Sunday, August 28, 2011

Coreban SUP - NEW SUP Models

On a recent trip to Thailand to test out the new range of Coreban SUP Race Boards.

Yeew!


Enjoy the Ride


Ma te wa


Woogie

Coreban SUP Free Rider - Brendan

Coreban SUP Free Rider Brendan Vicco Winter Update






I have really been focusing on improving my backhand surfing the past few months. Being a goofy footer, most of the comps on the east coast of Australia are run on right handers so it's important I can go both ways, not to mention the best point breaks in Vic are all right handers.


The Vic titles for both surf and race this coming summer will be held over 2 days with no set schedule which means we have a really good chance of picking great conditions for both surf and race.







Anyway, I've attached a few pix from a session last week, no amazing shots but a few OK ones. Can you ask Woogie what fin setup he is running in the 8'5" Nitro. I'm still playing with fins and would be interested to see what Woogie is running.

Yeew!


Enjoy the Ride

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Silent Auction

Good Shepherd Lutheran College

Silent Auction

2011 Shepherd's Fair - Saturday 27 August 2011

9.00am - 3.00pm Rides start at 10.00am

Ride Passes
You can purchase your ride passes for $30 each from Monday 22 August to Friday, 26 August at the Primary Pickup area from 2.30pm to 3.30pm daily. Cash or cheque only please. Ride passes are also available for sale on the day of Shepherd’s Fair for a cost of $35 each.

Primary stalls:
Prep/Yr - 1 Sweet House
Year 2 - Lucky Dip Stall
Year 3 - Gem Stone Hunt
Year 4 - Hoop the Bottle
Year 5 - $5.00 for spider drinks. Check with your class room teacher
Year 6 - Plants & Produce Stall - we need jars to start making jams and chutneys.
Year 7 - Recycled Vintage - please donate any good condition clothing and jewellery


2011 Silent Auction will be open for bidding on Monday 22 August 9.00am.

Big Auction Prize
Silent Auction for 2011 is now open.
Please note: To place a bid - please provide your name, if you are making a bid for the first time please provide your name & mobile number and e-mail address
All bidding will cease at 2pm Friday online and will then continue live at the fair on 27 August 2011. All bidding will close at 2.30pm on Saturday at the fair and the highest bidder wins the item. People can pay cash or credit card on the day or the following week at school.


Item 1. Coreban Stand Up Paddle Board.
Coreban Stand Up Paddle Board - Alpha Board Quality Stand Up Paddle Board -14' x 28" x 6.5" - Colour - Black
The in-step deck lowers centre of gravity and at the same time allows for more stability and control. A 3D board, sharp tail and edges allow for quick water flow and release. Bottom deck - double concave which allows for early planning and chime edges for hydro-planning once board is up to speed. Surfski type nose which cuts through the water and swells. Double leash plugs, carry handle, V front deck and added gutter in top deck allow for excellent water runoff especially in open ocean swells - Value $1600.

Current Bid - $500 Current Bid holder - Noah

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Vuvuzelas, Whisky & a Bloody Good SUP!

VUVUZELAS, WHISKY and a BLOODY GOOD SUP!

As told by Chris, Conn & Greg Bertish & mates.

Pics by Chris, Conn & Greg Bertish & mates.

The Bertish Brothers invited some good mates to join them on an epic Surf & SUP Adventure….. this is their story.

Airport staff and small Asian children hid behind anything they could find when they saw us coming: 7 dudes, 24 Surfboards, 3 sups, 4 paddles, 1 guitar, a couple of vuvuzelas, a gallon of whisky and about 5000 wine gums. They had never seen anything like it. Neither had the airport scales, so we choreographed a well-oiled foot, hip, leg, board-holding up on scale shmockeling technique that saved us about 30kgs and a lot of $s. We were pretty smug, until we saw the size of the airport bus.

Our crew SUP Crew consisted of a handpicked bunch of 30 & 40 something year olds….

by Greg

Francois “the Pharnasy” Finlay

Local Break: Muizenberg, Glen Beach, the world…..

Natural footer ex Kneelo), avid SUP rider, and new master of double over head waves on his back hand, with a newly learned and brilliantly choreographed grab rail barrel riding technique.

Broken boards: 1 Surfboard/ Coral lacerations to SUP

Injuries: cuts and lacerations to extremities and screech’s of pure fear were seen and heard on one or two of the larger days.

International man of mystery, supreme triathlete, Supplier of daily required anti inflammatory pills and lotions, sleeping tablets and other interesting doping supplements.

Sponsored by Jungle Oats- or at least a great advert for its Energy giving properties. Fran caught more waves than all of us put together and probably spent an average of 8 hrs in the water each day on his SUP and surfboard.

Paul “Ene -ma ” Stafford

Goofy footer

Local Break: Hout Bay corner

Broken boards: None – pure style

Injuries: rib abrasions, lacerated foot

Indo veteran and master of any reeling lefthander. This guy has ridden and charged them all; G Land, dessert Point, Flameballs and more. Missioned thru SE Indo in the late 90, s on his own little Indo boat. Inventor of the neoprene anti chaff band and the DIY self enema.


Greg “Croc” Bertish

Local Break: west is best

Goofy footer

Boards broken : 1 surfboard/ Coral Punctures to SUP

Injuries: lacerations to digits & a back spasm or 3.

Owner/ founder of True Blue Travel. Back in the Mentawai’s after stints in other parts of Indo and Africa. Loved the lefts, got some barrels that counted, and rode a few beasts on the SUP. Loved his Bintangs, the Vuvuzela and the banana pancakes.

Conn “koen” Bertish

Local Break: Outer Undies Reef

Natural footer

Boards broken : 2 surfboards/ No SUP

Injuries: lacerations to digits

Maybe the longest barrel of the trip? 15 to 18 frames of barrel time…… = a solid 7 sec Barrel. Not bad for a dad and stressed ad Guru and artist with international acclaim. Conn got stuck in and went hard. Supplied the Vuvuzelas, blew the vuvuzelas and drank bintangs thru the vuvuzelas.

Chris “Chrispy” Bertish

Local Break: Newly KOM Skom, but seen at Muizenberg more and more

Natural footer

Boards broken : 1 Surfboard/ 1 Shredded SUP

Injuries: Lacerations to lims

Hell charger of note, 2010 Mavericks winner and an inspiration in the water…… deeper , faster and further…Chris was on Fire. Although reports of some serious coral head dancing were reported at times. Supplied the Cigars and worked the Jack Daniels when needed. He will be back for more…. For sure!

Dawnies By Conn
Aah there’s nothing better than the smell of pancakes in the morning. Cookie, our indo cook was up before the sun, before the first paddle out, before the first empty tube whooped down the line. And fresh from the morning surf he would greet you, armed with steaming plate, syrup and know it all smile. Banana pancakes have never tasted so good.

Sups on board by Conn
The sups were a great distraction. After surfing for 6 hours and lounging on the rocking boat for a couple more, the sups were a refreshing alternative surf craft that kept things really interesting. A sharp and shallow coral reef and wayward 6 to 8 ft sets had the adrenalin flowing - getting caught inside was not really something anyone wanted to go through, though some of us did: ripped out fins, ripped up calves, knees and hands were often the result as your 8ft beast dragged you helplessly across the coral shelf. But wave quantity on a sup was insane, almost too easy, perfect wave after wave after wave. We also used them as beach and fishing craft, bailing off the boat to paddle to a uninhabited island or heading off on your own to go fishing or ruminating on the beauty of what was all around us. The sups were a real addition to the trip and gave our boat a kind of Swiss Army knife quality : packed with different alternatives eager and available to experience the wide range of surf spots and conditions. They were a good addition to our bulging quiver of 27 boards.

Island SUPing- By Chris

I believe every place needs the necessary tools for the job.

Sups are a great vehicle for exploring the islands, the coves paddling around on your own steam, and to escape from the confines of the boat and people, to explore and to Ride!

There were many days where the waves were perfect and my arms were too tired to paddle out again after 6 hrs of surfing. So Id hop on my SUP and take the easy way out, and catch 20 perfect waves in an hour.

There are also less know islands and softer waves that don't even get surfed, and we found one. SUP Island by True Blue Travel… it is spectacular! No one for miles, a perfect righthander one side and a left the other. Both with 300 meter rides, and both deposit you on a coconut strewn beach. Insanely beautiful and out there. If you can…. And you all can… make it your lifes ambition to get there or somewhere similar and more budget friendly, like Madagascar. It really is priceless!

SUP and SURF by Francois

Lances left is the perfect playground for the Sup and surfer to try co-exist in a non pure sense and why to take both SUP and surfboard to the Mentawai’s

Lances left has a relatively clearly defined take-off zone with amazing barrel opportunities and an inside section that serves 2-3 foot mini –perfection

The reef has enough punch to stress about getting caught inside but none of the fear factor attached to HT’s and Bankvaults etc. All the broken boards we saw at Lances were a result of bailing boards when caught inside – Marty’s previous nights Stilnox overdose still kicking in

The lack of the ability of the SUP to duck-dive and its general bulkiness means it has no place on the main peak– it can only lead to tears and heated debates – this is where the surfer must dominate and the SUP has no place

Lances consistent inside is SUP perfection without surfers appeal – the logic that played itself out in reality was; why take 1-3 foot inside with a chance of proper getting caught inside and punished when you can have 6 to 8 foot main peak barrelling perfection. The ability of the SUP to see waves from afar and the consistent take-off zone means SUP’ers have plenty of time to vacate the zone – with only Chris taking a 8 wave set SUP beating where I heard him say ” Mommy help me” twice and he got to experience dry land and the bite of the coral.

At one time with only 4 surfers on the main peak and 1 SUPer on the inside the waves count for the SUP’er was 8-1, and the type of waves that you just don’t get in Cape Town on a SUP

The other joy of Lances left is the boats park so close to the waves surfers also get to experience the joy of watching a Sup get punished – Australians seem to have specialised in this past-time and applauded loudly when one of us got beaten.

Vuvus By Conn
We took a few vuvuzelas along to announce our arrival at every new spot. Solid tubes and outside sets were heralded by the baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrp baaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrp of our proudly saffa boat. To be ridiing an empty perfect wave in paradise with your bros blasting the vuvuzela for every tube or gauge was pretty fucking special, so was seeing the irritation on the faces of the few seppos or ozzies seen flapping around the occasional line-up. The Oom would have been proud.

Just do it! By Chris

Clear your schedule, rent out the kids, bribe the wife, quit work if you have to, but this kind of a trip is a once in a lifetime.

Do it, every surfer owes it to themselves to make it happen, it's what makes you a SUPer. Dream it, book it, go, surf, chill, unwind, relax, reflect and you'll never be the same again...Somethings in life you just have to do. This is one of them, believe me, it'll change your world forever, as paradise is only an Ocean away!

Book this Boat, this Skipper for 2012 – It is the BEST SURF CHARTER in The MENTAWAI by far!

2012 Early bird deal – Groups of 8.

The group leader gets a FREE flight

OR How about a similar SUP Holiday to Madagascar – Its closer, easier, less crowded and cheaper!

10 Days from R14900 all in- Book now for 2012

With True Blue: The group leaders get a FREE SAFARI Surfboard valued at R3400

All group get 10% OFF Safari boards, 25% off Hurley Phantom Shorts, 15% off surf accessories at Sport n Surf

Contact greg@truebluetravel.co.za for more info and pics.

www.truebluetravel.co.za

Short Vid of Coreban Paddler Karina Figi

Karina Figi

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Naish Maui Paddleboard Championships

Some of the footage from the Naish Maui Paddle Board Championships

Friday, August 5, 2011

Dave Kalama

A great demonstration of using the paddle & having fun

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Monday, August 1, 2011

Molokai Race Results 2011

I am sure the stories & Photos will come soon.

In the mean time here is a full list of results