404 SUP and Riviera Paddles Team Rider Brian Haag recently made a trip down to baja. As you can see from the picture above, Brian has the ultimate Baja rig and is not afraid to use it... Check out the photos below of Brian scoring good surf and exploring Baja Mex. Like always, we'd love to share the GPS coordinates of these spots, but when you find it yourself it will be that much better!
Last weekend we headed down Puerto Rico for the Rincon Beachboy event. It was a great turnout with over 250 paddlers in attendance. The Riviera Team did well in the race, and had a great time hanging out with the Verde Azul crew. They showed us around PR, we did some exploring, and even got in a downwinder. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place, and we can't wait to come back...
RESULTS:
Thomas Maximus 4th place mens elite 14 on his new T-Max 14'
Adrian Garcia 3rd place mens elite 12.6
Brandon Rambo 6th place mens elite 12.6
Bryan 1st place in Grom race.
Check out a video recap of the event here! https://vimeo.com/64200256
The US SUP Tour invaded HB last weekend for some SUP racing and SUP Surf Competition. After our sucess at the Santa Cruz Shootout, we couldn't pass up another SUP Surf Contest. We had almost the whole team enter including Karl Ring, Tommy Lloy, Joe Aaron, Matthew Hughes, Drew Brophy, and Mike Baker... Even Christian Fletcher did the comp on his custom T. Patterson Rising Sun.
The comp saw good waves and some stacked competition. Our guys did well with Mike Baker winning the open division, and Tommy Lloy taking 3rd... Both on the T. Patterson Rising sun! Check out the video highlights and photos below!
SUP Surf steamer lane with 4 of your friends... Yes please.
Making the trip north for the Santa Cruz Shootout was an easy decision, we made some calls and got the crew together including Drew Brophy, Mike Baker, Tommy Lloy, Erik Anderson, Brandon Rambo, and Taylor Rambo and headed North. We departed San Clemente at around 4am with about 10 SUP boards 2 trucks and all the gear. We stopped at a few spots looking for surf and ended up getting some stormy surf before Big Sur.
We arrived in Santa Cruz that afternoon and had a quick session at the lane. The next morning we met up with Jeff Clark and checked the surf. The waves were perfect, and we couldn't believe they were gonna let a bunch of stand up paddlers run heats all day. We won't bore you with the details but all the boys placed first in their heats so we headed north to find some waves to ourselves. We went to a spot Jeff knew and there was tons of swell, but it was stormy with 25kt onshore winds... It looked cold and dark but there was still 1 guy and 2 whales out in the lineup. Brandon, Jeff Clark, and Drew Brophy paddled out for a few waves then called it a day.
Riviera Custom boards, for years have only been available to the Riviera Team and R&D. Now we are making them available to you.
With our US-made Custom SUP Program we can tailor any of our shapes to your size and preference. You also have the option to change colorways, and glass schedules. The benefit of a Riviera Custom is Performance and Lightweight. Browse our available shapes HERE or contact us with any questions regarding Custom Riviera SUP's and we can help pick the right board for you. Ask us what our Team is riding!
Email us with any questions at - custom@rivierapaddlesurf.com
Taylor Rambo & Thomas 'Maximus' working on the T-Max 14' Raceboard - Available for custom orders Spring 13'
Since we posted
Part 1 of the Ecuador trip,
the crew made it back to California with thousands of photos and a ton
of video. Here is a couple of our favorite shots from the trip...Stay
tuned for the video!
Tommy's Ecuador quiver... Riviera 8' kids softtop, T. Patterson 8'2 Rising Sun, another T. Patterson 8'2 Rising Sun, and a Riviera 8'2 Commanche Custom
Tommy on the nose...
We are proud to announce the newest members to the Riviera Family, The Brother
team "Joe Aaron" and "Jordan Thomas" known as the
"JOJO BROS". The JOJO Bros are accomplished Longboarders, Artists, Designers, and the list goes on... Check out their team page HERE, and for more info on their art and other ventures check out JOJOBROS.com
Here is a short clip they put together riding the 2013 Riviera 9'2" NUGG. The redesigned NUGG is becoming the board of choice for our team riders because it is great for nose riding.
Drew Brophy isn't afraid of huge waves or long drives, so we weren't surprised when he made the trip up to Oregon for the Nelscott Reef Challenge. Below are some photos and video from his trip, with captions by Drew.
Drew on a bomb... Nelscott Reef, video by Bruce Topp. (Drew riding the Ron House 10'6" Gun.)
Oregon or Bust...
At Pirate Coffee fueling up for #NelscottReef Ready to go
Giant shorebreak and frigid water...
Ian demonstrating where not to be.
"This is Ian Wallace trying to score the south reef before dark, he got mowed twice before scoring a nice one in." -Drew Brophy
Tommy Lloy on his T. Patterson 8'2 Rising Sun.
While your slaving away in the real world, Brandon Rambo and Tommy Lloy are enjoying the warm water and weather in Ecuador with Photog's Erik Anderson and Jon Steele.
Erik sent us a few photos last night and this message...
"Killing it here in Ecuador. Here are a few shots for the blog. The weather has not been cooperating. Surf and good weather appear to be on the horizon though. Went north today to find a few different waves. Scouted spots for the coming swell."
Stay Tuned for more updates on the trip!
Getting There...
Brandon on his Custom 8'2 Machete
Cody from Finger Lakes Paddleboard, demonstrating why the Riviera Inflatable is so versatile.
Skate to the water carrying your paddle, 10'6" SUP, and Dog while
filming the whole trip on your Go-Pro... Try that with a traditional
SUP.
If your in the NY or FL area Check out Finger Lakes Paddleboard for all your paddling needs...
What sets this board apart from a traditional SUP is it's Durability, Size, and Weight.
The Riviera Inflatable is the board of choice for River paddlers and Boaters where bouncing of rocks is mandatory. This go anywhere cruiser comes in at 21Lbs & 28Lbs in backpack with Pump and Repair Kit, making it perfect for travel.
Check out this video of Thomas making quick work of the 1.8 Mile ride up to Angora Lake with his inflatable SUP and Paddle.
Mathew Hughes, the newest addition to the Team with his Riviera quiver.
9'2" NUGG, 8'6" Machete, Custom 7'2" NUGG, and Riviera Vantage 8.5 Paddles.
Matthew SUP Surfing the Riviera 9'2" Nugg...
The Nugg has been redesiged for 2013 making it more maneuverable in the surf, but still as stable as ever.
The H20 Overdrive race went off today, It was an awesome event. Locals and Elite paddlers from all over the world were in attendance. Congrats to 404 Team Rider/Owner Danny Ching who took the win for the second year in a row.
Thomas "Maximus" Lobster diving from his Riviera 12'6" Voyager.
We had been wanting to do this shoot for a while, and finally all the pieces fell together. Thomas had his Voyager already rigged and we knew we were going to have a full moon that week. My plan was to have 2 boats to shoot from, 1 with the Pro Photo strobe hooked up to the Honda Generator, and then I'd be on top of Boat #2 shooting pictures. We headed out of Dana Point Harbor at around 6 loaded with crew of set designers's, key grip's, and stunt coordinator's including Mike Muir, Thomas Shahinian, Jeff Bush, Mickey Munoz, Brad Rambo, and myself Taylor Rambo... We hit a few spots and shot a few photies until the moon decided to rise over the hills of San Clemente and we pinned it to Seal Rock where the ad was shot. We shot a handful of photos until all the lobster were sufficiently stunned from the flashing, then thomas jumped in and bagged a few.
Here are a few shots from the trip. To check out the Voyager click HERE!
post/photos by: Taylor Rambo
