len Kelemoana Barrow

noreply@blogger.com (Kelemoana) — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Zen, The Tao and, The Ocean

Zen Buddhism has bean historically a fusion of early Indian Buddhism and Chinese cultures. As Buddhism migrated to China it naturally took on Chinese characteristics. This being the indigenous tradition of Taoism. Hence the character of Zen is both Indian and Chinese in manifestation. It later migrates to Japan and takes on a Japanese natural sensibility.

Well what has this got to do with us? The ideas of Zen and Taoism are a treasure trove of understanding and happiness in and out of the surf. How can we adapt these ideas in the surf we may ask? How may we adapt these on land?

Taoism is partially based on flowing peacefully with the energies of the universe. This is called Wu-Wei. What this simply states that if you force things arrogantly, and depend on your ego you will ultimately fail miserably.

It quite simply can be observed in reality. Go with the way of Wu Wei. In this light please let me give you an example: I used to have a 78 year old Aikido teacher who could throw 10 competent attacking male students with the minimum of movement. It blew my mind! I mean he launched them! As I learned Aikido we were taught to meditate (my first experiences with meditation). We were also taught that sometimes four fingers carefully positioned with the proper utilization of your opponents movement and energy can make him fly upside down for six feet. This seems impossible yet I have seen it and honestly done it (not as well as the 78 year old). You see, If I fought a large man arrogantly as I am a small man...but 5'9, I would be beaten to a pulp. If I utilize his attacking energy to good effect I weave around his blows and catch him. Amazingly to throw him using not my weakling force but his tremendous strength. This is an example of using energy with the best defensive effect on land and in the martial arts. This has its parallel in the water!

Arrogance and ignorance in the water, in other words, not going with the energy of the ocean can be conducted by surfers and suppers on a daily basis. I have made these mistakes before. Firstly the worst mistake you can do is to show up at the beach and paddle out. This is the normal approach in a hurried modern world. Go, go, go. Time is money supposedly money in Western Culture.

When you do this you may often run afoul in to all types of energy that nature represents. I have seen surfers paddle out directly into coral heads and reef shelves that the water had “hidden”. This could have been avoided if if the individual just took some time to pay attention before surfing to the tide and how the ocean was flowing.

I sometimes surprise other surfers and suppers at the speed to which I get up in the line up. This is not because I am a strong paddler. It is because I utilize energy of the ocean in an observant way in the same way my Akido teacher used the minimum amount of energy to throw his opponents. We use a type of Wu Wei. All of the energy of a breaking wave moves toward the beach and has the tendency to find it way back to the ocean and its deeper water. If you are fighting this concept you are fighting the energy of the universe. Again watch the water. Which way is the water moving. Time and time again, I see surfers that try to paddle through the middle of the break. This is like fighting a 300 pound boxer. You will usually loose. Side step this energy like an Akido teacher. Find the channel. As the energy of the wave is moving back out to see, jump in it, side step the energy coming in and catch the current the energy current coming out. The channel. Sometimes the channel looks like the long-way out, but again, go with energy of the universe in a Taoistic manner.

When you get drilled the worst thing to do is fight it. After all you cannot defeat the ocean. I was once taught by Mel Kinney how to flow with a pounding. I thought that he was kidding when he told me what to do as it was completely opposite to how I would try to escape a drilling. As 20 foot wave would break in front of me I used to dive for the bottom. My thinking was that this was the safest thing to do. I used to fight the wave. Unfortunately the opposite happened. Instead of flowing with nature in a Taoist manner the inevitable would happened. I would be beaten violently underwater as I did multiple cartwheels.

This was unfortunate in that I would often break my board in half. Mel Kinney taught me something that was very Taoistic in manner. These were his instructions. He told me to just lay the board to my side and go 1 foot underwater with my hand pointed above my head. Imagine superman going strait up! Well that was what he told me to do. I call this a reverse superman. How this works is that when the wave grabs your board you get pulled back towards the shore at high velocity in
that you are shaped like a streamlined pencil. This has two functions. Firstly you are pulled rapidly out of the impact Zone using the waves force. I mean this is very Taoistic in practice. When you pop out of the water you literally can end up 30 yards in. The second function is a little less subtle. If you become an anchor by diving for the bottomYour board will often break as it has nowhere to move one the leash is taught. By doing the reverse superman you and the board become a single flowing unit thus preventing board breakage.

I hope this little article can help you flow with the ocean. After all the ocean is a manifestation of the Tao itself. Why fight it. Move with it. Until next time! Aloha from Hawaii

Dr. Len Kelemoana Barrow

SUP in Venice: Stand Up and Gondola paddling through this amazing City

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 21:57:00 +0000

Copy of post originally posted here on the blueplanetsurf.com blog:

Being able to go Stand Up Paddleboarding in Venice was a dream come true. I had it on my bucket list for a while so when we took a family vacation to Florence this January I planned a day trip to Venice despite the cold weather. I contacted Eliana from SUP in Venice and even though her SUP business is usually closed for the winter she agreed to not only take me on a tour but also arranged a Gondola ride and Gondolier's lesson for the rest of the group as well as a Venetian style lunch and walking tour of the city. It was an awesome way to see Venice. Here is the narrated video of this fantastic experience:

While Eliana and I were on SUP's, the rest of our group was on this beautiful gondola

Group picture at the Ponte dei Sospiri (bridge of sighs), connecting the courthouse and prison after the SUP paddle tour

This hotel, like most buildings in Venice, has the main entrance on the canal side where guests get dropped off by the water taxis.

Everyone got to row the gondola, learning from the gondoliers

After paddling we had a traditional Venetian lunch at the boat house. The red flags on the walls are first place finishes at gondola regattas.

SUP and Gondola tour in Venice

Warning: Please do not paddle in Venice without a guide, these are their roads and if don't know the rules, you are likely to be a safety hazard and will probably get completely lost. So if you plan to paddle in Venice, please contact Eliana at SUP in Venice

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Dealing with a Stand Up Paddle related shoulder injury

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 05:53:00 +0000

Stand Up Paddling can be hard on the shoulders, here is a video with some tips for dealing with an injury:

In these two videos I talk about a shoulder injury I have been dealing with for over a year and what worked for me. I hope this helps others.

I will not repeat everything in the videos but some things not mentioned are the many things I tried to treat the injury, including: rest, icing, heat, stretching, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, massage, taping the shoulder, pain relieving gels (Arnica gel) and rubs, not sleeping on the affected shoulder, and more.

While all these helped, I feel like the main key to recovery are the PT rotator cuff exercises shown in the video. I'm not saying not to try everything else, especially to relieve pain and discomfort but in my experience, the exercises were the most helpful to recover.

My doctor thinks the pain is caused by Bursitis, as well as possible damage to the rotator cuff muscles and tendonitis. This link has good information on Bursitis and how to treat it, if you are interested in reading more about it:

http://physioworks.com.au/injuries-conditions-1/bursitis_shoulder

My doctor recommended trying a Cortisone injection if the PT did not help but since my injury has improved greatly since starting the exercises I have been able to avoid and injection. So, if you think you may have a similar injury caused by paddling, or if you want to prevent this type of injury, I highly recommend making these rotator cuff muscle strengthening exercises part of your training regimen.

Please note that I am not a doctor or expert on this subject. Since your injury may be different than mine, I recommend seeing a doctor and/or physical therapist. Don't do any of these exercises if they are painful and make sure to keep good posture and form when doing the exercises. When I was doing research on this subject I found that these physical therapy exercises were not posted online, it is how the PT's make a living after all, which is why I decided to make this video, I hope it helps others treat and prevent injury sooner.

I'm happy to answer any questions, feel free to post a comment.

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Here is another video that explains the importance of strengthening the rotator cuff muscles and I totally agree:

Stand Up Paddle board volume explained- ways to determine the proper board volume

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 05:28:00 +0000

We are often asked: "What SUP board volume is best for me?"

The short answer is: "It depends. For beginners we recommend a volume of about twice your body weight."

Here is a longer explanation of our board volume recommendations:

First of all, you need to know your body weight into kg.
To convert from pounds to kg divide your weight by 2.2 (1 kg = 2.2 lbs)

Using myself as an example: my weight is 195 lb. divided by 2.2= approx. 88 kg.

The metric system makes it easy to calculate lift created by volume as one kg is equals to the weight of one liter of water by definition (note that salt water is slightly denser so the same board will float slightly better in the ocean than in freshwater). Interestingly most board dimensions are quoted in feet and inches but volume is always quoted in metric liters for this reason.

Basically: one liter of volume displaces one liter of water and therefore creates one kg of lift, so one liter of board volume will float one kg of weight.

For beginners, we recommend body weight in kg= liters x 2 (approximately) or about 176 liters volume for my weight of 88 kg. This means that when I stand on the board, it will be pushed about half way under water to displace enough water to float my body weight plus equipment weight. Please note that more volume will not necessarily make the board more stable. Side to side stability is a result of the width of the board and the thickness of the rails and to a lesser degree the length of the board. A thicker board can actually be less stable as the feet are higher off the water, raising the center of gravity.

For racing and touring you can go with a higher volume as thicker, high volume rails can add secondary stability to a narrower hull that has less resistance than a wider board. In downwinders especially, high volume in the front of the board works well to keep the nose from plowing deep into the trough.

If high performance SUP surfing is your goal, as you improve you can gradually lower the volume of the boards you use since a lower volume board will generally surf better but will also be much harder to balance on and control, making low volume,high performance boards very difficult to learn on.

Expert SUP surfers can use a board volume as low as their body weight plus board, paddle, clothing and gear weight plus a few liters extra, or about 100 Liters volume for my body weight. At this volume the board will barely float when not moving. Some pros even use boards that don't float them when standing still, they need the dynamic lift created from moving through the water to keep them afloat, the board will sink if they stop paddling, with the board volume in liters slightly less than their body weight plus board and equipment weight in kg.

Once again: The body weight times two is only a rough guide to recommended volume as the width and volume distribution of the board has a bigger impact on how stable the board will be. Although we recommend buying a board that is challenging to balance on at first since your balance will quickly improve with practice, don't make the mistake of buying a board that is too small for your skill level as that can be very frustrating. The point is to have FUN!

The 14' x 28" x 6" Bump Rider is a downwind board with 284 Liters of volume

Aloha, Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Surfing on SUP raceboards is FUN!

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 07:25:00 +0000

Jeff Chang surfing his 14' Wet Feet Raceboard

Surfing on raceboards is a lot of fun and a great skill to practice if you want to get faster on downwind runs, since it's all about surfing the bumps. Surfing these big, long boards also allows you to catch and surf waves that others can't, which opens up all kinds of uncrowded spots and smaller waves that are barely breaking that you can catch from way outside,surf and ENJOY without a crowd.

These two videos are from our weekly SUP training group, in the first one we go over some tips on how to surf waves on long raceboards (sorry, the sound is not the best as the microphone was picking up the wind noise). The second video has action on the water with a voiceover going over some of the tips. We hope you enjoy the footage. If you like our videos, please subscribe to the blueplanetsurf youtube channel!

Part 1: On land coaching:

Part 2: On the Water- Surfing SUP race boards:

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

SUP tips for beginners: Videos that will help you avoid the most common mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 21:15:00 +0000

Between our Blue Planet SUP clinics and private and group lessons, we have helped hundreds of beginners learn how to SUP (stand up paddle). The best way to learn the basics and start having fun on the water with minimum frustration is by taking a lesson with a well qualified instructor that can help you learn proper technique from the start. If you don't have the opportunity to do that, the next best thing is to read up and watch instructional videos that will help you avoid common mistakes and don't let bad habits become engrained. Remember to make sure to learn the basics in calm, protected water before attempting to SUP in the surf, even if you are an experienced surfer, you are learning a new sport and have to learn the basics of using the paddle and balancing first.

One of our most popular videos on the blueplanetsurf youtube channel (please subscribe to our youtube channel to see our latest videos) is titled Introduction to Stand Up Paddling.
We recently added three more videos to our channel to help beginners get started in this great sport.

The first video is titled: SUP tips: Common beginner mistakes
This video goes over some of the common mistakes we often see when people paddle for the first time, including: getting on the board before it is in deep enough water, trying to stand on the board before kneeling first, going with the wind instead of into the wind, holding the paddle straight to go forward, holding the paddle backwards, hands too close together on shaft, not standing in the middle of the board.

The second video is titled: SUP Balance Tips for Beginners
This video gives some pointers to beginners that are struggling to stand up and balance on the board (it's not as easy as it looks!). Some of the points covered in this video: getting on the right equipment, centering weight over middle of board, getting the board moving before standing up, different ways of getting from kneeling to standing, using the paddle to brace and lowering center of gravity to help balance, balancing on smaller boards, moving around on the board, getting upright and looking forward, not down.

The third video is titled: SUP tips for beginners: Stoke Technique Drills
This video shows how to practice your stroke while standing in knee deep water and goes over getting good catch with the blade, getting good reach and ending stroke by the feet, feathering the blade at the release and during the recovery as well as using torso rotation to make your stroke more powerful.

This fourth video shows how to fall in safely, flip the board over and get back on easily:

Playlist: Watch our Introduction to SUP- tips for beginner Stand Up Paddlers playlist to watch all the videos we have put together to help you get started.

For more videos, including more advanced technique tips for intermediate and advanced paddlers, please also check to our playlist titled SUP technique videos (some of the videos are in both playlists).

Thanks for watching and remember to have FUN!

Aloha

Falling in is part of learning and part of the fun. This is the right way to fall if you do fall in: hold paddle away from body, fall into water, not onto the board, fall flat on the water surface so you don't go deep in case it's shallow.

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

A Short Note on the Recent SUP Surfing Controversy

noreply@blogger.com (Kelemoana) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 21:58:00 +0000

Everyone both stand up surfer and surfers on longboards and shortboards have been up in arms over the recent proposal to ban stand up surfing in traditional surfing areas. Here are a few things we should take into account. In a quick note, I do not SUP surf yet I believe SUP surfers can go where-ever they want (within reason). Why?

1) The surfing areas are regarded by law as a public commons. Thus technically all citizens have access to these public commons no matter what surf craft they ride.

2) Surfers already have and informal code on how to deal with stand up surfers who take too many waves.

3) Certain breaks allow SUP surfers culturally, and some breaks are hyper specific in relationship to who can surf SUP boards. NOTE! I don't make the rules, nor am I am saying if they are right or wrong.

Example: Tommy Chun Ming Is a Sup surfer at Kewalo that everyone loves.

A Note to Newcomers on SUPS

1) Before going out find an old time SUP surfer and ask them the specific cultural code in regards to etiquette on an SUP in relation to the specific surfing break.

2) Share the waves.

3) Wait in line for waves (refer to Social Surf Intelligence 2 in this blog)

4) Know your limits. If it's Hawaiian 6 feet and you don't know if you can handle, DONT GO OUT. I was run over by a QUAD SUP on a large day. It hurt. 4x the pain. The guy was a novice and should not have been out on a large day.

In the end we all have rights to the waves. Let us all pay attention in a Zen manner.

Social Surf Intelligence 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kelemoana) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:00:00 +0000

Social Surf Intelligence 2

There has been a lot of buzz about what is proper etiquette in the water. As an Anthropologist, I have noticed that surfers have their own set of un-said rules. These rules are set far apart from common law and are overlaid on public surf areas. I am not saying they are correct or incorrect. I just wish to indicate to a beginner what they are as they are customary.

1. When you paddle out at a semi uncrowded spot don't bring a “crew”. A crew is a bunch of people. Their is nothing worse to some surfers than seeing five people, Stand Ups or Regular Surfers paddling out at once if you are in the break. The usual rule is two people max. Three is pushing it but is possible. A trick to avoiding this unsaid rule is that if you come with a crew of 3+ people, paddle out in a staggered manner. Everyone trickles out, one or two people at a time with around 10 minute intervals. When it comes to myself, I usually surf by myself. This makes me popular.

2. If you are new to a break, start your surf off from the inside of the break. Many people don't realize that there is a line of people waiting for the waves. As we would not cut in line at the supermarket, we should not cut in line while waiting for the waves at the surf break. One off the most offensive infractions to some surfers is to observe another surfer paddle out and not wait in line and by sitting in front of everyone.

3. If you are on a Longboard or SUP you need to realize that you have an exponentially easy time catching waves. Because of this, make sure to observe who is getting waves and who is not getting waves. When a nice wave comes in, let the guy or girl not getting waves have it, even if you are in line to get the next set. People notice little “cool” acts like this and you will develop a good reputation.

4. Think in the long term. As I am on a longboard, I get waves easier than others. I can literally snake every single set that comes in during a 2 hour session and have a wonderful time at the cost of others. Yet that two hour greed-pig-out will make everyone hate me forever. I can take that same 2 hour session and wait in line share waves and cheer people on and be welcomed every time I choose to surf for the rest of my life.

Which will you choose?

Len Barrow

How to install fins on a Stand Up board and which fins to use.

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:51:00 +0000

If you have a new SUP or surf board and are not sure how to properly install and set up the fins, watch this video for tips on how to properly install them, different set up options, and how to set up the fins for different conditions.

Click here for more information on some of the fins shown in this video.

If you have fins that don't fit well, also check this post:
"If the fin don't fit"

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

Group downwind run videos with voice over coaching tips

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 09:50:00 +0000

Downwind coaching runs are most effective with one on one instructions but doing downwinders as a group is fun as well and a great way for those newer to downwind paddling to get into the sport and learn the fundamentals in a safe environment. When we have enough people interested in a group run, I offer coached runs for groups of up to 5 people. Last week we did two group downwinders, the first with five participants, the second with two (plus myself). Watch the videos for some tips for the fun downwind run from Portlock to Kahala.

Here are two videos of group downwinders from last week with coaching tips voiced over:

January 7th downwinder with Peter, Kyle, Allan, Linda, and Patricia:

January 10th downwinder with Sean and Hopper:

January 29th downwind group with:
Kyle, Jenn, Brett, Robert, Natalie, Sean

for more information on coached downwinders, visit this post:http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/2013/10/information-on-coached-downwind-runs.html

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik

Please let me know if you would like to be included in the coached group downwinder updates e-mail list:

http://blueplanetsurf.com/pages/contact-us

put your e-mail in the box below to subscribe to our weekly training group newsletter:

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

A Short Water Poem: Tears in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Kelemoana) — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 11:01:00 +0000

Here is a fairly random freestyle poem that I thought about while I was surfing. I thought that it would be nice to share on our blog. Enjoy!

Tears in the Rain

There was a tear.
The tear was angry, sad, frustrated and full of misunderstanding and fear
One day the tear realized that it was a drop of water in its original nature
Yet the tear was still angry, sad, frustrated and full of misunderstanding and fear

One day the tear saw the ocean
The tear angrily asked the ocean
Why are you so large?
Why are you so vast?
I hate you!
Why do you only have the nature of infinity while I must disappear?

The Ocean smiled in loving compassion and told the tear. “Those are only signs and symbols that you apply to me. Dear tear, do you not know that language makes all obscure. I am but you and you but me”.

The tear was startled yet with deep courage and tremendous
compassion; the tear dove in to the sea and found the truth.
No longer to suffer in anger, sadness, frustration and misunderstanding
Serenely and playfully abiding in inter-being and bliss.

Stand Up Paddle Technique Part 8: Buoy Turn, Pivot turn, Crossbow turn

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 05:44:00 +0000

Buoy turns

In SUP races with many turns you will find that most changes in positioning often happen in the turns, not in the straightaways, where it can take a huge amount of physical effort to pass another competitor. Fast turns require mostly good technique, balance and skill and less physical conditioning, so practice is important.

In Hawaii, most races are straight downwind with few turns involved. When I went to my first Battle of the Paddle, I realized how important the turns and transitions were in these races and how my skills were lacking in that department. I started to really focus on practicing faster turns.

Fast turns require skill, strategy, the right equipment, and luck.

Pivot Turn

Turning fast is an important skill to practice. Training for speed in the straightaways is not enough to do well in many races, you need to practice the turns and transitions as well. Good turning skills will also help in the surf. Generally speaking, the more you can move your weight back on the board, the easier it will be to turn it. The goal is to move your weight to the back of the board, with the back foot close to the fin and lifting the front of the board out or the water. This will allow you to swing the board around quickly. The pivot turn takes good balance and lots of practice. The goal is to smoothly walk or jump your feet back without rocking the board side to side while keeping your weight over the centerline of the board to keep it level in the water. You use your paddle to make a sweeping steering stroke to swivel the board around the fin and then quickly move your weight back forward to your trim position to accelerate out of the turn. Brace with your paddle and bend your knees to stay low for balance. The pivot turn takes a lot of practice to master so if you are not comfortable with it yet, use the crossbow turn until you are.

Crossbow Turn

While the pivot turn is the fastest, it is also risky ask it puts you in a tippy positions where you can lose your balance or get knocked off. Whatever you do, you want to avoid falling in, so depending on your equipment, conditions and skill level, it may be safer to keep your weight forward in a parallel or slightly staggered stance and complete the turn using your paddle. The goal is to avoid paddling backwards at all costs as this will really slow down your forward momentum. The crossbow or cross-over turn works well to initiate the turn. The paddle is reached past the nose to the other side of the board without changing the grip position. The blade is pulled towards the nose of the board then lifted over the nose and followed by a sweeping steering stroke. The angle of the blade to the water is very important when turning and you want the steering action to be as close to the front of the board as possible to make it most effective.

Strategy and luck come into play when many competitors try to make a turn at the same time. Generally speaking the inside line closest to the buoy is preferable and you should plan ahead and set up your approach to the buoy in a good position relative to your competitors if possible. Approaching the turn is no time to be feeble, you want to assert your position and not let yourself get pushed aside. That said, being close to the buoy also puts you at risk of getting rammed, boxed in or stuck behind another board or paddler in the water. When a turn gets very crowded, a wider turn that avoids others can be the fastest route. At BOP style races, waves are another factor that need to be considered. It’s always a good idea to paddle the course as a warm up and make yourself familiar with the turns. Make sure the rope holding the buoy can’t snag the fin, I have seen that happen a few times.

Equipment is important too, wider boards with wider tails make pivot turn easier while narrow boards with streamlined pintails may be faster in the straightaways, they make it much more difficult to balance on the tail in a pivot turn. Likewise, big fins with wide bases and lots of rake may make the board track better in a straight line but also make the board harder to turn. These are some compromises to consider and in a race with lots of turns you may want to sacrifice some straightaway speed and choose a more stable board with a wider tail and a smaller, easier to turn fin.

Races can have many different kinds of turns: left and right hand turns and variables such as wind, current, waves and the angle of the turn, some are 90, others 180 degrees. It helps to be prepared and practice many variations of turns to make sure you are comfortable turning the board you will race on. Practice makes perfect.

Here is a video from one of our weekly coaching/ time trials where we practiced buoy turns with narrated coaching tips. This is not a demonstration of perfect buoy turns but rather a demonstration of common mistakes.

This is a good video of Straboard team rider Beau O'Brian demonstrating the kick turn:

Links to the paddle technique series posts on Zen Waterman:

Paddle Technique Part 0: Introduction to SUP

Paddle Technique Part 1: Choosing the Right Paddle

Paddle Technique Part 2: The Three Ingredients of a Powerful Stroke
Paddle Technique Part 3: Stacking the Shoulders

Paddle Technique Part 4: Reach and Catch

Paddle Technique Part 5: Recovery, Paddle Length and Grip

Paddle Technique Part 6: Turning the Board
Paddle Technique Part 7: Catching Waves

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

Zen, Compassion and the Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (Kelemoana) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Zen, Compassion and the Ocean

I came upon a beautiful story. A well to do individual managed to get an audience with the Dalai Lama. He asked the Lama how to become a Buddhist as the individual wanted to become a practitioner. The Dalai Lama gave him an amazing answer that informs me to this day. He stated “We don’t need any more Buddhists, we need more compassionate people". I think this is key to understanding any tradition including Zen Buddhism. In the end, with Zen Buddhism, there really is not too much to talk about. I believe that the Dalai Lama was indicating that we don’t necessarily need more Buddhists or Zen folks,or whatever religion may manifest. What we do need is more kind and compassionate people to solve the problems of our being and the horrendous thing we are doing to the physical and social environment.

An incident reminded me of the need for more kind folks in the world. In our current social state, many people are concerned only about their selves. It is very difficult to come across a truly compassionate person. When I do run in to a wonderful being like this I really take time out to see how they are helping the world. This should be one of the inspirations of any person who is studying the Zen path, as Zen done for one’s own self benefit exclusively is akin to drinking the worst poison to destroy your life. Therefore, If we are on the Zen path, let us become filled with compassion and dedicate ourselves to the others wellbeing in the fashion of a bodhisattva, or being of great compassion.

The following story is a wonderful vision that I had some time ago which involved a very ill girl and a kind man. My observation of this behavior filled me with joy. It was as if I was watching a saint or bodhisattva at work. This is how the experience played out.

One day recently, a woman asked me if I worked with Na Kama Kai (A Foundation to promote Hawaiian culture and ocean awareness and safety). She said that I looked familiar. I quickly remembered that she was the mother of a severely ill and handicapped girl of about 10. She had come to NaKamaKai as no one would take her child into the water due to liability/fear or what have you. No School, no one. The child really wanted to get into the water. Despite her illness she was very bright minded and sought Duane Desoto out as she was determined to attain her goal. The little girl literally asked Duane if she could take her out into the water. Without hesitation, Duane quickly responded “of course” and grabbed a large board. He gently placed her on the board and began paddling with one hand. She sat securely with Duane holding on to her with his right arm as he used his left arm to paddle the board. I was watching intently at Duane’s behavior and I was delighted by it. I observed him quietly teaching her about the ocean in a soft tone of voice. They went out quite a distance in Moanalua bay. It was so beautiful that it happily brought tears to my eyes.

The mother has since told me that her daughter was unfortunately quite ill and in hospice. But she told her mother something wonderful and this is the message that she wanted me to convey to Duane Desoto. The mother said that,Duane taking her into the water was a changing point in her life. She told her mother “I was never able to walk, I was never able to stand up, but I got to be in the beautiful ocean thanks to that nice man.” Duane, you are a saint, bodhisattva or what have you.

It really does not matter what religion you are. Again as the Dalai Lama said, we don’t need any more Buddhists (or what have you) we need more compassionate people. Right on Duane. Let’s all take a little time to go out of our way and consider the other that is less fortunate than us, and follow the examples that kind people set all over the world. Let us make this one of the foundations of our precious life. I believe that this is one of the keys to Zen.

My father’s last words: “You find the truth in yourself, kindness and compassion”. We will all be on our deathbeds. Let us live well so we may manifest the seeds of kindness beyond death. It is really quite simple.

Information on Coached Downwind Runs with Blue Planet

noreply@blogger.com (Zen Waterman) — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 08:13:00 +0000

If you are interested in learning how to do downwinders on Oahu or want to improve your bump riding skills and timing to go faster with less effort, please consider a private downwind coaching session on Oahu's south shore with Robert Stehlik. The most common south shore run for experienced paddlers is the Hawaii Kai to Kaimana Beach (Waikiki) run.

For beginner downwind paddlers, the Hawaii Kai to Kahala run is better suited for learning downwind paddling as going around Black Point and Diamond Head can be very challenging when you are starting out.

Hawaii Kai to Kahala downwinder GPS track, approx. 5 miles

For the coached Kahala run, we usually meet in Kahala at the Waialae beach park and take a look at the the reef to go over where the channel is and what to look for when coming in. Coming in through the reef at Kahala is one of the most challenging parts of the run and can be dangerous, especially on a low tide, so please don't attempt this by yourself without someone that knows where to go.
We leave one car at the finish in Kahala then drive to Hawaii Kai where the downwind run starts. We then spend some time going over some downwind basics, tips, drills, equipment, and stretching before going into the water. Below is a map of the meeting place in Kahala and a google map that shows the run. You can zoom into the meeting place called Waialae Beach Park, just before the Kahala Mandarin Hotel.

Waialae Beach Park, the meeting place for the Hawaii Kai to Kahala Run

View Kahala beach downwind coaching meet here in a larger map

Below is a video of a recent coached downwind run:

If you are planning to do a coached downwinder, click the link and watch the videos with downwind tips for the Hawaii Kai to Kaimana run:
http://www.supthemag.com/videos/downwind-coaching-while-downwinding/

For pricing and to book a coached downwinder, please call Blue Planet Surf Shop at 808 596 7755 or visit:

http://blueplanetsurf.com/products/downwind-coaching-hawaii-kai-to-kahala-downwinder

A video of your downwinder is available on request (please ask to have it filmed at the time of booking).

Posing after a successful Kahala run with our 14' Blue Planet Bump Rider boards

For referrals from past participants, please check some of the reviews on Tripadvisor:

13 reviews of Private SUP lessons/ coaching with Blue Planet in Honolulu

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

Zen Waterman

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A Short Water Poem: Tears in the Rain

Stand Up Paddle Technique Part 8: Buoy Turn, Pivot turn, Crossbow turn

Zen, Compassion and the Ocean

Information on Coached Downwind Runs with Blue Planet