Wow! What a race weekend! The Ta-Hoe Nalu festival was held at King’s Beach CA, north of Lake Tahoe. We were at 6,229 ft elevation on the lake, which is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. In normal situations this would have been a beautiful flat water race, but that was not the case!
The weather to start the first of the five races for the weekend called for blustery winds with gusts up to 25mph and they weren’t kidding! The lake turned into the Atlantic Ocean on spin cycle! I raced in the recreational division, which had the largest amount of racers with over 100 participants. We were all excited to race, but were wishing the conditions would let up. The wind and large side chop made for a very challenging race. Our 5 mile race had us going parallel to the beach which proved to be very difficult with the wind and side chop. Most racers had to drop down to knee stance to even stay in the race. As we all finished we were happy to have gone out there and do the best we could in the challenging conditions.
The air was chilly but the sun was shining enough to enjoy tasty cold beverages as the reward…even at 10am! Following the recreational race was the Grom race and the kids got to give it their best. The Elite race followed at 1:30 and it was awesome to watch the big names in the sport charge through the finish line.
The weekend was full of fun with many SUP sponsors hanging out at their tents promoting the 2011 boards and paddles. I really enjoyed my race weekend in Tahoe and was glad to have had the support and help from Coastal Urge and the guys at Surftech, who made sure I had a BARK Competitor there to race. I really enjoyed meeting Gabe, George and Ty from Surftech and trying out the new 14ft BARK Dominator, a great all around SUP board from Micky Munoz and Robert August. I learned so much from these guys this weekend. I am also thankful for the hospitality of my Kialoa paddle family for the paddle, dinner, and great conversations we had. I’m looking forward to the next time we can all see each other again. Looks like it will be in October at the 2nd Annual Southeast SUP Championship. It was an amazing weekend full of challenging SUP Races, great friends, crazy weather and beautiful scenery! Can’t wait to go again next year!
-Kim James

Paddlers approach their mark just south of the Newport Bridge in the first Newport SUP Cup, presented by Coastal Urge on Saturday (Photo by Tom Shevlin)

NEWPORT, R.I. – More than 90 participants took to the water on Saturday for Newport’s first ever SUP Cup (that’s “stand up paddleboard” for those who missed our preview story last week).

With brilliant blue skies overhead and temperatures in the low to mid 80s, you couldn’t have ordered up a better day.

Continue Reading at www.Newport-Now.com

ELITE Results

Elite SUP Men’s 12′6″ & Under

Elite SUP Men’s 14′

Elite SUP Women’s

Recreational SUP Results

Recreational SUP Men’s 12′6″ and Under

Recreational SUP Men’s 14′ and Over Unlimited

Recreational SUP Women’s

Recreational Prone Men’s

For Newport SUP Cup Story Click Here

What a killer day!

The Coastal Urge North Carolina crew is on the road this week to take up temporary (but maybe more permanent) residence in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island.

The Ocean State only has 1,545 square miles of land area, but harbors over 400 miles of coastline. You know what that means- scores of beaches (some even with surf!), sheltered waterways, bays, secluded harbors and rivers for us paddlers to take advantage of. It’s no wonder the boys and girls from Coastal Urge decided to hold the 1st Annual Newport SUP CUP this weekend in King’s Park right in downtown Newport.

A few of us left from Newport this morning on a little recon trip up to Providence to scope out the stretch of water that runs through the concrete jungle of the downtown area. Parked the Coastal Urge truck with half a dozen boards strapped on top just under a graffiti covered overpass opposite the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. Decided the little break in the cement wall where some pretty gnarly rocks met the water was a good of a place as any to shuffle the boards down, drop in and go for a spin. We cruised upriver and opposite the tide for a little while- scoping out the scenery as we went along.   Under a few historic bridges, and behind the shadows of Providence’s sky-rises, I think we were all awed at the scale of what was around us. Thankfully, the sun had decided to make it’s first appearance in four days, which meant folks were out on the town and down by the river, checking us out. Stand up paddle boarding is still making it’s way on to the scene here in Little Rhody, we caught the attention of a few ’suits’ and tourists, who then shouted down to us, “What is that called?”, “Where are you going?”… I think we may have been secretly thinking the same thing- but it was great to see people interested.

We passed the Waterfire display, where steel pits are strategically situated on the riverbed through the city. Bonfire’s are lit on the weekends, and crowds gather on the shoreline. We were able to get an up close and personal view, checking out the stacks of wood and boats all laid perfectly under arched tunnels, ready for the next show.

Cruising by the financial district, and under countless other bridges, we arrived at the mall (when’s the last time you paddled to do your shopping!?), and continued on towards the head of the river. The sun was going down behind the tall buildings, the tide was low, and the water was getting shallow. Perfect time to spin a 180 and head towards a cold beverage. We chatted briefly about the history of the river on the paddle home, you could very easily imagine the town planning folks aiming to create a sense of Venice, with vendors and couples cruising through the city center on their watercraft of choice.  The large cement walls showed their history as well, with brass marks pointing out the high, mean, and low water levels that the city has seen over the last 50 years or so, through hurricanes, floods, and the rest of it. We may have been the first few stand up paddlers to check out the city in that way, but I have a good feeling we won’t be the last.

Back towards the trucks, we pulled out at a good looking marina, quite civil actually, and saddled up for an ice cold Narragansett. Perfect way to end a glamor day cruising through the city.

Tomorrow’s the big day, and nearly 60 (or probably just over, by the time you read this) people are signed up for the first official SUP CUP in Newport. Pretty rad!

Time for a few LandShark’s and some BBQ. See you on the water!

Coastal Urge co-owner, Jeoffrey Nathan, headed out to Salt Lake City, Utah earlier this month to check out the Outdoor Retailer summer market and all the goodies set to hit the streets for 2011. Included in the show was an open-air demo day on the lake at Jordanelle State Park that was dominated by standup paddleboarding (obviously one of our favorite things!) This was Jeoffrey’s 9th year at the show and the excitement he brought back to North Carolina with him was contagious! The whole Coastal Urge crew is waiting anxiously to try-out the latest and greatest innovations in paddling equipment. We thought we’d wet your appetite by sharing just a sample of some of the highlights from his trip.

First and foremost, we brought the message of SUP Cleanup strong to the show, encouraging paddlers to “standup for a clean ocean.” We started the process of signing up several more chapters across the country. Expect to hear official announcements of new chapters in the coming weeks.

It was reported that there were nearly twice as many vendors at the demo this year in comparison to last year and the number of board designs shown was staggering! There will practically be a board for every paddler, no matter his or her size, discipline, or budget. Further proof that the world of SUP has exploded to the masses!

Several pro riders were on hand to chat with visitors and demonstrate some of the equipment their feedback goes into building. Nine-time Molokai to Oahu winner, Jamie Mitchell was there to talk about his new 12’6” Surftech Lahui Kai racing board and the board shorts he is developing with Quiksilver that are paddling specific. Shaper Bob Pearson was debuting his new designs for the Surftech Laird line along with the man himself, Laird Hamilton. Our great friends Dave and Meg Chun at Kialoa were at the demo too, displaying their new line of paddles designed for those just starting out in the sport and the more price conscious. Battle of the Paddle winner, Chuck Patterson and Mel Puu were there with them to offer paddling tips to aspiring racers and recreational paddlers alike. And another great friend, Robby Naish of Naish surfing, was there with his development team to show their increasing line of progressive board shapes.

It certainly was a day of SUP like no other!

Stay tuned to our website as we bring you updates on when you can expect to see some of these exciting new products make their way into our stores!

Paddlers will be competing for a $1,000 cash purse in the Elite Division and over $5,000 in prizes in the Recreational Division. There will also be a Pre-Race Banquet on Friday night, August 27th, featuring a special presentation. The banquet also provides racers with an opportunity to meet fellow paddlers while enjoying a delicious southern-styled pig pickin’ as well as art exhibits and live music at the Newport Shipyard.

This past Saturday morning Aug.14 the Coastal Urge SUP team, Katie Moore, Ian Balding, Jeoffrey Nathan and I embarked on a 25 mile paddle from Wrightsville Beach to Bald Head Island, NC. We made sure we had all the right gear, plenty of food and drinks and a boat driven by Katie’s father, Tom. It was great having Tom there because having the boat gave us guidance, protection from other boats, and provide a place for us to rest and a way back when we completed our journey. Although it was very early and the sun wasn’t out, it was great starting at 5am because the air was warm, and the wind and tide were calm. We also got to see flickers of lightning throughout sky here and there. It was so dark that we barely see Ian and Katie paddling. If it weren’t for the light on Katie’s board it would have been tough to spot them both as we started on the journey.

The team originally had the idea of switching every 5 miles but as conditions changed throughout the morning and energy levels went up and down, we all decided to go at our pace and listen to our bodies and see what we could do. Ian barely took a break the entire time which meant in the end, he paddled approximately 25 miles himself! An amazing accomplishment! The remaining 3 of us would paddle for over an hour and switch off as needed or if someone really wanted to paddle again, relay style.

Our journey took us into Carolina Beach and under the Snows Cut Cridge which I think we all really enjoyed. The sun had risen and we had cloud cover so we were able to really see the beauty and explore somewhere none of us had paddled. We hadn’t experienced this area before and we were very lucky that the tide was in our favor at this point. It was a lot of fun to cruise through and under the bridge getting us closer and closer to Bald Head. Once we passed this area we were paddling into the open river and the cross wind and tide hit. We were working our right side 80% of the time which meant we were barely able to switch and paddle on our left. This caused some wear down after 5-6 hours of paddling at this point. This made the morning very challenging but we were very motivated as we could see the lighthouse on Bald Head Island way in the distance. The cloud cover as gone at this point and things were heating up. The three of us switched often and Ian took small breaks but always stayed on his board. Even while enjoying some water.

As we neared the island we all very excited and encouraged each other to keep going and to push through to the end. After 6.5 hours of paddling, we finally paddled into Bald Head Island Marina relieved to be there and happy to dock for a nice break and to enjoy the scenery. There were lots of people waiting for the ferry and all were intrigued with our voyage and greeted us with smiles. We took a nice break and enjoyed some lunch and all headed back on the boat happy to have completed quite a paddle voyage and to have been able to do it together.

The rest of the photos from this year’s 2nd Annual Intracoastal SUP Cup are now online!

It was an amazing day, with over 60 paddlers gathering at the Blockade-Runner Beach Resort on Wrightsville Beach to compete in six different divisions.

The elite division took off first heading down Banks Channel and encountered some rough conditions as soon as they passed through Mason’s Inlet and hit the open ocean.  Nearly every paddler came back in looking a little wet.  The recreational division followed soon after and made their way to the rock jetties before cycling around to battle back against the receding tides.

Also, our next race is coming up this month in Newport, Rhode Island.

Greetings!  We hope that everyone is having fun this summer and getting to spend 
plenty of time out on the water with friends and family.

It has been a busy one for us here at Coastal Urge, and we thought we would give 
you a quick update to bring you up to speed on what we’ve been up to.  Now, 
where do we begin?

Over the weekend of July 17 a handful of our team riders traveled down to Charleston to participate in the 1st Annual Shem Creek SUP Shootout.  Conditions 
proved rough, but our riders fought back!  In the ladies elite 12’6” division, 
team riders Katie Moore and Kim James took 1st and 2nd place.  Katie finished 
with a time of 1:45:45 followed by Kim who finished in 1:53:15.  It was a 
wonderful race weekend and gave our team riders a chance to experience the new 
Surftech Mitcho and BARK Competitor boards for themselves.

Meanwhile, back on Bald Head Island, SUP tours and rentals have been going 
strong!  Our fleet of boards hardly ever sees a down moment, so as a result we 
have brought on three new staff members.  Wednesday night’s SUP Race Club here 
on the island is also growing, gaining more and more participants eager to test 
their skills and stamina in our friendly competition.

Last week, Coastal Urge and SUP Cleanup were exhibiting at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City.  Maybe you have already seen it yourself playing on the television at the store, but were showing our SUP Cleanup short movie to all attendees, spreading the stoke while encouraging folks to “Standup For A Clean Ocean.”  Most of all, we were really looking forward to the open air demo day on the water at Jordanelle State Park and trying out all the new paddleboards set to come out next year before they hit the market.  We even had the oppotunity to paddle and meet Laird Hamilton, Jamie Mitchell, and Bob Pearson! Stay tuned, as we will have a post up shorty with pictures and feedback on all the highlights from the show….

Traveling north now to Rhode Island, our Newport SUP cup registration is taking 
off!  We are very excited about this race as it also launches Coastal Urge’s 
expansion into its THIRD location!  That’s right, we will soon be offering board 
sales, rentals, and paddling instruction to the Newport area.  If you would like 
to compete in the race, we encourage you to register soon at www.NewportSUPCup.com.  We also just booked a great band for the pre-race banquet at Newport Shipyard with Preppy Pig catering a southern style pig picking!

Well, that’s the long and short of it.  Stay tuned right here to our blog for 
more updates, photos and videos from these developments and news of things to 
come.  We still have a few secrets for the summer we’ve yet to reveal!

1st Annual Shem Creek SUP Shootout from Coastal Urge on Vimeo.

This year’s race brought paddlers from across the eastern seaboard and beyond.  Over 60 racers competed in six divisions for cash and prizes valued over $13,000 and, of course, bragging rights till we meet again in the fall for the next race.

Our good friend Karen Wrenn was on hand the day before for a ladies only coaching session.  Seasoned racers and newcomers alike gained valuable insights from the pro on how to improve their technique and generally have more fun out on the water.

In addition, this race marked the introduction of the Waterman’s Challenge, a three-stage event pitting some of the east coast’s best kite riders and paddleboarders against each other in an off the beach relay.  This one-of-a-kind event gave beachgoers an exciting dose of fast action and athleticism.

Stay tuned to our website as we plan to release the official photography from the 2^nd Annual Intracoastal SUP Cup shortly.

To be kept in the loop about upcoming races and events, be sure to subscribe to our mailing list!