Baja Fresh!

Finally - I made it!

Well a new transmission, a new clutch, a new set of tires and 10 days on the road I finally pulled off the main highway and drove the last few kms to La Ventana.  I stopped in at Baja Joes to chat with the Elevation Kiteboarding School Gang from Lake Nihnat in BC and see if the free camping in the arroyo I had heard about was a good idea. They said it was fine and I rolled a bit further North and found a great spot in the second arroyo.  It was nice to see some familiar faces from Squamish at the arroyo as well as lots of other friendly folks.

My camp in the arroyo is pretty and has some bushes/trees for privacy, but it’s close to the main road, which is a bit noisy.  Happily the town goes to bed early so I haven’t had any issues sleeping.  Unlike my typical Baja trips that featured solitude and remoteness this one seems to be quite the opposite.  I can walk to some free showers, clean porcelain sit down toilets, wireless internet, multiple restaurants and bars as well as grocery stores.

On one hand It’s great to have so many services so close.  On the other it’s not a very quiet reflective sort of experience.  Given that I need to work on this trip having easy internet access is a good thing and if I wanted I could still stop at some of my more remote camp spots on the way back home.

Sun rise at La Ventana

I can see the Sea of Cortez from my camp and it’s a 60 second walk to the beach with my SUP or kiteboarding gear.  Some professional windsurfers from the US have setup a sun shelter right on the beach complete with a sectional sofa!  My first day here I sat down on the sofa, put my legs up on a stool and enjoyed several very cold beers.  Although kiteboarding isn’t as hardcore as bike touring the GDR it does come with several benefits like a beach front sofa and the tendency for bikinis to be present….=-)

Since I will be online daily Monday to Friday I guess I’ll be updating this blog a lot more than I had expected….

 

The fleet stashed out of the sun...

 

 

SUP Ladies?

Pretty in Pink?

How to get your lady stoked about Stand Up Paddkle boards?  Get one in pink or it could be lavendar…lol…need to verify at the beach and let her know so she can bring the appropriate paddling outfit….=-)

You can even get a matching paddle!

I stopped by Stand Up Paddle Sports in Santa Barbra California for some SUP therapy.  They had a huge selection of boards and accessories…sort of like SUP heaven…=-)  I got a spare paddle and some leashes as well as a bunch of spare fins and accessories like locks and bags for my SUPs.  I also scored the pinkish SUP in the photos.  It’s an 11′ x 30″ Bill Foote SUP that will be a good match for the used Starboard 11′2″ x 30″ SUP I got from The Easy Rider in Edmonton.  So I’ve got two all rounders that my GF and I can paddle together [naturally she'll want the pink one!] and I’ve got the 9′8″ x 30″ Starboard which is a dedicated surfing machine.

More pink SUP porn...=-)

I wish I had more time in Santa Barbara I would’ve liked a couple days of SUP surfing lessons.  I’ll mess around on my own in La Ventana and perhaps I’ll be able to fit some real surfing lessons in on my way home.

Note: all photos are from the Stand up Paddle Sports Blog

SUP Porn

Photo: Unique Media and Design

There is some great SUP action photography here.

SPT Lockable Tie Downs

SPT Tour 13' Lockable Tie Downs

If you need to leave big items on your truck at stops or overnight it’s nice to be able to lock them.  These SPT Pro Tour tie downs do just that.  They have two steel wire aircraft cables inside to prevent cutting and the lock also means once tightened they don’t slack off.  I’m using two sets of these at the moment and they work great.  Ideal for SUP boards and/or kayaks.

As with all locks a thief can and will get through them with time and the right tools.  This at least gives you protection from snatch and grab thieves.  I’ll be interested to see how the locking mechanism deals with saltwater in the air, dust, sand and gritty rain water on the highway.

Just a note that the manufacturer’s website lists a $90USD MSRP.  I got them for $60CDN so they are available for less if you shop around.

Features:

• 33mm U.V stabilized webbing
• 2 x hardened stainless steel cables
• Soft Santoprene protective casing
• Polished die cast buckle
• Weather resistant lock with dust shutter
• 4.0m strap

Adios Amigos – Surf’s Up!

Well everything for Baja is packed.  All my critical work is done and I’m heading south of the border Monday AM.  I hope everyone has a great winter, stays safe and enjoys the holidays.  I am not sure if I’ll be posting from Baja or not.  I may, but I don’t want to make any plans until I see how things work out at La Ventana.  I’ll be working on my laptop as it is for my “real job” so it’s hard to say whether I’ll be motivated to spend more time on a computer.

I’m really stoked to get a ton of hours on my kiteboard gear and learn to surf…not to mention rolling my Pugsley across miles of beach sand in search of cold beers n’ tacos!

How to size a SUP Paddle?

 

When you get your first stand up paddle [SUP] board you’ll need a couple things to get out on the water.  The most important of which is your paddle.  SUP paddles come in a wide range of sizes so it can be confusing when deciding which length to get.  Here are a few ideas I’ve picked up online for sizing your first paddle:

• for surf get a paddle 6″ – 8″ taller than you are
• for flat water get a paddle 8″ – 10″ taller than you are
• turn the paddle blade up and where the blade meets the shaft should be about eye height
• raise your arm straight in the air.  Measure from the ground to your wrist.  That’s the length of paddle you need.
• keep your paddle shaft long and secure the handle with electrical tape or shoe goo so it’s removable.  Use it and cut it down an inch or so at a time until you find the ideal length then epoxy it in.
• buy an adjustable paddle like the C4 Stendy shown in the video above.  Use it  until you settle on a length  you like.

I think the best idea above is to get an adjustable paddle first.  This lets you figure out your preferred paddle length before you invest in a fixed length paddle.  Since you may want a longer of shorter second paddle depending what you mainly do – surf or flat water – the adjustable  can fill that role and be a backup paddle in case you break your main paddle.  You’ll also be able to lend your SUP to a friend and size them with the adjustable paddle so they can have a comfortable experience. The downside with this approach is that a decent adjustable paddle costs as much as a high quality fixed length paddle so you’ll have to spend twice the $$ the first time unless you know a friend or a SUP dealer who might lend or rent you an adjustable paddle.

Olympus Stylus 850SW Update

Olympus Stylus 850SW Waterproof Camera

I just received my Stylus 850SW back from Olympus Canada. The LCD screen has been replaced for sure.  I’m not sure what other work may have been done as there was no paperwork sent back with the camera explaining what action was taken.  I have to give them credit.  They did the repair and had the camera back in the mail to me 3 days after receiving it.  That’s darn fast.  I’m glad to have this camera back and to be headed to Baja with two waterproof digital cameras.  I’m all about redundancy and back ups.

Thanks for the fast warranty service Olympus!

 

Thanks – The Easy Rider!

Starboard Blend 11'2" x 30"

I picked up two used Starboard Stand Up Paddle [SUP] boards from The Easy Rider in Edmonton.  They are lightly used 2008 models that together cost less than a single 2009 demo SUP I was looking at.  I have to give Warren at The Easy Rider some major props.  He has been super nice to deal with.  It’s hard to complain when a shop is knowledgeable, friendly, provides great service and is willing to offer some killer deals at the end of the season.  At every turn Warren has gone that extra step to make an interaction really positive.  If I lived in Edmonton The Easy Rider would be my new favourite board shop.

I’m going to have between 4 and 5 friends down in Baja with me over the Christmas holidays so I’m happy I’ll have some SUPs for them to use as well as a couple sea kayaks.  I’ve only got one Pugsley and kiteboarding gear is too hard to use, too delicate, too dangerous and too expensive to unleash on a novice!  Anyone can paddle a SUP on flat water with a 5 minute introduction.  Now I should be able to keep everyone occupied and happy…=-)

Starboard Extremist 9'8" x 30"

The 11′2″ SUP is good for surfing and okay on flat water.  The 9′8″ is more surf oriented, but should be fine for a newbie to mess around on flat water.  It just won’t track exceptionally straight so it won’t inspire anyone to go on a long distance paddle.  One cool thing is that the 9′8″ SUP has a mast track and foot strap inserts which means I’m only a cheap mast/boom/sail away from owning a light conditions windsurfer – cool!

With 3 weeks and counting until I hit the road South for Baja I’m trying to get everything major done at work so I can do the distance work thing as well as get all my Baja gear together. Not to mention spend some quality time with my GF so she doesn’t feel like a Baja Widow! I’m starting to feel the pressure of too much to do in too little time, but it’s all for a good cause so I don’t mind.

I know that I said earlier no significant capital purchases until the truck is paid off, but I decided that getting to spend 2 months on a beach in Baja was in itself priceless and having the opportunity to SUP literally everyday made this a smart choice.  If I can come back to Canada with some serious SUP skills that will make it all worthwhile.

La Ventana – Baja

La Ventana Baja Mexico

This will be my home for two months this winter.  With the advent of broadband internet you can work from just about anywhere in the world if your job doesn’t require a lot of face to face contact.  Cleverly I’ve invited my boss down for a few weeks of beach action over the holidays.  I’ll provide a fully guided beach experience with all the sports gear she could want to use at her disposal.  Hopefully she gets hooked and wants me to go to Baja every year…=-)~

SUP Paddle Technique

Waterproof Camera Review

Canon D10

Damian was kind enough to post a link to a test of the current generation of waterproof point and shoot digital cameras – thanks!.  Check it out here.

Calgary SUP Club

Photo: Paddlesurf.ca

Red Nik Surf Co. is starting up a Calgary Stand Up Paddle Board [SUP] Club.  That’s a great idea!  I would guess they’ll be bringing out demo SUPs for people to try. So if you are in the Calgary area and are interested in SUP give Red Nik a call at (403) 685-4600 and see what’s shaking with the club.

Unfortunately unless they are uber hardcore I don’t suppose anyone will be heading out onto the water before next spring, but I could be wrong.  Canadians are pretty tough when it comes to the cold….=-)

Canon D10

Canon D10 Waterproof Camera

I am super excited that Canon has stepped into the waterproof point and shoot digital camera ring with their new D10.  I have been very pleased with all my previous Canon products and their customer service has been outstanding.  I bought one of their waterproof housings for an older Canon digital camera and it was very rugged and absolutely waterproof, but it was also really bulky and awkward to use.  As a result I ended up with the waterproof cameras from Olympus and Pentax that I’ve posted about recently.

I haven’t read much about the D10 yet so I don’t know what to expect.  Given the performance of the other waterproof cameras I’ve been using the bar has been set pretty low so far.  Hopefully this Canon will impress me.  I’m going to hold off buying a new waterproof camera until either my Olympus Stylus 850SW or my Pentax Optio W20 give up the ghost completely.  That may give Canon enough time to develop a 2nd generation waterproof camera and fix any bugs that inevitably turn up in a 1st generation product.

Pentax Optio W20

Pentaz Optio W20

I posted yesterday about my Olympus Stylus 850SW that wasn’t waterproof.  I thought I’d post briefly about my other waterproof point and shoot – my Pentax Optio W20.  You can read this detailed review to learn about its specs and features.  I’ve owned this camera for a number of years based on the recommendation of a kayak guide I met in Baja.  As you would expect the camera a water-sports professional likes was and is actually waterproof!  I have abused this camera far more than it deserves and it continues to work for me without complaint.  On the plus side the construction seems pretty bombproof and the camera is dead easy to use.  Ever since I got my Olypmus Stylus last Dec I’ve been loaning this camera to all my friends.  They haven’t been gentle with it and they haven’t had any issues with it – except one I’ll mention below.  Picture quality is not bad, but not great.  It’s worse than my Stylus 850SW, but not by a lot.  Where it does suffer is in comparison to my Canon S870IS.  Again as with my Stlus as long as it provides worry free waterproof performance and remains robust I can live with average picture quality.  After all I wouldn’t dare pull out my Canon point and shoot on a surfboard or in the pouring rain.

This camera has some issues though:

• Since there is no lens cover water drops or dirt can get onto the lens and unless you pay attention you can take a whole bunch of ruined photos without noticing the problem on the LCD screen.  This happened on a kayak trip in Baja where dried salt on the lens made 20-30 photos my friend took pretty much useless – she was seriously bummed.  Since I’m aware of the problem I regularly clean the lens and I haven’t had a problem myself.
• The camera body is very rounded which makes holding it one handed tough – especially when wet.  I like to grab my camera from my bike’s bar bag and shoot one handed while riding – this is virtually impossible with this camera.  I bought a silicone sleeve for it [$25cdn] that made it much easier to hold, but the sleeve made using the controls tough and eventually it ripped apart.
• The camera uses a non-standard USB cable so you have to bring a special cable with you when traveling which is a pain.  Canon uses a standard mini-USB which I can share amongst several USB devices on a trip – thanks Canon!
• The battery charger is much bulkier than my Canon chargers which is a pain when traveling. I can’t see any reason for this than poor design.

Pentax Optio W80

As a note the W20 is out of production, but Pentax has a new waterproof model the Optio W80, which appears to be a direct response to Olympus’ Stylus line of cameras.  The W80 looks to be more squared at the corners so I’m hoping it will be easier to hold.

Olympus Stylus 850SW

Olympus Stylus 850SW

I’ve been using an Olympus Stylus 850SW for much of my sports photography since I got it last Dec for my Baja trip.  For the most part it’s been a good camera for me.  It doesn’t take the best photos, but the fact it’s waterproof and shockproof make that a fair trade for not having worry about it when I’m out and about.

I took it to the SUP demo this weekend and had it in my pocket while in the water.  It took a dozen photos for me and then the LCD stopped working.  The camera still powered on, but there was no life on the screen.  I put the camera away and when I opened it the next day there was water in the battery/memory card compartment.  I took out both items and left the camera sit open on my desk.  I eventually got around to trying it again and the LCD was working again.

Doing some research it seems that I’m not the first person to have issues with the camera’s waterproofing.  I checked the seals and they were clean and secure so I think I’ve got a leak somewhere else.  Since the camera is still under warranty I’m going to send it off and hope I get service from Olympus that is as good as the service I’ve received from Canon. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

It would also be nice to get the camera back before I leave for Baja in November, but that seems unlikely.  I’ll settle for having a waterproof camera when I get back in Jan 2010.

As a note Olympus has replaced this model with a newer version that may perform better underwater.

Calgary Sun SUP

photo: www.paddlesurf.ca

I was suprised to find an article from the Calgary Sun newspaper about SUP posted on the Paddle Surf.ca website.  I didn’t realize stand up paddle boarding was on the radar in Calgary at all.  I guess I was wrong.

Easy Riders Edmonton SUP

Winter SUP

I’m up in Edmonton Alberta Canada for a day to visit my friends Jeff and Jo-Ann.  Since I had some time to kill before I met up with them I decided to check out Easy Rider.  Easy Rider is a board sports store that sells stand up paddle boards and related gear as well as the more common snowboard gear.  I had a hard time finding them on Google so I figured I’d post about them to make them an easier target for others searching for stand up paddle boards and gear in the Edmonton area.

Easy Rider stocks Naish and Starboard SUPs as well as paddles and accessories from Dakine, C4, Naish, etc…

The staff was super friendly and they are clearly stoked about SUP which is great.  They have regular paddle sessions so I’ll definitely have to come up to Edmonton next summer a couple times to paddle with their crew.  They have a sister site documenting their SUP exploits at Canada SUP.  It’s cool to see that cold water and our cooler climate aren’t getting in the way of having some fun outdoors on SUPs.

How to SUP on flatwater…

I wanted to be prepared to make the most of the Red Nik SUP demo this past weekend so I researched a bunch of videos and websites that taught basic flatwater SUP skills.  This video above was by far the best at explaining everything you need to know as far as beginner flatwater skills go.  Just thought I’d post it and save the next person googling this some time…=-)

Red Nik SUP Demo

Stand Up Paddle board fun

Red Nik Surf Company in Calgary Alberta is running a Stand Up Paddle [SUP] board demo this weekend.  I’m going to attend and I’m looking forward to trying out a few Starboard SUPs.  I know setting up and running events like this is a lot of work so I wanted to give Warren @ Red Nik a shout out.

Red Nik sells SUPs, longboard skateboards, surfboards and all the clothing and accessories to go with these sports.  If you are in Calgary check ‘em out.