140 Boating Seminars at the Seattle Boat Show, Jan 21-30 2011..

The upcoming Seattle Boat Show has 140 seminars on not only where to take your boat (or SUP) in the NW, but also everything from' night navigation', 'ocean voyaging', and 'intro to marine weather skills', to understanding 'aids to navigation.' Lots of options for learning how to paddle our inland and coastal waterways. Check it out here.

Great article on the state of SUP design by Tom Hanny..

Seattle paddler Tom Hanny recently started 'Never Start Paddling' a great new blog that like Stoke observes the SUP and paddling industry, etc. His article, 'Thinking Past the Surf Zone and Beyond the Race Course' is a brief study of the future of SUP board design. More HERE.

SUP'ing Rain Fed Streams in Cental Coast Cali

Winter in central coast Calfornia means rain, which turns creeks into streams and sometimes into rivers. Here's a classic bunch of images from friends Vince Shay and Fletcher Burton near San Luis Obispo who are searching for whitewater action near their homes. Vince is a top of his game surf kayaker and photographer. Fletcher is a team paddler for Tomahawk SUPs and has been standing up on his waveski for over a decade.

On Vince's Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1645882221249&set=a.1645875501081.125415.1062691446

Carrying Your Board - Tail Lift Carry

There's several ways to carry your board. SUPs are large, often heavy, and can be difficult for some folks to carry solo. The Tail Lift Carry makes it easy to lift a board from one end to put on your head or to carry on your shoulder.

Check out my Tail Lift Carry article on SUP Magazine online -
http://www.supthemag.com/skills/board-basics-carrying-your-board/

30 Tips of Winter Paddling / SUP Magazine online

Check out my article online at SUP Magazine on "30 Tips for Cold Weather Paddling', HERE.

Best Ding Repair in the NW

After a year of hearing paddler's opinions of where to get ding repair, these three options seem to be favorites:

- Mountains 2 Sound Outfitters in West Seattle (Also Alki Kayaks).

- Jeff Abandonato, former owner of the Cheka Looka Surf Shop. His new business, Stoke Mender has a few good reviews. He's based in Montlake Terrace. http://stokemender.blogspot.com

- Steve DeKoch, Hemel Board Company, Seattle. Steve also makes hollow moulded SUPs. He has a service where he can vacuum water out of boards. http://hemelboardco.com

- Bobby Arzadon, Perfect Wave Surf Shop, Kirkland, WA: http://perfectwave.com/

- Rhonda Schwab, Kayakers Go Coastal, Auburn, WA (kayaks and boards): http://www.kayakersgocoastal.net/
Tel 253.735.9402; rhondagschwab@comcast.net

- In Port Angeles, Bill Isenberger (kayaks, boards, etc): isenberger0360@msn.com

Dave Kalama article on using as much reach as possible..

This is another great article by Dave Kalama on using as much reach as possible in your strokes. Most of the power in your strokes will be in the nose of the board, more here:

http://www.davidkalama.com/2010/11/19/reach-dammit-reach/

Safe Surfing Tips -

Check out my article on SUP Connect on 'How to be Safe Standup Paddle Surfing'

Click Here.