We've been holding onto this footage since our trip to Utah for the H2Overdrive race this summer. We had some down time in between races and trade shows, so spent a few hours before dark filming Thomas stand up paddling around the small lake/pond in Park City... Utah in the summer is a great place to be. Enjoy!
Watch in HD for maximum viewability...
Here at Riviera we have been fortunate to have a great group of team riders, and are stoked to welcome David James Elliot and Royce Gracie to the team. Both of them are accomplished profesionals in their lines of work, and now Stand Up Paddlers. You may know David from his acting career and TV Series Jag and Royce Gracie is a world renowned MMA Fighter. They are paddling buddies and have been cruising their new 404 Floaters and Riviera Vantage Paddles...
We've been trying to get them to come enter a race, so in the near future you might have David James Elliot and Royce Gracie drafting you on Riviera Raceboards... Watch your back!
Make sure you check out Davids new show "Good Christian Bells" on ABC this March.
Riviera team rider Travis Baptiste was featured in the winter issue of SUP Magazine. If you haven't seen it yet, go pick up the magazine.
Ron has been hard at work trying to build the best All-Around Stand Up Paddleboard... and now we are pleased to introduce the Ron House 12'6" Coastal Cruiser. We had our team riders put this board through rigorous testing and there is nothing it can't do... It works good in flat water, great downwind, stable in rough conditions, and has a shortboard outline and good amount of nose rocker enabling it to surf better than the average 12'6". It is also equipped with 6 leash plugs on the nose so you can tie down all your gear when departing on an excursion. If we had to put it in one category it wouldn't let us.
Kite4Kids 2011 is set for November 5th at Treasure Island Beach, Florida. This event promises to be a fun filled family day at the beach with activities planned for any age and any level of watersports enthusiast, Including a Kite Board Race and SUP Race. Participation helps raise money for All Children’s Hospital of St. Petersburg. If you just want to come out and spectate, there will be Kite Clinics and an SUP clinic by Riviera's Helga Goebel one of Florida's top Female SUP Racers.
Chck out their website to get more info on the event BY CLICKING HERE Kite4Kids.com
During this years Battle of the Paddle 2011 the beach was jam-packed with pro athletes, sponsors, and big industry names. The Rivi crew was privileged to witness the grand spectacle of all these veterans as they raced past our booth toward the finish line. Although this was a treat, we had an even greater privilege of meeting the spectators, intrigued first timers, and hearing their amazing stories.
Our Riviera Raffles connected us with one special woman in particular. Lee Kaplan, hailing from San Diego California ended up winning the grand raffle prize, a brand new Riviera 11’6!
In handling the delivery of her loot we got to talking about the extent of her water sports background and came to the conclusion that she was “born with gills”. Originally from South Africa, Lee moved to Boston and played Underwater Hockey and Underwater Orienteering for the University. She also traveled with the spear fishing teams and took up that hobby as well. After she saw the look on my face, she kindly explained what these sports were and all the endurance they entailed.
Needless to say she was a perfect candidate to win the board, not to mention she’s been dying to start but didn’t have the equipment. We were blessed to meet this young lady and feel confident she will continue to pay us visits, bringing in crazy stories of her aquatic lifestyle. Lee currently enjoys living in San Diego and has even made plans to race this coming winter season as well as the Battle of the Paddle 2012. To accomplish her goals of racing she’s hired a coach and trains daily with the new board. We’re proud to have you on a Riviera board Lee and Good Luck!
Posted By: Kirsten Mattingley
Drew Brophy just sent us a bunch of photos from his trip to Puerto Escondido... He's been going there for about 20 years now and recently started SUP surfing it. He went down there with a Ron House 9'0, and a 10'6" gun, and they both were casualties of the 12-15 ft. surf... Check out the photo's below and Click HERE to read the full story of his trip to Puerto, and some of the artwork he did for the locals...http://drewbrophy.com/
It’s hard to believe that after last years Battle of the Paddle anything could possibly top it but this years BOP took paddling to yet another level. Participation was up with between 900 to a 1000 paddlers entered in all 7 events. It was truly an international event with paddlers coming from almost every corner of the globe. All three SUP mags were on hand to document the event, interviewing athletes and visiting with their advertisers. The number of vendors in the Expo was also up over last year with many new companies vying for a place in the rapidly expanding SUP market.
The elite race format changed this year due to the large number of paddlers wanting to participate. This year there were 2 qualifier heats where the first 50 % of the field would advance to the main event. The qualifier heats really changed things as some of the really skilled athletes did not make the cut do to collisions, missing sets and slower paddlers in the line. The elite race was as exciting as ever and once the first lap was over it was clear who the 3 strongest paddlers were. Danny, Conner and Jamie were in a real dogfight all the way to the finish line with Conner pulling ahead to take first place, Jamie 2nd and Danny in 3rd.
Sunday they tried to get the distance race started promptly at 9am but due to the large number on contestants they had to widen the start line to accommodate everyone. The conditions were calm as the horn blew and 223 paddlers headed for San Clemente pier. It wasn’t long before they were out of site. After about an hour you could finally see little specks on the horizon returning to Doheny. The announcer confirmed what we had been thinking that yes it was Danny Ching in the lead followed by Rob Rojas. As they rounded the final buoy and headed for the beach the crowd went crazy cheering Danny and Rob on. Danny Ching finished 1st with a winning time of 1:17 followed by Rob Rojas with a time of 1:17:42 3rd place went to Travis Grant and 4th place to Jamie Mitchell.
I think the high light of the day for the spectators was the Kids race. The groms are always a treat because their enthusiasm is infectious and the crowd really gets behind them.
All the kids have a great time and It’s fun watching the parents cheering the little ones on.
The last event of the day was the team relay race. All teams consist of 4 people 3 men and 1 woman except Danny Ching's team. Danny decided to race with all kids. And they did quite well by finishing 35th out of a field of 43 adult teams.
The day wrapped up with the awards ceremony followed by an after party at the Rogue house in San Juan…
Big thanks to Sparky, Rainbow Sandals, Gerry Lopez, Barrett Tester, Pat Huber, Kelly French and their entire staff of volunteers for putting on another great event.
The Super Bowl of SUP
Below are some photos from the event... Stay tuned for the Video.
posted by - Mike Muir
