Standup Paddle Magazine

HAWAI I A N PRO F I LE : : :

LELEO KINIMAKA

TA KIN G IT TO TAH IT I: : WITH RIVIERA

S TA N D U P P A D D L E M A G A Z I N E V O L 7 N º 6 U N LO C K E D T R U T H

SUP’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS W I T H M A U I WAT E R M A N

ing S s IN

A REID INOUYE PUBLICATION

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Riviera BUMP - PERFORMANCE SUP Paddle The BUMP paddle features a raised carbon fiber weave around its shaft, giving it a textured feel for increased grip, ABS edging around the blade for durability, and comes standard with our Chokehold Handle for comfort and added torque in your stroke. The BUMP paddle has a wet sand finish to add even more grip, save weight, and give it a stealth look. Available in 7.5”, 8.0” & 8.5” blade widths.

Photos: Taylor Rambo

Ryan Helm battling in the Japan Cup on his RP-12’6”x24” wielding the BUMP 7.5” Riviera Paddle with Chokehold Handle.

@rivierapaddlesurf /rivierapaddlesurf rivierapaddlesurf.com

D E ST I N AT I O N HAWAII

:: HO’OKIPA, MAUI ::

Thanks to southwesterly winds that create blustery offshore conditions, various north Maui surf spots get really big in winter. If you’re ready for it at first dawn, you’ll be stoked to enjoy these epic conditions by yourself for an hour. You never know when it’s going to happen again.

The man in the tunnel: Loch Eggers hides in his cave.

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Photo: Darrell Wong

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M A ST H E A D VOLUME 7 Nº6

PUBLISHER Reid Inouye EDITOR Paul Ensyde MANAGING EDITOR Lucy Lucille COPY EDITOR Kersten Deck DESIGN First in Flight Creative

ADVISORS NUTRITION COACH Scott Estrada YOGA INSTRUCTOR Jeramie Vaine TRAINERS Thomas “Maximus” Shahinian Tom Jones

STAFF WRITERS Jim Freeman, Eric Haka STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Freeman, Eric Haka

DESIGNED ON MAUI BUILT IN CANADA PROVEN IN EVERY OCEAN

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Franz Orsi, Taylor Rambo, Heifara Navaro, Dan Krauss, Jeff Marder, Darrell Wong SALES sales@standuppaddlemagazine.com EDITORIAL AND CONTRIBUTION CONTACT info@standuppaddlemagazine.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

$59.95 includes shipping in the United States of America.

Printed bimonthly February, April, June, August, October and December. subscriptions@standuppaddlemagazine.com

RIDER: SONNI HÖNSCHEID

AWARD-WINNING HYDROPHOBIC WATERWEAR B LU E S M I T H S .CO M

STANDUP PADDLE MAGAZINE LLC A REID INOUYE PUBLICATION P.O. Box 625 Cardiff, CA 92007 contact info@standuppaddlemagazine.com Printed in South Korea Copyright 2015

S TA N D U P PA D D L E M A G A Z I N E . C O M

facebook.com/standuppaddlemagazine instagram.com/standuppaddlemagazine twitter.com/supmagazine pinterest.com/spmagazine ISSN 2372-2274

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PUB N O T E

MAN

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ON THE

WATER A waterman spends his whole life on the water. Everything you do revolves around the water. You plan your day and your week waiting for the right swell, the perfect storm, and you learn a valuable life lesson from your experiences on that playground: The ocean waits for no one. It keeps moving, and you need to move along with it. Sometimes you miss that swell due to obligations, but you know there will be another day. When that day comes, things can and will go wrong. Maybe you have the wrong board or fins, or maybe your leash snaps, or perhaps you mistime a turn when you go to catch that wave. Maybe you even fall a few times. This is all part of that lesson. Life doesn’t flow smoothly all the time; it’s not a perfect script. You get back up on that board.

By going out and learning to fall, you learn to get back up and go for more.

Reid Inouye Publisher Standup Paddle Magazine

After years in the surf retail business in North County San Diego, Jurgen Schulz switched modes and now does what he loves to do: ride waves. Here he tests his new Shelta Hats (sheltahats.com). Photo: Ensyde

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C ON TEN TS V O L U M E

7 N º 6

: : 2015: :

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

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HOW TO Scott Estrada: The Perfection of Olives Jeramie Vaine: Counter Movement Tom Jones: Endurance Building with Sprint Runs Thomas Maximus: Entering the Ocean with Waves

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RIVIERA PADDLESURF: Taking It to Tahiti

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RISING SON: Exploring Japan with Tomoyasu Murabayashi

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STRAIGHT TALK: Loch Eggers

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HAWAIIAN WATERMAN: Leleo Kinimaka

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QUIVERS AND WHEELS

O N T H I S P A G E : B a r t d e Z w a r t a n d To m o Murabayashi walking the small town Japanese street to get to the water while the villagers look puzzled with their funny looking ballons and sticks. Photo: Orsi

ON TH E COVE R: Loch Eggers riding a Maui right, away from the hype and crazy rest of the w o r l d . B o a r d C a m P h o t o : D a r r e l l Wo n g

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H OW TO H EA LT H w ith Scott Estrada

THE PERFECTION OF OLIVES :: Consider the olive: Old World civilizations revered this ancient fruit as a symbol of happiness, abundance, purity and all things good. As a kid, my experience with olives was limited to the black canned version, which ended up in a dish at family gatherings and on my cousins’ fingers. I ate dill pickles instead. I even disliked olives on pizza, sticking with pepperoni.

It wasn’t until I was grown that I learned to appreciate the value of these gems and how they contribute to a healthy diet focused on longevity and anti-inflammation.

Consider the résumé of a raw olive: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The fruit richest in minerals Richest in calcium (twice as much as oranges by weight) Magnesium-rich High in amino acids An alkaline fruit A heathy fatty fruit (mostly monounsaturated) An alkaline fat source Rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids High in vitamins A and E Antioxidant-rich At least 14 varieties of olives Produce some of the healthiest oil of any food Soothe mucous membranes with its oil

Water-cured or sea salt-/olive oil-cured olives are excellent finds. Olive trees love the warmer climates of California (especially SoCal), Nevada and Arizona.

Find Old World varieties all over the Mediterranean, the Middle East and India.

Reach for the simplicity and perfection of an olive next time you want a mouthful of flavor that supports your healthy, active life! Be well.

Olives make great pre- and post-paddle snacks, providing essential minerals that support performance. They can be eaten on longer paddles for clean-burning calories, and they travel well away from the cooler, especially for longer car or air travel.

If you suffer from a buildup of mucous via infection, olives have a strong ability to dissolve it, even more powerful than citrus like oranges or lemons.

When eaten regularly, olives help to support fatburning metabolism and steer us away from a dependency on glucose. Their oils are satiating and curb hunger well. Olive tree leaves contain some of the most powerful immunity-boosting compounds.

Olive leaf extract contains strong agents antagonistic to infections and have been used for centuries to boost and regain health.

They are picked fresh and sun-ripened to decrease their natural bitterness. You’ll find the best olives at store with fresh olive bars or sun ripened direct from the farm. Olives that come in can have the worst nutritional value because they have been pasteurized and soaked in an iron solution (ferrous gluconate) that darkens them.

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For more on this and other health- and nutrition-related topics, email Scott Estrada scott@risesup.com.

Photo: Taylor Rambo

Brandon Rambo & Ryan Helm scoring a typhoon swell in Chiva, Japan.

El Tigre 7’2” x 25” | 7’8” x 27” | 8’2” x 28” 8’8” x 29” | 9’8” x 31”

Whirling Dervish 7’6” x 26” | 8’0” x 28”

@rivierapaddlesurf

/rivierapaddlesurf

rivierapaddlesurf.com

H OW TO YOG A w i t h Je ramie Vaine

COUNTER MOVEMENT::

Sphinx Pose

The stand-up paddleboard stroke utilizes numerous muscle groups from the transverse abdominals to the latissimus dorsi (lats). Without a counter exercise, the paddle stroke can cause tightness and reduce mobility in the shoulders, chest and back. This can and will cause fatigue in longer paddle sessions and ultimately reduce efficiency. In order to keep the body in balance, we must incorporate these counter poses. The sphinx pose is a great restorative pose to be used before and after a paddle session.

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2

Lie facedown with your arms at your sides. Your chin, chest, thighs and the top of your feet should touch the ground or yoga mat. Rotate your thighs inward as if you were hugging a block between your legs. Extend out through the crown of your head and tailbone, as if a string running through your body were being pulled in opposite directions.

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Bring your arms in front of your head and allow your elbows to align under your shoulders. The forearms will extend away from the body and have a 90-degree bend at the elbow.

4

Extend out through the fingers, keeping the forearms parallel to each other. Gently apply pressure through your index finger, thumb and forearm. Think of sliding the ground back toward your chest. Meanwhile, encourage the chest open and forward like in cobra pose or upward facing dog, leading with the heart. Your thighs will spiral inward and the tops of your feet will stay on the ground with the big toes kissing. You can stay in this pose for up to five minutes. On each breath, let the heart open more and slide your shoulders away from your ears.

Encourage length in the spine and be mindful of the lower back; back out if there is any discomfort. This is a restorative pose and should be used in a gentle manner.

To come out of the pose, slowly lower your check down on the ground and let your arms come down to your side.

Lie comfort ably in this position for up to a minute and then repeat the sphinx pose one to three times.

Jeramie Vaine is a BOGA team racer and yoga instructor. He shares his knowledge and the benefits of yoga at clinics, demos and races around the country. Contact him at jvaine1@gmail.com.

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H OW TO T R A I N I N G with Tom Jones

BUILDING ENDURANCE::

with Sprint Runs

When training your body for endurance, you want your result to be peak performance. Adding sprint runs to your training session on land will complement your performance when you paddle.

Before you begin, ensure that you have a tall and relaxed posture with a correct range of arm movement. If you have a training partner, have them check your body position on a few practice runs.

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3

Focus 50 feet ahead. Keep your head high and in line with your spine. Your face and mouth should be relaxed (jelly jaw). Keep your chin down, not out. Relax your shoulders and keep them square during the sprint. Your back should be straight, not hunched. Keep your abdominals braced.

Your hips should remain stable during the execution of your sprint. Be aware of the motion of your feet. You should be on the ball of your foot and toes to keep your feet pointing straight.

Maintain proper stride length. Drive and propel yourself for the first 20-30 meters, approximately 16-17 strides. At the end of this phase, you should be running at roughly 90 percent of your maximum velocity. Slow down and walk for 20-30 meters.

Repeat your sprint.

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4

Be sure to have a smooth forward-backward motion of the arms. Drive back with your elbows, allowing them to brush your chest lightly to maintain linear motion and avoid flailing. For men, your hands should move from shoulder height to hips; for women, they should move from bust height to hips. Keep elbows bent at 90 degrees at all times. Your hands should be relaxed with fingers loosely curled.

Your breath is an important part of the sprint, allowing you to access the body’s natural sense of timing.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Keep it slow, controlled and deliberate to enable more oxygen to feed your body. If you do not keep a constant flow of breathing, you will tire faster.

Tom Jones is a passionate paddleboarder, Sun Protection Zone Ambassador, two-time Muay Thai MMA world champion and ultramarathon runner. His personal workout routine involves cross-training all three for lifestyle and health.

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HO W TO TRAINING with Thomas “Maximus” Shahinian

ENTERING THE OCEAN WITH WAVES:: (Part 1 of 3) Paddlers attempting to enter the ocean through the surf line should be proficient paddling in flat- and rough-water conditions, paddle bracing, and moving their feet along the board. It’s best to find an entry location with minimal surf, rocks, kelp, swimmers, etc., which could be hazardous to you or others. Take time before entering the water to evaluate the conditions (waves, rip currents, wind and exit points), ask local paddlers for advice and always paddle with a buddy.

1

Attach your leash just before entering the water.

Carry your board with one hand and hold the paddle shaft with the other (handle down, blade up for bracing).

Slowly wade into the water till you’re at least kneedeep to ensure you don’t snag the fin upon mounting the board. Be cautious of uneven bottom contours.

In some circumstances you may want to shuffle your feet while entering the water to avoid encounters with marine life, or use the top of the paddle to probe ahead and as a brace.

2

It’s important to keep the nose of the board facing toward the waves and your body to its side. Always avoid positioning your body between the board and the beach, especially when the board suddenly shifts sideways to the waves! If necessary, take a few minutes before mounting the board to evaluate your course and timing, whether you’re utilizing a rip current or paddling between set waves. Once you’ve mounted the board, it’s good practice to take a few strokes while on your knees and paddle to deeper water before standing to adjust your balance and position, and to avoid injury in the event of an accidental fall on a shallow, uneven bottom.

Again, whether you’re entering or exiting the water, it’s especially important not to stand between the board and the beach. I’ve seen many paddlers steamrolled by their boards while they were distractedly removing their leash, kelp, camera, etc.

3

As you begin paddling out, be sure to keep the nose of the board heading straight (with the centerline perpendicular to wave) when encountering small chop and whitewater. It may also be helpful to maintain a stance slightly further back on the board or apply more pressure through your heels to allow the nose of the board to easily ride up and over small chop and whitewater. Part 2 will discuss techniques for overcoming large whitewater.

4 In the event you’re knocked off your board while paddling through the surf line, hold on to your paddle and fall away from your board to avoid injuring yourself and allow your leash to keep your board nearby. Be sure to protect your head with your arms and hands at all times while safely reorienting yourself and keeping off to the side of your board. Look out for more incoming waves and assess whether it’s still safe to paddle out or return to shore and wait for another opportunity.

* It’s important to know your own abilities before attempting to launch through the surfline. Consider seeking professional instruction.

Riviera team rider Thomas Maximus has more than 18 years of experience racing outrigger canoes. He has competed in more than 150 SUP races since 2008, resulting in over 80 first-place wins and multiple course records.

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8/19/15 11:13 AM

Tahitian

Fish Tail

Photo: Christian Jung

Leleo Kinimaka Signature Paddles

HOT SPOT TAHITI

RIVIERA PADDLESURF:

Taking It to Tahiti BY: MIKE MUIR

PHOTOS: HEIFARA NAVARO, TAYLOR RAMBO

Ryan Helm getting a feel for the currents inside the reef before the Air Tahiti Nui Race with the Island of Mo’orea across the channel. photo: Taylor Rambo

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The trip started when Maeva Hargrave, a flight attendant for Air Tahiti Nui, contacted us about a race she was putting together, Air Tahiti Nui Va’a Paddle Fun Day. Maeva has been following Riviera for some time via social media and a mutual friend, Heifara Navaro, who is our distributor in Tahiti. While figuring out a way to get us to Tahiti to co-sponsor the event with Air Tahiti Nui, Maeva hit on the idea of putting together a video for the airline that would showcase the event and Tahiti. Maeva pitched the idea and the airline loved it so much so that they wanted to show it on all flights. We loved the idea and the pressure was on to produce a great video.

Before we knew it, flights were made, shooting schedules were set, boards were packed and the boys of Riviera (Brandon and Taylor Rambo, Ryan Helm and Drew Brophy) were off to Tahiti.

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HO T SPOT TAHIT I

THE FLIGHT After spending over an hour at Riviera headquarters loading up Taylor’s truck with 14 boards (a mixture of surf, SUP surf, race and prone), we were off to LAX. We had been nervous for days leading up to this, thinking there was no way we would get away with bringing so many boards, let alone boards as big

as 14’, on our flight. We pulled up to the curb at Air Tahiti Nui and unloaded all the boards and bags. People began giving us that look, like, “Are you guys for real? You’ll never get all that on a flight.” But as our anxiety levels started to rise Maeva showed up and took control. Before we knew it, all the baggage was squared away and we were off to the gate. To our surprise, rather

The Center of Tahiti... Papenoo Valley. Heifara stops to tell us the history of the area. photo: Taylor Rambo

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Taylor Rambo

photo: Taylor Rambo

than rejecting some of our baggage, the airline moved all of us up to business class. From that moment, we knew we were going to have a great trip. The flight was amazing, with great food and entertainment. The flight attendants seemed to interact more like family than co-workers. As we approached Tahiti, Maeva took Ryan and Brandon to the cockpit to meet the captain and enjoy the view. Our good friend Teva Facade showcased Tahiti’s famous hospitality, putting us up in his family home on the beach, at a beautiful spot named Paea. His brother-in-law Aroma Salmon took care of our every need.

D AY 1 Aroma was our driver and tour guide for the entire trip. On day one, the surf was huge, windy and out of control, so we drove to Teahupo’o and paddled out in very rugged conditions to the Billabong scaffolding, still set up for the Billabong Pro Teahupo’o, and just watched as monster waves pounded the reef and washed through the scaffolding. These were some of the heaviest, most consequential waves some of us have ever seen, about 25-30 feet on the face. They looked like evil black holes marching down the reef toward the inside closeout. Drew was convinced it was ride-able but the rest of us would have no part of it. We headed in and surfed Papenoo, a little knee-high beachbreak, with a bunch of groms.

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HO T SPOT

Ryan Helm makes weaving a SUP through the barrel look easy. photo: Heifara Navaro

TAHIT I

D AY T W O The wind was still a bit strong so we opted to hit Taapuna, a spot close to town. It’s a nice left-hand reef break that can handle swell up to about 5-6 feet. We paddle out from shore and experienced the huge surge that happens between the reefs during sets. During large swells, people get sucked out and have to be rescued by boat. On this day the waves were about 5-foot—really fun left-handers with barrels to be enjoyed if you were looking for them. After surfing for a few hours and an amazing lunch, Heifara wanted to take us to a special place in the center of the island. As we left the coast and started toward the center of the island, the terrain started to change and things became even more beautiful.

The road ran next to a stream that locals say was much higher many years ago, when different tribes would paddle into this magical place of peace. Once we got to the center of the island and spotted the waterfall we all wanted to paddle toward it. The terrain was otherworldly, like

nothing we had ever seen. It looked like the whole valley had been landscaped for a movie set, with the most amazing mixture of plants any of us had ever seen. Heifara gave us a little history lesson, explaining that in ancient times, warring factions on the island would come to this spot, where violence was strictly prohibited. Most of us agreed we had never seen a more beautiful place.

D AY 3 By the third day the weather had stabilized and the surf subsided a bit so Aroma set up a boat for us. We headed out to a spot called Vairao, another left-hand hollow reefbreak that some consider world-class. When we pulled up a few surfers were out so we watched for a while, trying to figure out the best places to sit.

Drew was the first to paddle out, going a little deeper than the locals we were watching. He picked off a wave, didn’t make it, and ended

Ryan scratches over a clean one. You had to be aware of the wide sets so you didn’t get caught inside. photo: Heifara Navaro

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Brandon Getting the feel for Teahupo’o on his 9’4 Gun. You definitely want some paddle power for this wave. photo: Heifara Navaro

up being dragged across the reef. After the set was over we saw Drew standing on the reef and waving his hands. When the water filled in over the reef, he was able to start paddling back to the boat. We noticed the blood covering his face and we knew he was in trouble. Seeing how serious it was, Aroma threw his sandwich in the water and told the rest of us to either get in the boat or stay put until he came back for us. Ryan and Brandon decided to stay while Aroma had the boat driver punch it back to shore to get Drew medical care. As luck would have it, an ambulance crew was eating lunch on the dock as they pulled up, and the EMTs quickly whisked him off the hospital.

The boat returned to the reef and Brandon and Ryan kept surfing while Taylor kept shooting. After a few hours they received word that Drew was scraped up but not in any life danger, so they headed over to Teahupo’o. It looked a little messy, but no one was out, so Brandon and Ryan decided to give it a go. Even though the waves were only about 5- to 6-foot, they got a feel for how this wave could be on the big days seen in videos and magazines. It’s amazing how much water sucks off the reef when the sets come in. You’re either in the spot or you aren’t.

It’s a very tricky wave on a SUP. Soon the crew headed back to the Facade family home and found Drew with a head full of gauze, which looked like a turban. We shared stories about our day as we sat on the beach having drinks and watching the sunset. We found out later that the part of the reef Drew hit was called the Tattoo Parlor. Now Drew has a permanent tattoo from his trip to Tahiti.

D AY 4 On day four, we stuck around the event site, did interviews with the local news, trained with our Tahiti team members and shot footage with the drone.

D AY 5 : R A C E D AY At the Air Tahiti Nui race, a great cross-section of the Tahitian

Heifara Navaro

community turned out in support of Maeva and her vision of exposing more Tahitians to stand-up paddling. The community’s lifestyle is built around the water, and stand-up paddling is a natural fit.

The 3-mile open race was for stand-up and prone paddlers. The elite race had a bit of a different format of 1-mile team relays in three different disciplines: prone, canoe and stand-up. Brandon won third in the open race and Ryan and his partner placed first in the elite race.

With his bandaged head, Drew put his creative talent to use, sitting on the beach and painting virtually anything you could give him, including paddles or boards for the local kids.

After the awards the boys paddled out to Taapuna and surfed some of the most fun waves of the trip. Although the waves were small, they were clean and had a nearly perfect shape. At dusk they paddled in and found everyone from the event still hanging around, enjoying refreshments and watching the sunset.

D AY 6 On the last day we stayed close to town and surfed Papar. Ryan played around doing his fin surf moves (Ryan has a special talent of surfing with no fins), much to the amazement of the local groms. We finished the day saying our goodbyes and watching a beautiful sunset on the beach at Sapinus. We reflected on all we had done in the past week and how amazing the Tahitian people had been to us during our stay. We made many new friends and learned a lot about Tahiti, a truly beautiful place with many exciting things to do and see. Photos don’t show the full splendor of this paradise; you must witness it for yourself.

S P E C I A L T H A N K S TO A I R TA H I T I N U I F O R M A K I N G A L L T H I S P O SS I B L E .

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g n i S s on

Ri

EXPLORING JAPAN WITH

STORY BY BART DE ZWART PHOTOS BY FRANZ ORSI

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“R

acers, on your mark…” yelled the official beach marshal. The starting signal for the long-distance race for the World Series in Japan went off and I ran as fast as I could to the water line, which wasn’t easy because of the 15knot headwind. My board was flying all over the place. Once I hit the water, I felt at home again and I looked around; I was maybe in 15th place. I have never been a good beach starter but after

Early morning paddle to the Isakii Shrine

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a couple hundred meters I was in sixth place, with Chase Kosterlitz directly in front of me and my good friend Tomoyasu Murabayasui, known as SUP Tomo, right on my heels. After a long and hard battle with the top Japanese riders, Chase and the wind, sixth place was also my final position.

When we go to these races all over the world, we often spend too little time in the country. We arrive two or three days before the event, check the course, train a little at the site, race for two days, and the next day we are already heading home. Not this time! Franz Orsi (photographer and fellow paddler), Tomo and I had a better plan. We brought our Starboard inflatables and took a road trip to check out the water, the culture and the people of Japan, a country I had never visited that surprised me in many ways.

It was time to stop and enjoy the moment in the Land of the Rising Sun with its rising son and favorite racer, SUP Tomo.

On Oki Island, there are no cars, only bicycles.

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There are 127 million people in Japan, which is probably why the coastline is heavily built with houses, factories and roads as far as the eye can see.

The beauty of Japan is hidden inside the country. As soon as you turn inland, nature’s beauty surrounds you with lush green forests, bamboo, rice fields and green tea plantations. The roads in the cities and towns are narrow and disorganized. It is good that most people ride in small cars and are exceptionally courteous in traffic.

The morning after the race, we rose early and drove to Shiraito Falls, a beautiful waterfall and a sacred place under the Fuji cult—I could easily understand why.

To get there we walked along the river and went down the stairs. Although the morning started very cloudy, as soon as we entered the small canyon where the falls are, the sun showed itself through the dark green leaves of the trees surrounding this magical place. We started pumping up our inflatable boards and tourists (mostly Japanese) seemed very interested in what we were

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“...the sun showed itself through the dark green leaves of the trees surrounding this magical place.”

Paddling back on Lake Biwa

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The beauty of Japan is hidden inside the country.

doing. A few minutes later we hopped in the water.

Only 10 days prior, Japan had a major typhoon that hit the coast and brought lots of rain. The weather wasn’t typical: It was hot but cloudy.

That’s why we were thrilled that on our way to Mount Fuji the mountain appeared. It is an impressive 12,388 feet with a perfect cinder cone on top.

This dormant volcano is one of the major symbols of Japan and has a majestic quality, like a masterpiece painting hanging in an empty room.

We drove to Lake Motosu and met the local SUP shop owner, Hirofumi Akaike.

I was amazed by how

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“The place’s tranquility encourages people to talk quietly.”

S courteous Japanese people are. They are always very polite, bowing all the time, smiling and cheerful. For instance, at the supermarket, employees bow and present your receipt with both hands. When we took a taxi to the race site, the driver brought us to the wrong end of a very long beach, which was not his mistake but rather a translation problem. In most places in the world the taxi driver might be slightly annoyed and charge for the extra driving. Not in Japan, where the driver laughed, stopped the meter, stayed very friendly and drove us the extra few miles to the right entry of the event site. He didn’t even want the full meter price. At the races, I have never met a better crowd. They cheer on every racer with the same enthusiasm for the first as the last, and they are always happy and bright, displaying an incredible sense of fair play.

Back at Lake Motosu, after being warmly welcomed by Hirofumi, we had a traditional lunch at a local restaurant. I have never eaten so much rice as on this trip. Don’t get me wrong, I like rice, but not for breakfast, lunch and dinner— rice at every meal was a bit much for me. So after two days of rice and miso soup for breakfast I found some muesli in a corner of the supermarket and traded the breakfast rice for some cereal with yogurt.

After lunch we pumped up our boards and paddled around

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Greenery and waterfalls on our way to Mount Fuji

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the lake with Mount Fuji behind us. The mountain didn’t have its trademark white snowcap. Everybody on the lake was enjoying the water. Japan has a very fast-growing stand-up paddle community. And because most houses and cars are small compared to the rest of the world, inflatable boards are highly popular.

Our next stop was Lake Biwa, Japan’s biggest lake.

Although surrounded by big cities, the lake and a few islands are very quiet and traditional. Here we met Kazuo Shirai and his wife, who own a stand-up paddle shop and let us sleep in their small cottages.

The next day we went for a sunrise paddle. We paddled to the Isakii shrine and climbed its stairs. The place’s tranquility encourages people to talk quietly. A 3-mile paddle farther down the lake led us to the village of Okishimacho on Oki Island, where there are no cars,

Getting some experience in river paddling on the Iya River

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“Mountains here tend to rise steep from the bottom, which makes for dramatic landscapes.”

only bicycles. We strolled through the tiny streets of the fishing village and had a brief view of traditional life in Japan: fishing, walking and biking, watching the world go by and talking on the waterfront.

The next day we went into the mountains. We arrived in the Iya Valley and slept in an inn next to a very loud and impressive waterfall. The traditional small rooms had tatami mats on the floor. Japanese houses are usually pretty small, so Japanese culture has found a practical way to overcome this problem: Almost every activity in the house takes place in a sort of multifunctional space. Come evening, the living room becomes a dining room where the whole family eats on the floor. Later you simply roll out your sleeping mat and voilà, the room serves as a bedroom. Without big tables and beds in the way, the room has enough space for all these activities.

We woke up early to do some river paddling. Most rivers were very swollen because of the recent rain. We started at a place where there is a hanging bridge made mostly of wood and

Passing through bamboo forests

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twines. The river looked rough, with big boulders and rapids, so I only did a short paddle. We found a better part of the Iya River further along, with plenty of small rapids. The river runs through canyons and along many villages. It is a well-known place for river rafting in Japan.

As an ocean paddler living on Maui, I don’t have much experience with rivers. This river was flowing fast but once I got used to the currents, eddies and swirls, all trying to throw me off my board, I found it exciting and a lot of fun. Even if I weren’t paddling, the world was passing by quickly. Mountains here tend to rise steep from the bottom, which makes for dramatic landscapes. Along the river between the big boulders, I took short breaks before I surrendered myself to the next rapids.

I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely and made a mental note to do more river expeditions in the future. The rapids and the anticipation

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of what is around the next river bend make this type of paddling very exciting.

After a great time in the mountains, our next stop was Hiroshima. On our way, we heard news that many people died that day because of the torrential rain the night before, which caused massive landslides. Out of respect to those who lost their lives, we decided against paddling the river in Hiroshima.

Instead we walked to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the legacy of the city as the first in the world to suffer a nuclear attack, and to the memories of the bomb’s direct and indirect victims.

On August 6, 1945, the bomb destroyed almost everything in a 1-mile radius from the center of the explosion; only the dome and some of the walls of the former Industrial Promotion Hall, built in 1915, withstood the blast. The remains of that dome, now a UNESCO World Heritage

Our bed for the night in Iya Valley

“I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely and made a mental note to do more river expeditions....�

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“But adventure is always around the bend and

wilderness keeps calling

those who are drawn to it.”

Site called the Atomic Bomb Dome, still stand in memory of what humans can do to each other. More than 80,000 people died on that infamous day, which will never be forgotten.

For our final dinner with Tomo and Kazuya Ushio, local owner of Boardworks surf shop, we went downtown for some great Japanese food.

Our last stop was Hiroshima Station. After more than eight days in Japan it was time to head home. The Shinkansen was a suitable end to our trip. This high-speed bullet train is representative of the modern

side of Japan, a highly technical and computerized world where drinks come out of talking vending machines and the iPhone is the nation’s preferred gadget.

Under this impressive layer of West-channeling modernity is a deep core of traditional culture that influences every corner of the country.

Japan is surely a very modern society, characterized by highly urbanized landscapes that give you a glimpse of what the future might look like.

But adventure is always around the bend and wilderness keeps calling those who are drawn to it.

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SUP’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

W I T H M A U I WAT E R M A N

LOCH EGGERS

By Eric Haka Photos: Darrell Wong

If there’s one thing Hawaii’s water community has, it is an abundance of watermen. Men whose connection to the ocean comes in its purest form. No hype or bull; they enjoy it, thrive on it and look forward to days where most so-called “water people” run for their

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Loch smiles along the gentle lapping waves of Waikiki, the birthplace of modern-day surfing and SUP. Behind him is the Pink Palace (aka the Royal Hawaiian Hotel).

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lives. For those few who live life on the water, born and raised in the tiny islands in the massive, powerful Pacific Ocean, the connection runs deep. Loch Eggers is one of those few who understands just that and will give it to you straight.

OAHU TO MAUI When I first moved to Maui, I was unfamiliar with the scene. I was this underground guy, born and raised on the South Shore of Oahu.

I surfed and paddled on Oahu and Hanalei, where I knew Laird from the mid-80s (he had already moved to Maui by then). I also knew Robby Naish, who grew up with my older brother Billy. In the mid-70s, my brother went to Robby’s 12th or 13th birthday party in Kailua, and came home saying Robby was doing this thing called windsurfing, using this huge longboard with a sail on it. He told me it was like when he and I were sailing the Sunfish around with me holding on to the boom of the sail. After that I saw Robby being interviewed on the PBS TV station; he’d won the Pan-Am windsurfing world championships in Kailua. At 13, he beat guys more than twice his age from around the world. He had the trophy right next to him and it was bigger than he was. The rest is history.

A photographer from Oahu named Darrell Wong also lived on Maui. I first met him back in ‘82 on Oahu at Kahala Beach, and I’ve known him most of my life—he’s a local boy and good friend. He filmed windsurfing and other stuff with my brother Hunter and our good friend Wyatt Jones for windsurfing catalogs. I would go over to his house and talk about “dis and dat” (local stuff).

Going out in sizable waves with no one around can be heavy and peaceful at the same time.

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Loch says, “This picture of Laird Hamilton and me was taken in winter of 2003 at Ho’okipa. I remember getting cleaned out by a 10’ wave outside Paia Bay. My leash broke and my paddle was gone. I got washed into the lagoon. Laird came up to me while I was in a exhausted, semi-panicked mode and told me to calm down and find center again—then he yelled at me to go find that paddle.”

During this time, Robby, Laird and Dave Kalama were all major celebrity legends, for good reason. I was just kind of local boy Loch, living on Maui.

Dave and Laird pulled me into their group about 15 years ago; I was like the teased stepchild that needed a home. We had some fun adventures together.

Like I said, these guys were famous on a global level, but I couldn’t care less how famous they were. I was telling myself, these guys do all these fun things in the ocean and I want to go with them. What’s nice about Dave, Laird and Robby is that they go by the local-boy rules because they were born and raised in Hawaii. It doesn’t matter how many world championships you won or how big of waves you’re surfing; you always treat your local friends the same. If you get an attitude about being big and cool because you’re famous somewhere else in the world, you’re going to get a beat-down. Don’t let it get to your head. As a good friend of mine told me, “Brah! Loch! It doesn’t matter who you are in Hawaii. Everyone gets their head slapped if you do not show respect.” So I was stoked to see this with these guys and it made me stay on Maui.

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I started to SUP with Laird. He would paddlesurf Ho’okipa and do these coast runs in and out through the surf from Maliko Gulch to our friend Honeybun Haynes’ house just before Kanaha Beach. For about a year, I watched Laird do this. It looked different and fun.

I remembered the Ah Choy brothers doing it in Waikiki when I was young but this was on another level. So the following winter (2002-2003) Laird took me out SUPping for the first time in front of Dave Kalama’s dad’s house on Baldwin Beach. I dragged down Laird’s 45-pound SUP board and he told me to jump on the horse and see how many times it bucked me off. I jumped on the board in the water, stood up and fell right on my face on the nose of the board. Laird yelled at me to get up, then said he was leaving to go have his triple espresso in Paia and would be back in one hour. He came back an hour later and I was lying on the ground in total exhaustion. He asked how it went, and I told him I fell a thousand times and my whole body was in complete pain. He looked at me and said, “Good workout, yeah?” and then he winked. I told him, “Brah! I am all in with this!” For me, it was like learning how to surf and paddle again. I was on cloud nine. Canoe paddling mixed with surfing: what a perfect marriage of two Hawaiian water sports.

To be honest, Laird never wanted to turn this into a big sport. His intentions were to have fun and distance himself from the crowds. I guess this majorly backfired.

Today, I’m really happy to see people drag a big board and paddle to the beach and go for a surf or a paddle. I read about people doing a bigger push toward education and fitness in SUP, which the sport really needs. The sport started by entering the expert pro competition stuff, which was part of most of the SUP companies’ business format.

They forgot about the other 98 percent of people who could give a rat’s ass about doing a downwinder race, racing around buoys through the surf or world champions. This 98 percent just wanted to know how to put their board on and off their car and go paddle.

As Laird has said several times, “The sport has not even had a generation of paddlers yet.”

REAL WATERMEN There are so many people who call themselves watermen or waterwomen; actually, the word is new to water sports. I never heard it when I was young. I grew up at the Outrigger Canoe Club on Oahu among the best water athletes in the world. That’s the phrase I always heard, water athlete. These guys were talented in all aspects of the ocean: surfing, canoe paddling, fishing, sailing, building surfboards and sailing canoes.

When I was about 12 years old, my family had a friend in Nip Akona, a half Hawaiian, half Japanese man who was about 65 years old. Nip and Duke were best friends and people considered Nip the best fisherman in Waikiki. He knew all the squid holes and all the good fishing grounds from Ala Moana to Diamond Head. He also knew all the surf breaks. Once when I was young, my dad told me that Uncle Nip wanted me to go fishing with him. I was nervous. To have Nip ask you to go fishing would be like Duke calling you up to go surfing. So I showed up at the Outrigger and Nip was waiting with a canoe.

He looked at me and said, “You ready, boy?”

I nodded nervously. We carried the Duke Kahanamoku four-man surfing canoe to the water. It was a pretty big canoe, but Nip’s first rule was that the Duke canoe should never be dragged to water. Out of respect for his friend, the canoe was carried over the sand and placed in the water.

“I TOLD HIM, ‘BRAH! I AM ALL IN WITH THIS!’ FOR ME, IT WAS LIKE LEARNING HOW TO SURF AND PADDLE AGAIN. I WAS ON CLOUD NINE.” Surfing the outer reefs early in the morning with these conditions calls to mind rushing to the Christmas tree as a child.

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Holding the paddle deep in the tube. I call this day the big test for Darrell’s Go Pro mount. This is the day we first tested the Wong mount. I pretty much got pounded trying to get this picture at “Freight Trains”. The South swell was a solid 4’ to 6’ breaking in 4’ of water with a sea urchin reef.

We paddled out of the Outrigger and Nip told me about all the fishing grounds and surf breaks. Here I was at 12 years old, paddling a 300-pound canoe with Nip all the way to the Diamond Head buoy.

We got to the buoy and I was exhausted. Nip said, “Come on, boy, pick it up, you are slowing down.” So we rounded the buoy and headed for the Outrigger. We got to the Outrigger and I figured we were going to turn in, but Nip said, “Keep paddling, boy.”

I was thinking, this guy is going to punish me. So we paddled all the way to Queens. We pulled up and Nip said, “You bring money for lunch?” I said no. He said, “Here, boy, take my mask and go to the corner of Kuhio Beach wall. My bank account is there in the water.” I was like, what’s going on with this? I was totally exhausted, but I swam to the corner, and there was all this money floating around: Nip’s bank account. So I came back, and Nip asked, “How much money you get?”

I showed him, and we paddled to the Moana Surfrider Hotel. As we approached the beach, all the beach boys came down, and one grabbed the front of the Duke canoe before it hit the sand. Nip and I jumped out and

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“One day Dave Kalama called me and said he bought a new surfing canoe and wanted to go test it out. So I met Dave and Laird at the beach and the next thing you know Laird was towing us up to Jaws on his Jet Ski.”

“I HAVE BEEN MESSING AROUND IN THE OCEAN FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS. I DO HAVE THE SAME STOKE.” STANDUPpaddlemagazine.COM /

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“MY MOM GREW UP ON THE BEACH IN WAIKIKI WITH HER BROTHERS AND SISTER. WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG, SHE TOLD MY BROTHER HUNTER THAT DUKE WOULD GIVE HER SURFING TIPS OUT IN THE LINEUP.”

about 15 legendary Waikiki beach boys carried the Duke at chest level, gently placing it on the beach at Waikiki. Here I was, this 12-year-old Haole kid, watching all this in total amazement.

After the canoe was placed on the sand, the legend Rabbit Kekai said to Nip, “So, how did the Haole boy paddle?”

Nip said, “Look in the canoe and see all the fish we caught.”

All the beach boys looked in the canoe and Rabbit’s brother Jamma said, “Brah, the Haole boy can paddle!” I was among the royalty of true watermen and was complimented by one of them.

What do I have to say about people calling themselves watermen?

Everybody has a different story on why they think they are one and how they became one. I will just leave it at that.

OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS I’m in my late 40s so I’m focusing on staying healthy. Getting older is making its move on me, and I want to have the same motivation that I had 20 years ago. I have been messing around in the ocean for more than 40 years. I do have the same stoke. I look forward to surfing good waves with my friends and family.

I also learned one major life lesson: Family comes first; pretty much everything else is second. For me to have my mom pop me out in Hawaii was a true blessing. They also had to wipe up my

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Captions: (clockwise from top) My mom during the golden years of pureness in Hawaii, Sail-surfing off Waikiki is all about fun on the water, The Outrigger Canoe Club crossing the Kaiwi Channel with my father’s crew during the Molokai Hoe race in1966., Sailing fun., Sonni Hoensheid and I just goofing and laughing off Diamond Head., My mom (third left) and the 1958 crew, winners of the Na Wahine O Ke Kai., Love having a paddle in my hand and gliding.

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“The thing everyone with a paddle in hand must remember is we need to respect those who are in the water as a way of life,” Loch says. “When we started doing this, it was a way of finding new spots. Learn to share the ocean, not own it.”

sh*t and put up with the same. They fed me, housed me and supported me through all kinds of crap. I have a really great family. My mom and dad did their best raising us; I still think they are raising us. My dad was really good at keeping us in the ocean. Every weekend, he would take my brothers, the neighborhood kids and me to the beach in this Datsun pickup truck. He would load about 20-plus kids in the pickup, and we would go to Sandy Beach or Makapu’u Beach for the whole weekend. It was cool because he was not like a dad to all my friends and my brother’s friends; he was like an older brother. All of us ended up doing stuff with my dad that most parents would frown upon and raise hell about.

My father was a really good canoe paddler and diver back in his day. He also paddled for Outrigger Canoe Club and paddled the 1966 Molokai-to-Oahu race, a very dangerous crossing at the time. The conditions that year were 18- to 22-foot seas and 30 knots of wind.

He told me it was a race for survival. He was paddling with Fred Hemmings and others with the Outrigger Canoe Club. The swells were so big that year that they would be paddling along, and open-ocean waves would tube over the whole canoe. They would lose sight of the escort boat for 20 minutes at a time due to the troughs of the waves being so deep.

During the race they decided not to do any changes for fear of losing crewmembers.

They would surf down on 20-foot open ocean waves, going full speed into the wave in front of them, and the guys sitting in seats 1 through 3 would completely disappear.

You talk to most guys that paddled that year, and they will tell you that they were all lucky to make it to Oahu. The Molokaito-Oahu paddleboard race has never come close to this since then. If this happened during a M2O, people would be dropping out like flies, mostly due to their lack of knowledge about rough-water paddling. If there were anything in the 15-foot-plus open-ocean wave range with plenty wind, some people that consider themselves watermen and waterwomen would think twice about their ability.

My mom grew up on the beach in Waikiki with her brothers and sister. When she was young, she told my brother Hunter that Duke would give her surfing tips out in the lineup.

Duke would surf right with her on the same wave and tell her how to stand and where to put her feet. Uncle Rabbit taught my mom how to canoe paddle. She paddled on the senior women’s crew back in 1958. Uncle George Downing coached them, and she paddled with George’s wife Gildea and others. They were undefeated state champions that year. My mom paddled competitively for a long time. They had a team of ladies that won a lot of races.

They were steered by legendary waterwoman

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Loch says, “I have known Malama Chun for about 30 years. He and I have competed against each other in many inter-island canoe sailing races. He is one of the most humble, soft-spoken Hawaiians you’ll ever meet. He made Laird’s first complete SUP paddle in 1999 and has hand-crafted over a thousand beautiful paddles for people over the years.”

Keanuenue Rochlen, who was once married to Rabbit and later married Dave Rochlen, who founded the world-renowned brand Surfline and Jams Hawaii.

RACING AND CROSSING THE CHANNEL My brothers Hunter and Billy are also really good water athletes. Together with our friend, water athlete Wyatt Jones, my brother Hunter and I paddled the M2O race a few years ago in the three-man team event. I had never paddled the race before. My brother and I had coached Dave Kalama years before in the M2O. Hunter always said we should do a three-man team and spank these guys. He told me most of the SUPers were new paddlers, and they act all tough. There is a big difference between a canoe paddler’s ego and a SUPer’s. Since the sport is so new, you have all these overinflated egos in the SUP world. Canoe paddlers are more down-to-earth.

So I told Hunter to give Wyatt Jones a call, and let’s bury some people.

So on race day I pulled up to the starting line at the Kaluakoi on Molokai. Mark Rapahorst from SIC pulled up to me on this super-trickedout board he made for his relay team. I was riding one of his first F-16 boards made about six years earlier, and I told him, “Brah, when my boys and I bury you guys today, are you going to put me on your SIC website for winning and beating you in this division?”

He gave me this funny chuckle.

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Loch says, “This is a photo of September swell at Maalaea a few years ago. It was 3’ to 5’ with super-light trade winds. Usually it’s blowing 20 knots plus on average. Not holding my breath this will happen again.”

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“IF YOU GET AN ATTITUDE ABOUT BEING BIG AND COOL BECAUSE YOU’RE FAMOUS SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, YOU’RE GOING TO GET A BEATDOWN. DON’T LET IT GET TO YOUR HEAD.”

All the other teams had the luxury of boat captains and crews, but we drove our escort boat during the race. We had engine problems and could never throttle all the way down. We had to keep the boat moving so it would not shut off. We also had to do changes and pickups during the crossing. It was super-frickin’ dangerous, and we had to be on track the whole way. Hunter and I had a shouting match during the crossing when the boat died again; he looked at me and said, “Shut up and get busy to get this boat started.” I shut up and helped my brother and then went to find Wyatt 20 minutes later.

So there I was, standing on my board at the finish line at Hawaii Kai. Our goal was to win our division and come in under five hours. My brother went to check the results, and we won our division and came in at 4:59:30. Made it by 30 seconds. Still never made the SIC website. <laughs> MAUI WATERS Maui isn’t like Oahu, where you have maybe 50 average to really good spots you can choose on a given day. On Maui, it’s much different due to weather conditions. Maui has lots of the wind and limited spots, so to go and get no wind and good waves at a spot on Maui is super-time-sensitive.

My spot on Oahu is in Honolulu from Black Point to right in front of the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki, where I grew up. I watched a spot on Maui called Kanaha get so out of control with SUPers; it was super-dangerous. It was like a demolition derby out there with those big boards. The main prone longboard guys that were surfing out there for the past 30 years were getting pissed off. I did not surf out there for about six years, and I went out there one day, and it was fully out of control. The SUPers were not giving any waves to the longboard guys.

One of my friends yelled at me, “See what you guys created?” These SUPers were giving me attitude too. I was telling myself, “Wow! My No. 1 rule in surfing is to respect the local guys first.”

Growing up in Waikiki, everyone respected the locals and the pecking order. If you didn’t play by the rules you got your head slapped. So I yelled at these SUPers who were mostly transplant Haoles from the mainland to give the longboard guys room.

The SUPers backed off and they gave me the vibe.

My longboard friends gave me the nod of thanks.

So I am paddling back out after a wave and these two SUPers take off right in front of me, about 100 feet away. They went right for me and ran me over.

I came up from being tangled in all the leashes and just started swinging. These guys were not even born and raised here in Hawaii and they purposely ran me over. So I stood up on my board and this one guy came up to me and said, “This is your tribe,

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man; how can you go against your tribe?” I jumped off my board and slapped that idiot as well. Kind of like a cleaning-house deal. I am not one to be violent or hurt people, but if you try to take me out for no reason, I will bite back.

OUTER REEFS I also surfed the outer reefs a lot on Maui’s North Shore. I have found it way less crowded. Dave Kalama showed me this spot about 10 years ago. We were SUPing Hookipa on a nice swell and he asked if I wanted to go check this spot up the coast.

We paddled really far out, which I was not used to. There were these perfect pyramid peaks coming in the 6- to 8-foot range without any wind. I watched Dave take off on the first wave. We were riding all the equipment of the day, which were these big longboard-style SUPs. I watched Dave come down on this 8-foot Hawaiian size wave, and he ran to the nose and did this hang five in this perfect almondshaped barrel. My jaw hit the deck of the board when he came flying out of the tube. The wave he caught was the best SUP wave I’d ever seen surfed.

I’d watched some guys on other good waves, but this was monumental because the SUP thing was so new—we didn’t know if we could pull this stuff off with the equipment we were on.

BEST FRIEND AND NOTED PHOTOGRAPHER About 12 years ago, Laird, Dave Kalama and I were messing around with the SUP thing and canoe surfed Jaws a few times. No one took the SUP thing seriously so photographer Darrell Wong was able to get some of the first footage of us SUP surfing at Hookipa and Jaws. It was pretty much filler for Laird and Dave to promote themselves through their sponsors and magazine articles. When the board manufacturing companies started to get involved it was a bonanza for all these photographers to start doing shoots for magazines and catalogs. Then all these no-name photographers started to take cuts out of the pie here on Maui, working the SUP scene.

Soon afterward, I talked with Darrell, and these guys were pulling food off of his family’s table. I put family first, and Darrell is family. Soon afterward, he called me and told me the GoPro mount he had been working on was ready. I went over to his house and he busted out this 28” bar that connects to the nose or the tail of the SUP board. We put the mount together and have been shooting some really good stuff with the GoPro. It’s good for Darrell because I do all the work and he never gets wet. He has to do a lot of editing due to the setup of the camera.

On other shots he has taken of me, it has just been perfect timing for both of us. To me, Darrell is the Yoda of surf photography: He’s at the right place at the right time, creating the perfect angle and pressing the trigger on the camera at the perfect moment.

The other day when he was looking at pictures he took in the mid-80s, he showed me a picture and asked if it was my brother Hunter. I told him it was me, and he said, “Oh, that’s when you were skinnier.”

The truth hurts most of the time but when good friends tell it like it is, that’s who I want to roll with: the ones who not only walk straight but also talk straight.

FOR THOSE FEW WHO LIVE LIFE ON THE WATER, BORN AND RAISED IN THE TINY ISLANDS IN THE MASSIVE, POWERFUL PACIFIC OCEAN, THE CONNECTION RUNS DEEP.

“Away from everybody, this day was special. It was 15’ to 20’, a north swell with light winds. I called Darrell Wong and John Smalley and said,”You guys better get down here; there is something special going on at the outer reef.” After the session I told them partaking in this form of nature might not happen again in our able-bodied lifetime. Time moves on. Enjoy the now!”

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HAWAIIAN

WATERMAN:

L E L E O STORY BY ERIC HAKA PHOTOS BY ERIC HAKA AND SHAWN MCNABB

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O Back in 2004, when the first real wave started breaking in the SUP world, one man stood out from the pack. His ability to stand on a paddleboard was such that he rode far more progressively than any of his rivals. This was before racing really took hold. He was already building paddles for canoe paddling and making custom Hawaiian SUP paddles, which were refined by his skills both on and in the water.

Leleo Kinimaka plies his trade as a true Hawaiian woods craftsman and waterman. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My primary influence came directly from the father of surfing. My father, Percy, worked on Waikiki Beach as a beach boy in the 1950s and his captain was the legendary

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“SINCE THEN, I’VE FELT

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Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. After he had been promoted to captain as well, he was approached to head a beach service at a new hotel built on Kauai, at Kalapaki Beach. Here is where we all learned true aloha, hospitality and ocean safety. Duke’s influence on my dad reached family members such as Titus, Kimo, Ale Kai and Kaupena Kinimaka. It also inspired other watermen and waterwomen, who would come and work as beach boys for my dad—people like the Kaulukukui brothers, Tom Pohaku Stone, and Keoni and Laola Lake.”

“I moved to California in the early 1990s after Hurricane Iniki in 1992, and it was a great experience for me since I lived on Kauai all my life. It was the best thing to do at the time because after the hurricane hit us everything came to a standstill in the hospitality industry.

It was there that I started working with wood at a cabinet factory in San Diego. I remember the day I stayed late after work to try and make my first paddle. Since then I’ve felt very

VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT

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“My father, Percy,

passionate about wood as an art form. Today my passion is devoted to the preservation of the Hawaiian paddle, wood surfboards and custom furniture.”

“In 2001, I was on the Big Island with an outrigger team from California for the Queen Liliuokalani long-distance race and I ran into a relative who mentioned there was a construction boom going on there. I went back to San Diego, got some tools and was back on the Big Island the following Monday to do subcontract woodworking. In 2007, after the economic crash, it was off to Oahu—there was more opportunity there, and the whole SUP business started taking off.”

“I remember being the only guy doing SUP on the Big Island. Coming to Oahu was cool because a handful of guys

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worked on Waikiki Beach as were already into it there. I remember SUPing with Brian Keaulana and Todd Bradley, as well as Blane Chambers and Dave Parmenter. They were the only ones making progressive SUPs. We were on tandem boards and anything we could balance on. Chambers’ boards were like magic for me, and everything just exploded after that.”

“As for canoe paddling, it’s part of my family heritage.

Just like playing baseball or football, we start young in Hawaii. I remember my first regatta OC-6 racing season on Kauai when I was 10 years old, and here I am 42 years later, doing the same thing in the same seat, number 6. I’ve had the pleasure of racing OC-6 with some excellent crews like team California, Kai Opua (Hawaii Island), Manu O Kekai,

a beach boy in the 1950s and his captain was the legendary Duke Paoa Kahanamoku.”

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“Today my passion is devoted to the preservation of the

North Shore (Oahu) and Kai Ola (Kauai), and had some great channel crossings with the crew of extraordinary watermen we threw together in the offseason. We all love doing our Oahu downwinders from Makapuu to Hawaii Kai or Hawaii Kai to Kaimana Beach on our one-man outrigger canoes.”

“I recently picked up tandem surfing. I began doing it after the loss of my mom seven years ago; I thought it would be a good way to honor my parents as that’s what they enjoyed doing in Waikiki. So I got a partner to tandem surf with in the annual Duke’s Surf Fest at Kuhio Beach and today my partners and I are still having fun doing it.”

“The years and the ocean have taught me many things. I learned a valuable lesson in success, and your bank account does not measure it. What is important is your solid relationship with family, friends and the powers above us. Hawaiians call it Ke Akua. Making things sound and right with that relationship is the priority and the ultimate success.”

“Lastly, growing up back in the day of no leashes, we all kept a close eye on each other.

We respected our elders and asked them if they were going on a wave before just paddling for it. Sadly, this tradition seems to have faded. Be

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Hawaiian paddle, wood surfboards and custom furniture.â&#x20AC;?

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“I learned a valuable le success, and

your bank account doe measure it.”

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respectful of the Kupuna [older watermen and waterwomen] as well as the ocean and its power. If you can’t swim to the beach for your board and take a couple on the head without a flotation device, you probably shouldn’t be out there. The ocean is the largest mass on the planet and can take you out easily. Learn and teach what you have learned; it’s a huge part of becoming a waterman or waterwoman.”

QUIVERS & WHEELS DREW BRO PHY

By Paul Ensyde Photos: Dan Krauss

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PAINTED ROAD TRIPS: ADVENTURES IN THE DREAM MACHINE Drew Brophy SAN CLEMENTE, CA A R T I S T , A D V E N T U R E S E E K E R , R O A D WA R R I O R

You’ve seen his artwork all over Southern California’s coast and even in the corporate world, where his cool vibe is in high demand. When he’s not painting or riding, he’s on the road. As long as he has a tank of gas, Drew Brophy will travel.

This 2008 Ford E150 van is the art vehicle centerpiece in the town of San Clemente. If you live in any of the neighboring towns, you’ve seen him out there creating his next project in the Dream Machine.

“We passed the 150,000-mile mark this past summer, and it’s still running great. I had a tune-up in the spring and the guy said the plugs were destroyed; I need new tires again too. This will be my fourth set. With maintenance and a little love, it will make it another 150,000.”

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“I ride a full range of boards, including a 12’6” Rivi Coastal Cruiser shaped by Ron House.”

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Photo: Jeff Marder

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Tell us about the art on the vehicle.

“It was all white and boring, so I spray-painted it to give it personality. We call it the Dream Machine. In 2009 my family and I had an adventure in New Zealand where we rented an Escape Campervan, which was painted amazing. We drove it for months all around the country, SUPing everywhere we went. I ended up befriending the owner and we helped him bring his vehicle to America, and I started painting them here. That was the inspiration for the Dream Machine, a total adventure van. We added an Aluminess roof rack and we headed out on the road.”

“We travel as a family, always on an adventure for work or

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QUIVERS & W H EELS D RE W BROP HY

“Our van has been to 34 states, across the country four or five times, and up and down the West Coast searching for big waves.” pleasure. Our van has been to 34 states, across the country four or five times, and up and down the West Coast searching for big waves.”

“My San Clemente Pier surf break is my 8’2” stock Riviera El Tigre, shaped by Taylor Rambo. The Black’s [Beach] surf break is an 8’6” swallowtail Riviera custom board shaped by Ron House. But I ride a full range of boards, including a 12’6” Rivi Coastal Cruiser shaped by Ron House, which I’ll take out along the coast when it’s small for adventure paddles, and also for lakes. I also have an 11’11’’ custom Ron House bigwave gun for spots such as Mavericks in Northern California, Nelscott revise: Reef in Oregon, and Todos Santos, Mexico. I’m really looking forward to riding it a lot this winter.”

“My quiver also includes a 10’6” Rivi Tube Gun shaped by Ron House for big tubes at places like Puerto, Mexico, Ocean Beach up in San Francisco, and big Black’s in San

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“We travel as a family, always on an adventure for work or pleasure.”

Diego. Finally, my 12’ Riviera Paddlesurf inflatable is an awesome adventure board. I use it in rivers where there are a lot of rocks. My kids fight over it on road trips.”

“While I love surfing, I’ve made some great memories in the last three years at Lake Powell, which has the most amazing red rock in the country. I also took a 21-hour drive to surf Nelscott Reef in Oregon, and this summer we did Tahoe and then took the 89 through the forest to Shasta. We were in so many lakes and waterfalls, it was epic. It captured my imagination and inspired me to put it down in paint. It was all thanks to the Dream Machine.”

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QUIVERS & WHEELS JASO N C O LC LO UGH

By Jim Freeman

A JANITOR’S QUIVER Jason Colclough WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA H E A D J A N I T O R , C A R O L I N A PA D D L E B O A R D C O .

As head janitor at Carolina Paddleboard Company, things don’t come as easily as one would hope, but when opportunity knocks and the waves are calling, even the cleanup guy gets the perk of local adventure—and sometimes even a vacation break in Costa Rica.

Says Jasan Colclough, “We actually get our fair share of surf in North Carolina. Sure, there are a lot of places

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QUIVERS & WHEELS JASO N C O LC LO UGH

“I started picking up boards back in the ‘90s. Some of the older boards are just a lot of fun to surf.” that are more consistent, but we enjoy the waves and the spots we have. It also helps you appreciate every moment when the surf is really good. For example, from August through October, we get hurricane surf. Everyone knows that we will be in and out, based on the waves. In the winter we rely on low-pressure systems moving across the country to produce surf. Hopefully they move offshore far enough north that it kicks down a fun little swell.”

“I started picking up boards back in the ‘90s. Some of the older boards are just a lot of fun to surf.”

“The blue longboard is a Hobie, 10’0” single-fin pintail shaped by Tyler Warren. It has one of the most beautiful pigmented glass jobs I have ever seen.”

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“The boat is a 1980s McKee Craft 14’ with a four-stroke Suzuki 40. It is perfect for running around the inland waterways to fish or look for waves. We have a number of spots that are easiest to get to by boat. We can also run it out in the ocean. It handles chop really well. It does have a low gunnel, so we only take it in the ocean when it is relatively calm.”

“In the barn I have a Havoc, an ‘80s WRV, a 1980s Corky Carroll thruster, a Scott Anderson Poacher, an Aloha mini-gun, and a Howard 6’2” Potato Chip. A late-50s (blue and gray) Joe Quigg is on the ground.”

You may never know what the head janitor at Carolina Paddleboard Co is cleaning up, the shop or surf but when he does, life can be an adventure.

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