The event was hosted by ‘Custom’ and featured many names and faces from the stand up and surfing world showing the latest gear available.The Oxbow Stand up paddle endurance race had to be cut short to 5 miles from 10 but that did not stop the 20 competitors paddling it out against each other in a very challenging sideshore windy sea.

The event was won easy by Hawaii’s own Ekolu Kalama and in 2nd Wales’s own Elliot Dudley then followed by Mark slater 3rd.

Sunday was a washout unfortuntately with most of the stands packing away by midday because of the strong wind and wet conditions- But we’ll be back Next year for sure- maybe the hawaiian will meet fierce opposition ! then again maybe not !
See the photos of the event below

Oxbow flags flapping in the sunshine

I had a go on the Brush boarding machine which was suprisingly easy and great fun!

What beach event isnt the same without the signature beach buggie

Bill Attlee with his Escape SUP boards.

My good friend olly made an impression with kids and adults at the event - keep popping olly

Bill, Nick and Guts spent most of the weekend sat on their asses chin wagging taking in the sunshine - we all did !

The 2nd round of the British Stand Up Paddle Association (BSUPA) 2008 series takes place over the weekend of June 14/15th at Gwithian Beach Cornwall.
Come on down to check things out - Mingle with the UK’s finest SUP crew !

The most addictive sport to hit the U.K shores, Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) is shown in the media as being enjoyed on the coast prodominantly however SUP’s are superb platforms for exploring any stretch of water coastal or inland. Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) is a fun sport for all the family and a great way to keep actively fit , chuck waves into the equation and you’ve got a sport that will get anyone hooked.

The paddle was awesome with Seals basking in the midday sun and schools of bass passing under our boards, it took us at leisure 2 hours to paddleboard to the worm catch a few small waves just off the Worms head and then paddle back.

The ‘Prosport Sunscreen’ we all used was fantastic at keeping the sun from burning our faces while we sweated and messed around with the seals in the water.Prosport 8 hour waterproof sunscreen has been developed for people who lead an active lifestyle, yet do not want to constantly have to reapply sunscreen it comes in various SPF factors check it here Prosport sunscreen.

We then enjoyed a great little paddlesurf session at Rhossilli with 1-2 ft waves and no one in the water, it really go’s to show how versatile SUP boards can be!!

Paddlesurfing the infamous ‘Bitches’ in Pembrokeshire

On Monday I got the Call from Olly at BigBluekitesurfing ‘You Keen’ ?

I had heard of the spot but had not personally seen it, so after a excited ‘yes’, I got straight onto youtube to find some video footage so I could be mentally prepared.There are plenty of fishermen’s tales about ‘The Bitches’ and some which misrepresent what is out there - for better or worse. It is rare for a first time Bitcher to come back having experienced what they were expecting. For those dragged along ‘because it’s good for you’, eyes may still be out on stalks, whilst hardened big water paddlers maybe relieved at the lack of mermaids snatching at their decks.In short it is a standing wave caused by the fast flowing tides funelled between the mainland and Ramsey island in pembrokeshire.

Kayakers have been surfing it for years however we believe we were the first ever to Stand up paddlesurf it and it was a really exhilerating experience and so much fun.

We actually cheated and got a ride out to the spot in a Zapcat but the Hardcore kayakers will paddle from the mainland and information on how to, when and where can be found at the The Bitches website.(the-bitches.co.uk)The Bitches website
If a paddlesurfer was to attempt the paddle over to ‘the bitches’ they would want to make sure they had the stamina to make it back, Its definately no joke out there, and we were thoroughly knackered after all the paddling especially after a unsuccesful wave/wipeout which meant you could be swept 100m away from the wave unless you could recover the board quick enough.
The Bitches can work on all tides, big tides however ( 6.5m and above) are the most powerful and can produce standing waves 8ft tall , but we believed this to be a kayakers 8ft so SUP ‘ers 4ft which is still a fair size.

It took us around an hour to get the place wired and figure out how best to ferry glide over to the peak or drop back onto the wave by paddling off a nearby rock, but by the 2nd hour the place was firing and the Pocket or ‘Hole’ as the kayakers call it was really starting to show. Our first attempts were laughable and we soon figured out the best method to get on the super clean 3ft face, however as most SUP boards are pretty big, getting the board over to the ‘Hole’ was great, trying to keep a 12ft board in there was even harder.

Olly was all over it, the Naish 11′6 with its huge volume and rocker line was the perfect tool for the job, even the kayakers seemed interested in having a go and especially in my carbon paddle.We exchanged waves for 3 hours and left stoked vowing to return on the next big spring tide.So Anything is possible on a SUP- Move over the revolution is coming !

In terms of equipment needed to SUP a standing wave a leash is definately needed aswell as an impact vest and decent warm wetsuit, You may also want to take a larger board out as some standing waves break so fast that unless you have a board with good flat water paddling speed it becomes very hard to mimic the waves pace.I found this out while using my Gongsup 10′2 greedy which did’nt quite have the paddle speed to successfully get onto the waves.The 12ft No friend attitude or the 11ft Jimmy lewis allrounder would have been perfect out there. If you attempt to paddle over; a VHF radio and a onshore friend to watch your treacherous paddle back would not go a miss either.