Surfing Stand Up Paddle Boards: Northern Baja

There's a lot more to this little Northern Baja stand up paddleboard surgical strike- but let me give you the critical elements: Sunshine, empty waves, plates full of lobster... and did I say empty waves already? Here's a couple shots of CreedCrew Team Members Manny V. and T-Moe scoring in Northern Baja:

CreedSUP Team Rider Manny V. on the 8'4 Pumpkin Seed... trunking it and undoubtedly laughing his head off.

Here's one for all you ladies out there who dream of surfing your Creed paddleboard... it can be done! That board under your feet not only looks great, it was born to surf. Check out T-Moe letting the big Talon run down the line.

Welcome to the CreedSUP team Tyra Moe!

We've got a new Creed team member! Let me give you a little background info about her: 2008 Tyra was part of a three person team racing 14' stand ups from Catalina Island to Dana Point (that's 37 open ocean miles folks), shortly after Tyra and friends paddle the entire circumference of Lake Tahoe, 2012 I see the Imperial Beach Fire Department's giant red truck parked in front of my house- Tyra's driving it. Wait what? Yep, Tyra's checked out to drive the big red water pumper.

We're stoked to bring Tyra on not only is she a fun loving, powered up adventure seeker she's also a positive role model for all those women paddler's out there who dream of big things in stand up paddling. Get ready because you're going to be seeing a lot more of Tyra here and out in the water!

That's Tyra's dog Seppo up front... and that's the beautiful blue, warm water of the Arizona desert.

Na Koa Kai Stand Up Paddle Race for the Keikis

The Creed Crew was in full force at the Na Koa Kai race this weekend. If you made it out on Sunday, you know that the conditions were blustery and chilly. The weather didn't stop the competitors from going at it on the 2.5 mile course. Short courses like this are tough because there's no taking it easy, you don't ever get a chance to settle into a rhythm, it's all out sprint racing from start to finish. Add to that the strong, in your face winds constantly pushing back against your forward motion and the random crosschop from the Mission Bay boat traffic and you've got a challenging little race on your hands.

Creed's Manny Vargas charging to the lead off the beach. Manny paddled with the front runners up to the turning buoy where boat wakes dumped him from his Hono Elite. It's all part of racing and we're excited to see what Manny will do once he starts actually training for these things. That's the race's eventual winner, Robert Howson, in red. Photo Credit: Malari Mafia

Seal Beach's Robert Howson took first place overall on a stock 12.5' race board finishing in 21 minutes, 19 seconds. There were some theatrics right at the finish line when Robert stumbled and fell just feet from the finish with Rick Ranjo (14' class) just a couple yards behind him. Luckily, Robert pulled it together and scrabbled across to take the overall win. Creed's own Manny Vargas finished seconds behind the two leaders and took second place in the stock 12.5' class on the new Hono Elite. The Malari family showed up in big numbers (The Malari Mafia) and were not disappointed with David Malari posting a third place finish in the stock 12.5' category. Lone prone paddler Wes Stone gutted it out for an overall 4th place finish (1st in Prone), while Rick Ranjo, proving that you actually do only live once, soloed the 14' SUP class and took first in that division and second overall. Worth mentioning were the keikis who also raced the course, those are some brave, and strong, kids. Watch out for these little guys because rumor has it that Na Koa Kai will begin SUP race training soon. Most inspiring went to the mom's on the course, racing for the first time were Stephanie Hubner, Michelle Weinhouse and Maile Villanueva all finishers- way to go mom's!

Here's the official time sheet. Congratulations Robert Howson for winning the overall race on a stock 12.5' board!

Uncle Gus and the Na Koa Kai crew put on a super fun race, it was well organized and had that local flavor that only a canoe club can add to an event. Creed gave away a brand spanking new, Island Emboss, Kai 10' and the young girl who won it was beaming- stoked! Next year, we're looking for an even bigger turnout so be sure to keep your eyes open for this event, you won't want to miss it.

For you stand up paddle racers out there: Kill the Creep!

Just had a great weekend at the Na Koa Kai SUP race here in San Diego. In a great twist of fate, the Creed Crew got to help run the race and we devised our own starting procedure. Our goal? Kill the Creep. If you've been paddle racing you know what the Creep is- racers on the water will start slowly paddling for the starting line, creeping up on it even before the start signal is given. I hate it, it's totally unfair and lame. So we had our own way of doing things, we designed it to kill the creep. More on that start later but for now, I'm going to leave you with a piece I wrote about the Creep way back in 2011. Unfortunately, it would seem like the Creep is alive and well for 2013! Check it out:

In stand up paddle racing there are two types of competitors, those who lose and those who creep. If you've ever participated in a race with a water start, you know what I'm talking about. For the non-competitors out there, allow me to explain. A typical stand up paddle race begins in the water when the racers line up between two marks waiting patiently, in a straight line, for the starting gun to fire. Sounds like a great idea, right? Problem is, that's never how it actually works out.

Creepy guy.

 The racers have no problem getting out between the two buoys but the longer they wait, the more they begin to slowly move forward, anticipating the starting gun. Creeping. I've seen little creeps, the occasional dab of a paddle slowly moving racers past the starting line. And I've seen big creeps- guys paddling up-tempo, fully aware that the race hasn't started, pulling themselves yards in front of the other racers. Once the creep begins, there's no stopping it- it feeds on itself. Other racers see the creep building and like flesh eating bacteria it grows exponentially and rapidly. Often, once the creep has begun, you can look to your left and right and see racers in a full frenzy and in most cases- the biggest creepers will be the top finishers. They know the dirty racing secret: you either creep or you lose (just like I told you before). 

Creepy van.

 That's why we've got to kill the creep. If stand up paddle racing is ever going to be standardized and regulated in the manner proposed by organizations like the World Paddle Association (WPA), creep has to be identified and destroyed. I've got a couple of suggestions: 

1. Get rid of water starts. Mark out a section of the beach with two flags, line up all the competitors between them and sound the horn. This was how the Elite race was started at last year's Hennessey's International Championships at Mission Bay and at last year's Battle of the Paddle. Those starts were clean and the races fair. It's a central truth, the beach is no place for creeps.

2. Have the racers sit on their boards- nobody is allowed to be standing at the beginning of the race. The Paddle for Humanity, sponsored by Waterman's Applied Science incorporated this creep killing strategy- and it worked. This simple solution drives creeps crazy- more race directors should use it. 

These are two simple solutions that would greatly level the playing field for stand up paddle races. I would love to see the WPA incorporate anti-creep strategies directly into their bylaws. Creep sucks and the sooner we kill the creep, the better.

Hula Helper: She watches us pack every single paddleboard!

I'm fortunate in that I'm the part of the Creed Crew that gets to answer all of your online questions. From board sizing, to fin installation to how to tie a leash knot, I get to reply to all of you. Lately, I've had a couple inquiries about our paddleboard shipping methods- specifically, folks wanted to know how it is that our boards are so lovingly packed. If you've ordered one of our stand up paddle boards you've seen that the board comes with a little extra packing- we call it Boot Armor. As one writer said, "It looks as if the board was completely removed from the carton and then repacked and put back inside." Well, in fact, it was- but it wasn't because of us. It was because of the Hula Helper, check her out:

She's always watching- so no slacking off back there boys!

The Hula Helper hangs out in the shipping department and she keeps us all in line. Manny and Kipper have been directed by her to remove each board from its carton, inspect it for any damage, check rails and fin boxes and then add Boot Armor. Specifically, the boys place extra padding on the deck and belly of the board, then they rewrap them and put them back into their shipping cartons. It may seem like a little thing but this extra step saves our precious pieces of surf paddling art from any careless Vibram violation on the way to your doorstep. So next time you receive a beautifully intact 10' Creed SUP Kai in Island Emboss (that's the Hula Helper's favorite) drop the Hula Helper an email, she'd be stoked to hear from you.

Creed custom stand up paddleboards

Yes, you can. Yes, you can order a Creed shape in a custom color. I just learned about this... and I'm kind of blown away by it. Check out the first custom order we've ever done:

Let's see can you guess which of these is a custom paddleboard?

I learned that if you know what you'd like your board to look like, there's a good chance that we can get it built for you. Now, you should know that getting a custom stand up board made just for you isn't going to be an instant process- there will be a wait for it to get to us so we can send it to you. But the good news is that it can be done... so let your thoughts run wild and lets make something cool!

Union Tribune: CreedSUP Quality before Quantity

Wow! We just got a great write up in the Business Section of the Union Tribune! Go check us out here:

Great to know that our hard work is getting noticed- We WILL bring the best boards to you- that's a promise!