On Mel Kinney by Len Barrow

Remembering Mel Kinney, photo SNN

I learned this morning that I just had a friend pass away.  His name was Mel Kinney.  If there were ever a waterman it was he.  Eddie Aikau would call him “The Kid” as he was the only 16 year old charging huge Waimea Bay in the early 70’s.

I met Mel when I was only 14.  He must have been 30 or so.  He looked like a gnarly Hawaiian guy, and at first I was quite intimidated by him.  The older guys at the surf-break Daimond Head Lighthouse in the early days would sometimes bully us young kids around.  Out of his good heart, Mel made sure that everything was cool with all and protected us.  He did not need to do this but he did.   Mel adopted us young kids and took care of us.  We felt safe when he was around him.

My most vivid memories of him were at Laniakea and Light-house surfing.  He would nose-ride barreling waves and go vertical on his longboard at Daimondhead.  At Laniakea, he would glide into Hawaiian 10 footers with ease.  His surfing style reminded me of an Ali’i Nui (King) of old.  His noble behavior also justified my belief that he was indeed modern day royalty in the best sense.

Mel would do really cool things.  One of our mutual surfer friends was having a long stay in the hospital in the states.  Mel came to the beach with a black pen (the expensive kind) and a few brand new surf mags.  He passed the magazines to everyone at Diamond Head and had them sign them as a type of “surfer get well card” too are hospitalized friend.  There was a huge amount of signatures.  I learned something that day.  I thought to myself: “that’s the kind of friend I want to have”.    To this day, I surround myself with kind, heartfelt people and I am happy.   Good Karma people.  Thanks Mel.

He never talked stink about anyone, cared for all, yet knew when to demand his dignity.  This is another thing I learned from Mel:  That to be respected requires you to give respect first. 

One day Mel told me that ” he could not wait to see me jump off shortboards and go to longboards”.   I thought the comment was a bit odd but the rest is history.   Mel was one reason that I longboard today.  He encouraged me to go to the new craft.  Besides he looked like he was having so much fun on his longboard.  I had to do it.

The first time I surfed 8’ foot Hawaiian style waves was with Mel.  Oddly enough the wave was in town not the North Shore.  We met up at a spot called Browns, arguably one of the heaviest waves on the South Shore, a favorite of Mel’s.  When we pulled up, it was unusually big for the South Shore.    I was scared.  There were a lot of broken boards and the only spot surf-able on this huge swell was Bowls and the break we were at.  Mel was stoked and wanted to rush out yet he took the time to show me the channel, how the break worked and the exact line up points.  He even taught me how to bail my board!  Mel and I had a blast that day.  

Mel had a big Hawaiian smile.  I loved his humor, his dignity and his willingness to help all.   In short he was one of the last people that I knew that still “payed attention” through kindness, education and friendship.

They just don’t build them like that anymore.

I will miss you Mel, yet your energies are carried on by your influence with all.

Auwe, Auwe, Auwe 

If you knew Mel, please add your comments below.  Aloha.

What’s Up with Bottom Rocker? By Len Barrow

Bottom rocker is one of the least understood aspect of SUP and surfboard design.  Despite this the key concepts are quite simple and understandable.  The following article will explain how various rockers function and what wave types they are meant for.

Bottom rocker is simply the curve in the bottom of your board from the tip of the nose to the tail.  This aspect of design has huge ramifications in relation to how your board will perform in various conditions.

Rocker variations, allows the board to fit in the curve of a wave or lack of curve in the wave.  If you are riding one foot gentle breakers there is no need for too much rocker or bottom curve.  In fact if you have too much bottom curve in small flat waves, your board will start to “push water” rather than flow over it and you will slow down.  In short a flat fits into a flat naturally, or a flat rocker, fits into a flat wave as the board flows over the water with the least amount of friction. That’s why the big boards at Waikiki (small flat waves) have very flat and even rockers.

If the wave is bowling or barreling in a semi-circle and large the opposite is true.  If your board has too little rocker in bowling waves the board may nose-dive, or be difficult to maneuver as it cannot fit into the curve of the wave.  That’s why when you see surfers at pipeline, where the waves are extremely hollow and curved, the expert surfers are riding highly rockered boards.  Again, a curve fits a curve.   Similarly a heavily rockered board fits a heavily curved wave.

Rocker in the Tail.

Rocker in the tail is what we call kick, tail flip or simply “tail rocker”.  Again the type of tail rocker you choose depends on the type of waves you ride.  Your tail rocker roughly begins about three feet from the tip of your tail.  A highly flipped tail rocker is usually for more advanced surfers who ride fast waves.  It allows you to lift the board (like a see saw) in to the lip line in an off the lip.  It also allows for a tighter turning radius in cutbacks and snapbacks.  In big waves high tail rocker allows surfers the extra tool of leverage to make the drop by keeping the tip of the nose out of the water hence avoiding “pearl diving” or wiping out.  High tail rocker can also help you “pump” the board down the line to generate more speed.

Low tail rockers have their advantages also.  Nose riders have natural low rocker in the tail.  This allows the tail to settle into the wave which is most advantageous for nose-rides.  If the tail rocker is too high in a flatter wave the tail may pop out if one is standing  on the nose. Nose-riders also have fairly low nose rockers which allow for easy nose rides.  Low tail and nose rockers on SUP’s allow for smooth paddling on the flats and easy entry in to small waves.

Rocker in the Nose

Rocker in the nose is what Surfers call “Entry Rocker”.  It is the point where the water makes first contact with the board if you are moving forward.  Again the type of entry rocker you have is determined by the types of waves you surf.  Big wave guns sometimes have such high entry rocker that they look silly yet it is necessary to make it down 20’ drops.  Yet too much entry rocker can cause the board to “push water” and will therefore slow you down.  Low entry rocker is for small wave boards as you can keep the speed going as the low entry rocker allows the board to move through the flats without “pushing water” in front of the board.  Instead it floats over the water and you can keep your speed up in the flat sections.  Many Fish boards have low entry rockers as they are meant to surf small waves.

Picking Your Rocker for your SUP

SUP rockers are still in developmental stages but the same rules generally apply.  If you just want to cruise around in flat water and surf small conditions low rocker in both tail and nose will suffice.  This type of rocker is called “Low Natural Rocker”.  The rocker flows almost imperceptibly through the whole board, hence it looks natural.   On the other hand if you are a “hot-dogger” who surfs bowling larger waves, lifting both the nose and tail rocker will be advantageous for you.

The above commentary are just general guidelines.  I have had board with such high nose and tail rockers that still worked well in flat waves and low rockered board that surprisingly worked well in big waves.  It must be understood that one design feature does not dictate how the board will work as a whole.  Board performance is a calculus of tail design, thickness, outline, fin set-up, bottom contours, and of course rocker.      

One of the beautiful things about surfing is that there is an infinite variety of designs that you can fool around with. You can still be a kid tinkering with your toys!  Despite this, a good understanding of rocker will allow you to pick a proper board for yourself.  Have fun.  In fact why not pull your board out and have a look at your rocker.  You may find out something new!         

The Choice, by Len Barrow

The ocean has been my greatest teacher.  It nurtures me when I am sad, gives me the gift of elation when I am happy and punishes me when I am arrogant.  I almost drowned a few days ago and it brought a few things to the fore. 

Sometimes,  I get a bit arrogant.  My buddy and I decided to paddle out on a large day in the area of Mokuleia .  Many people were standing on the beach just looking.  We paddled out like we were brave warriors unafraid of the elements.  We even caught a few 15’ (face height).  I remember my friend and I were relishing in our narcissistic bravery and chastising the folks standing on the beach for their supposed cowardice.  We were stupidly challenging nature.  As we were chatting away the unspeakable happened.   A freak wave as high as a telephone pole (25 feet+) appeared out of nowhere.  Now we realized why people were standing on the beach.  They were being rational and paying attention to the actual conditions.  

I managed to scratch over the first set.  At the crest of the monster, I looked down under my arm and it was if I were staring down a huge cliff. As I turned my head forward the next wave was upon me, I was in the impact zone of one of largest waves I have had to face in my life.  I bailed my board and  jumped underwater.

As I was basically drowning I had a little revelation.  You can think fast when you believe that  you are going to die!  The following are some ideas that flashed through my head while I was cart-wheeling underwater.

The Ocean holds you accountable for how you behave.  There is no ambulance to drive out into the sea to get you.  In the ocean, you either die or are punished severely when you make an error.  You are isolated.   There is no room for error.  Just as surfers are isolated in the ocean on a big day so are we isolated on the earth.  We are stuck here (do you have a starship by any chance?).

While I was spinning around underwater contemplating life with no oxygen,  a  few thoughts went through my head.  I started viewing  the world as a giant 20’ surf break.  Maybe I was hallucinating due to the lack of oxygen but I had the following view:    We are all water-people or metaphorical surfers going through life.  We have to survive by using our abilities of paying attention to the environment around us.  If we don’t pay attention, like me, we either are severely incapacitated or made to be “extinct”.  When we neglect to pay attention we all will get cleaned out by a monster 20’ wave and there will be no ambulance to get us.  This metaphorical or symbolic  20’ footer  that will destroy our species is caused by our abuse of the environment and the resultant warming of the earth.   

This may sound like a hallucinating tree hugger babbling on but if you have been paying attention,  alot of things are mind boggling indicators that a 20 foot close-out is about to drop on our heads and it will be no fun, especially for those who have children who will grow up in the environment that we are creating today.

 Here are a few terrifying facts that should catch our attention.   Last year was the hottest year in recorded history.   Hurricane Katrina was so powerful that the National Weather Service had no category for it.  The recession of the Greenland Ice sheets during the summer has reached record levels.  There is now a North –West Passage (hint: Captain Cook was looking for it in 1775.  There was no Northwest passage as  It was not there because it was frozen over!!!!!!!!!).  Etc,Etc,Etc.  Here comes the twenty foot closeout.  What’s worse is we know that its coming yet we are choosing not to see it.

There is a solution!  We can paddle for the channel and avoid getting pounded by the closeout.  How do we do this?  The Sun is an amazing source of energy and using this renewable source will help neutralize global warming.  As I write we have a 35 mph Gail blowing here in Hawaii.  The Wind Power we are wasting!  Hawaii also has a lot of waves.  All you have to do is put a pole on the bottom with a sliding buoy.  As the buoy  goes up and down it drives a generator.  Bingo! Electricity.  The military is already using this technology in Hawaii.  We are sitting on a molten core which is waiting to be fully utilized in the form of geo-thermal energy.  The list goes on and on.  Let’s sprint for the channel!  We can do it!

As I popped out of the water half drowned, I thought to myself : “that was a great hallucination….I must write it down”.  I then paddled to the channel, sat it out, and went in. 

In the end we can chose to avoid the 20 foot closeout which we SEE coming or we can choose to sit in the impact zone.  Which one will it be?  I chose the former………that’s why I wrote this article.  You the reader can do something also!

Will we choose to fail or succeed?

Mahalo Len Barrow

Waves, Waves Everywhere by Len Barrow

SUP surfing and paddling in rough water is truly a meditative endeavor.  I am amazed at the amount of attention that is required to keep your board moving.  You see, as a lie down surfer for 30+ years, I viewed the ocean from a lie down perspective.  The Beauty of SUP paddling is that you see the ocean from a stand up “lens”.  You are also literally forced to observe the ocean and its swells.  If you don’t do this, a little wave will just throw you off the board.  When it comes to the water, sometimes I get a big ego as I have a US Championship in Longboarding and a lot of surfing experience.  I love SUP Surfing as I am humbled every time I paddle and surf my SUP.  It destroys my ego, as SUP paddling forces me to pay attention.  It is truly a type of meditation.

One day I was SUP surfing Kewalos. I decided to use a technique that ancient Polynesian and Micronesian Navigators used to find directions on dark, cloudy nights when the stars were not present to navigate their canoes.  They would use the feel of the swell running under their canoes.  If they were heading due north, the navigators would pick a swell that was coming from the north (in relation to the last Northern facing star that was seen) and head into it.  They would “feel” the swell would move under the bow, run along the hull and exit at the stern.  The navigators would pick multiple swell directions to calibrate exact directions.  In the above scenario, if a swell were coming from the east, and you had a double hull canoe, it would hit the eastern hull first and the western hull next and exit.  The late Micronesian Navigator Mau Pialug who taught Hawaiian Nainoa Thompson (of the Hokulea) his navigation techniques was said to be able to sense a matrix of over 8+ swells.  He could even tell if a swell was refracting off an island!   The Micronesians, Polynesians and Hawaiians ARE a brilliant people……

If Colombus lost his compass he would be lost .

Using this method, substituting my sup as a canoe, I was wondering how many swells I could observe as I paddled around Kewalos.  The tide was very high and the water was bumpy.  As I stood outside of the break, I was buffeted off my board (9’6 surfing SUP) by a bizarre tiny series of waves coming from the west.  The West side was flat and I wondered where the waves were coming from.  To my surprise I saw two fishing boats about 1.5 miles out chugging along due west!  The west swell was from their wake!  This was getting fun.  It was the perfect “Pay Attention” game.  Another small swell kept throwing me off my board but it was coming from the shore.  I thought to myself, what the hell?  The land does not create waves?  The same wave threw me off again.  I suddenly realized that this swell coming from the shore was actually a south swell bouncing off the 7 foot shore wall to become a North swell hitting my tail (stern) and exiting my nose (bow)!  

Next I observed that there was a south swell running directly under my nose (Bow) and exiting my tail (stern) but there was another swell hitting my south east facing rail and exiting the south west facing rail.  Where was it from?  I realized it was an east trade wind swell that had wrapped around to the south shore.  I went back home to surf-line to check the swell directions to see if I was correct.  Bingo.  I had accurately predicted the angles of the primary swells using Mau Pialug’s non-instrumental techniques!

I was so happy.  I felt like a little navigator enmeshed in Natures Ocean.  I had identified a matrix of 4 swells!  It was like a wonderful Zen meditation.  My thoughts were clear and I felt refreshed for the rest of the day.

I have been practicing like this since.  I have been able to recognize a matrix of six swells at best.  This practice almost blends you into the oceans rhythm and I would not have known this if it were not taught by the last Navigator Mau Pialug too the Hawaiian Nainoa Thompson.  Mahalo Nui to the Micronesians and Hawaiians and all who came before them for these wonderful experiences. 

Try this method.  It opens up the oceans mind……….which is your mind.

SUP paddle trainer version 4.0- the Vasa trainer

After pioneering the use of stand up paddle simulators, developing many prototypes and testing many different mechanisms and balance boards, we feel like we now have a simple, very effective indoor SUP training simulator that can greatly improve paddle technique, strength, stamina and endurance on the days you can't get in the water.


About the balance board:
After testing many versions of balance boards including using springs, adjustable rubber joints, balance/ bosu balls, a hydraulic joint system, roller boards, foam inserts and foam tubes, and many versions of rocker boards, we developed a simple rocker board that simulates a balance feel similar to being on a board in the water and won't rotate when paddling.  This rocker board is the closest simulation to the balancing required when stand up paddling we have found.  We have found that mechanical joints do not provide a good simulation of the balance required. Using a balance board when training is important as it provides a full body workout and improves technique and skill as you have to keep the body weight balanced over the center of the board.  Without a balance board, the tendency is to put too much weight on the stroke side.


For more information and videos of our previous versions, please visit this post:

Stand Up Paddle training simulator by Robert Stehlik

We offer a simple, inexpensive version using stretch cords at:
http://www.paddlecoretrainer.com/


The much more advanced version using the Vasa trainer space saver unit with SUP kit provides the most realistic stroke, recovery and balance simulation currently available.
Blue Planet Surf is the exclusive source for the Vasa Trainer SUP kit, including a three in one paddle that can be used as a regular SUP paddle, trainer paddle and two sided paddle that allows the best simulation of the correct stroke path without any extra mechanical moving parts (as the arm used in version 2).


Please watch the video below for more information on the Vasa trainer with SUP kit and to see it in action.





Here is the video showing the Paddle Core Trainer kit:



The new Paddle core trainer now comes with a fully functional 3 piece SUP paddle that can be converted into a trainer shaft. The balance rocker board is designed to give you the sensation of standing on a board and keeps your center of gravity centered and balanced. Also includes 6 pc. resistance band kit and instructional DVD. For more information, please click here.

Social “Surf” Intelligence: How some SUP surfers get Respect in the Surf Line-Up While Some Do Not, by Len Barrow

In the past few years I have met a few Sup Surfers that get a great deal of respect in the surf. As an Anthropologist, I have made it a point to observe there social techniques. The methods that these surfers used were quite surprising yet most sensible. Also, SUP surfers new to the game can adapt these methods with great ease. That’s the good news!


Before we get into their techniques, it is important to recognize that in In SUP surfing you are almost given absolute power in regards to which wave you want. You are figuratively given the “nuclear option” to get any wave you desire, even if you are of modest skill. Some SUP surfers who are new to the sport may have the American mentality that “I purchased this board and this is a public surf break therefore I can do whatever I want”. Technically this is true, yet with this attitude, one runs into a wall or over the nearest cliff vis-à-vis surf subculture. Surfers have their own cultural code. Most surfers are concerned with behavior and politeness, not on what you own or do on land. You may be the CEO of a large corporation and drive a Mercedes and have great prestige on land yet a strange cultural phenomenon occurs. Anthropologists call it a ” Social Inversion” . American “Land Culture” and its hierarchies are flipped upside down in the water. All of your prestige on land means absolutely nothing in the water. In fact, the prestigious people in the water are often poppers on land!


If you are new to surf etiquette and surf culture this paper will help you get along with surfers. Surfing social rules are not written down thus they are difficult for the beginner to decipher. The surfer’s code is just that, an unwritten code that has many variables according to time and place. You could actually write a large book on the code as it is most variable.


Despite the codes complexity and unwritten status a few things can be done to fit your SUP in as one of the surfing tribe.

Surf Only to Your Skill Level “Size and Conditions”


In the surfing subculture, “safety behaviors” factor in dominantly at some levels of the surfers code. When you surf your SUP in bigger waves, honestly evaluate your skill set. Regular surfers are required to do this at some time in their careers as they have endangered others. There is nothing worse than a beginner zooming down a twelve foot face into a crowd of surfers. I have been run over by a SUP at double over head Mokuleia. Let me tell you that this is not fun. The guy had a quad and it was 4x the pain across my back. I was lucky. I did not get severely hurt. Other surfers have gotten horribly injured. This will ruin your reputation as surfers will regard you as a danger in the surf. In surf etiquette and surfing subculture a dangerous surfer/SUPer are of the lowest rank, an often asked to leave due to safety issues. I am not saying these beliefs and actions are right or wrong. I am just indicating that they exist as part of the surfing subculture. At any rate evaluating your skill set will help yourself and other to keep safe.


“Talk Story” with Everyone.


In Hawaii, “Talk Story” is local pigeon for being genuinely friendly and casually chatting with people with stories for no real reason other than to talk. In Hawaii it is a normal thing to do, even with strangers. It’s actually fun and part of everyday local life here in the islands.



One guy that does this to great effect is our Hawaii State Surfing SUP Champion Tommy Chun-Min. Everyone knows Tommy! He is the only SUP even “allowed” out at Kewalo’s (this point is hyper-localized by short-boarders). Mr. Chun-Min will paddle out and actually greet everyone. Even new-comers! He always has something interesting and nice to say and people look forward to talking to him.




If you are from the states this may sound like ingenuously bullshitting your way around yet humans are social creatures. By talking to people you make social connections. In this type of connection an informal social contract arises. You become an acquaintance and generally friendly, thus must share the waves. By sharing with your new friend, he or she reciprocates (this is called generalized reciprocity in Anthropology) by giving your acquaintance respect and waves! In layman’s terms, it’s hard to burn a friend (unless you are a sociopath). Therefore make friends! It’s that simple. If you don’t believe me try the behavior.


Use Non Verbal Queue’s


After you have gotten a set wave, paddle out slowly. By doing this you are nonverbally communicating that you are not a wave hog and relaxed. If you paddle out like a Viking hell bent on pillaging the waves. People will not take kindly to this. You will get a bad reputation in short order and surfers have a way of dealing with over-zealous Suppers. Even though you can get every wave on your Sup, you cannot block surfers from taking off “BEHIND” you ruining “your” wave by surfing 6 inches in back of you. Some surfers have this method fined tuned and I see the idea developing rather rapidly.


When you paddle back out outside, sit down on your SUP on occasion. I am a Symbolic Anthropologist. My writings are not just the musings of a non-violent person. When you are “erect” on your SUP while surfers are lying down it conveys a “dominance display” type behavior on behalf of the SUP rider even though the Sup surfer does not mean it. This may sound funny but it occurs. By sitting down you convey the message that you are chill and respectful to all. If you think that sitting down on you SUP is for weak people, I have seen Bonga Perkins, Duane Desoto, Robin Johnston and Kanoa Beaupre use this method quite frequently. They certainly are NOT weak people. In fact they are rippers who get along well with others.




Always Look Backwards to Observe Who Did Not Get Waves.


Kainoa Beaupre is respected by both shortboarders and longboarders as he has a special way of sharing. Mr. Beaupre will often look back to see who is getting waves and who is not. If a set wave comes in and is heading towards a person who has not gotten a good wave in a while, Kainoa will yell go! go! to that individual. He has even done this kindly to me a couple of times before. Even though he can get every wave, he makes sure that everyone has fun. This endears Kainoa to all. Mr. Beaupre has a lot of Aloha. He is a buddy of mine and this is one of the reason I dig him.



The good news is that SUP surfers and Board surfers can get along. There is no need to have conflict if we practice a few pleasantries. Basically it’s all about sharing the waves. And Guess what!

SHARING=ALOHA

SHARING=ZEN

Interview and videos by Connor Baxter

Connor Baxter has been dominating the SUP race scene this year, winning races almost every weekend on Maui, Oahu and internationally.  He finished the 32 mile Molokai to Oahu race in an incredible time of 4:26, which was 28 minutes faster than the previous record.
After the 2011 Duke's race, which was part of the annual Duke's Fest, I had a chance to sit down with him for a personal interview.  Evan Leong of standuppaddlesurf.net filmed and edited.

Also below, find some of the videos edited and posted by Connor Baxter.
Double click to watch the videos full screen.







Africa SUPfari:


Connor Surfing:

12'6" SUP race board speed test by Robert Stehlik

It's been a while since our unlimited board test, where I said we would soon organize a test of 12'6" and 14' boards.
My friend Scotty had two 12'6 Hobie race boards and a Bark that he wanted to comparison test.  I brought four more 12'6's for a total of 7 boards to test, which worked out perfectly as seven testers showed up bright and early on a Saturday morning (Nov. 6th, 2011) to go through the rigorous 14 laps needed to test all the boards.  Photos and specs of the individual boards are shown below.   Unfortunately there were some wind gusts that affected times of the individual runs but because each board was tested in each run, these variations in conditions should average out over the results.  Also, some of us had to run 8 rounds as someone tested the same board twice somewhere along the way, which threw everything off a little but in the end everyone toughed it out and tested all seven boards.

After posting the unlimited test results on the Standup Zone forum, I got lots of good feedback that we tried to incorporate into this test, including recording the dimensions and weights of each board tested as well as taking pictures of each board outline and profile.  The test lap is a .21 course that runs downwind one way and upwind the other way.  Each tester used each board on one downwind and one upwind run with a 1-2 minute break in between.  As we were running many laps, the instructions were to make sure to keep their energy output consistent and not use all their strength in the first few laps to avoid slowing down towards the end of the test.  We also staggered the start with 10 seconds or so between each tester to avoid the "group effect" and switched boards randomly.

If you look at the test results spreadsheet, you will see that the times for Anders, the fastest tester, were quite consistent with a relatively small spread between fastest and slowest times, compared to some of the other testers that had a bigger spread between the slowest and fastest times. Everyone in the test was a capable paddler and I wanted to have testers of different abilities to make the results more relevant for the average users.  To give equal weight to each paddlers results, I ranked each individuals results and added them up for an average ranking, resulting in a somewhat different ranking than using the total times.

I brought a 12'6" x 29" touring board that we received as a sample from a manufacturer, so I thought this would be a good occasion to test it.  We were all disappointed by it's performance in comparison to the other boards in the test and it needs some improvement.  To be fair, it was designed to be a more stable and durable touring board, vs. the lightweight (and more expensive) pure raceboards it was tested against.  It was the widest, heaviest, and slowest board in the test.

I was somewhat surprised by the good results of the 12'6" Dennis Pang board.  It was the fastest board in the flatwater test in both overall time and individual rank results. Dennis custom made this board and we designed it mainly for downwinders and surf races, with quite a bit of rocker and a relatively wide tail for stability.  The entry is not very piercing and a little splashy, so the fast times were somewhat of a surprise.  It shows that rocker does not necessarily make a board slow in flatwater and that a clean entry is not all that matters.  The wide tail and generous volume also makes this board fairly stable and user friendly, so even the less experienced paddlers got good results.

The unconventional Starboard ACE also has a somewhat splashy entry but generally works well in these kind of conditions. It takes some getting used to, which may have worked against it a little in the results.  The Everpaddle 12'6" also has a narrow tail which gives it a clean exit but also makes it less stable.  The results show that this board worked better for the experienced racers than for the less experienced ones.  Scotty's Hobie boards had a good feel and work great in downwinders according to him.  It was no surprise that they, as well as the Bark and Everpaddle boards all had good results in the test.  So, what did we learn from this test?  I'm still figuring that out but my hope is that these tests will make the next generation of boards even faster, well balanced, and user friendly.

Each tester made some notes on the boards tested after each run and I included the comments with each board.  They are from seven individuals, so some may seem contradictory at times.  I hope some of you can add your thoughts by making comments below, feedback is always welcome and encouraged.

Link to results spreadsheet



The test team: Denis, Rob, Alex, Scotty, Anders, Dr. Dan, Lokelani


The seven boards we tested (subjective rider comments as recorded after each run)

12'6" x 27" x 6" Everpaddle custom
weight: 25.75 lbs
rider comments:
smooth, tippy, low rocker
stable but not heavy, glides well, quick on start
comfortable
great upwind, stable and fast
tippy, paddles straight
rolly, a bit heavy

12'6" x 27" x 9" Starboard Ace 2011
weight: 30.5 lbs
rider comments:
Bouncy
tippy, smooth, glide
sluggish feel, noisy, stable
good all around but harder to steer upwind
feels like it pushes a lot of water
buoyant and bouncy
clean water exit off tail

12'6" x 28.75" x 6.6" Hobie Bamboo Elite 2012
28 lbs.
rider comments:
good feel, narrow stance
thick from middle to tail, slower than expected
feels like it drags more than other Hobie
downwind good, upwind more drift
stable, good upwind
like the feel

12'6" x 27.75" x 6.6" Hobie Elite Race 2011
weight: 27 lbs
rider comments:
Like the feel
little tippy, good glide
glides well, stable
downwind good, upwind harder to steer
fast off the line
entry feels good, narrow stance

12'6" x 29" x 6" Blue Planet touring
weight: 33.25 lbs
rider comments:
needs work
heavy, stable, slow start, glides well, tracks well upwind
hard to being up to speed, maintain speed
Heavy, no play in board
heavy, stable

12'6" x 27.75" x 6.25" Dennis Pang custom
weight: 24.5 lbs
rider comments:
fast, good rocker
light, tippy, very fast on start, felt like it pushed water instead of cut & glide
light, easy to bring up to speed
Like it! very stable, tracks & glides well
less tracking, light, fast
tippy, glides well, good upwind
light, splashes a lot

12'6" x 27.75" x 6.25" Bark custom
weight: 25.5 lbs
rider comments:
good glide
light, fast, tippy
upwind hard to control
pretty stable, cut through wind well
faster than I expected
tracks well

Link to results spreadsheet


Many thanks to our volunteer test team:

Anders

Lokelani

Alex

Scotty

Denis

Dr. Dan

The photos below were taken by Alex Nix, who also made my cool new custom made double bend paddle in the pictures.

Here is a short video with headcam footage taken at the test:

Zen Chopsticks By Len Barrow

We here at Zen waterman have not done a Zen philosophy oriented article for a while so I thought I would have a go at it.  This article has to do with a land-based program yet we will see how the Buddhist ideas inherent in the activity could be applied to our ocean activities

Every year I run a program with a few other teachers at Roosevelt High School (RHS) on Oahu.  It’s a really beautiful project.  The students learn about compassion and kindness by proactively helping the homeless  through  the Honolulu Institute for Human Services (IHS).  The program is called RHS for IHS. The IHS is the key institution for helping the homeless on Oahu in Hawaii. 

My motivation for engaging in this program is not religious.   Despite this they come primarily from Zen Buddhist philosophy.  As we shall see in the forthcoming story, the core of Mahayana Buddhism (which includes Zen in its scope) is compassion and kindness for others.  The motivation to help others is the natural outcome of meditation and paying attention.  This sounds weird but we shall explore this phenomena  later in this article.

Here is another unusual fact about the Zen practice.  According to the great Masters of old; without the motivation of compassion for others (Bodhichitta) focused in your practice, Zen is worse than poisonous garbage.   In fact Zen done in self-interest is called “Zen sickness” in which one turns into a “hungry ghost clinging desperately to grasses and reeds”  by the old masters.   Trust me, you don’t want to be a hungry ghost!

 I therefore try my best to steer away from my ego in the water and on land.  It is the most difficult thing that I have ever tried to do.  Despite this, social projects based on others well-being help me along the rugged Zen road.

As we were developing the program with my fellow teachers a question arose:  “  How the hell do we get self-centered, arrogant modern teenagers to engage in compassionate social action?”.  It was almost impossible to do it with adults and must surely be harder with teenagers given their egoism and our culture of selfishness.

We came up with a solution.  I would give them a little Zen parable (among other things).  This story worked extremely well in getting the students to have compassion for others.  If a fourteen-year-old high school student can understand this to the point that they take social action, we as adults should be able to comprehend this mythology and take social action also.  The “myth” goes something like this:

One day long ago a man was practicing Zen and managed to attain enlightenment.    His insight was so great that it allowed him to visit heaven and hell.  The man decided that he would visit hell first.  As he entered the hell realm he was surprised at what he saw.  There was a great rectangular table that was twenty feet long and a number of feet wide.  There were ten people seated on one side of the table and ten people seated on the other side of the table.  On the table were luxurious foods and the finest beverages that the lands could offer.  Saphron and ambrosia scents wafted through the air.  Well the monk was quite impressed.  He stated “jee wiz, well hell is not that bad after all”.   His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he saw intense anger and frustration on everyone’s contorted faces.  He quickly realized that the people were frustrated as they  could not eat their food as their chopstiks were over three feet long!  They could only look at it and they were extremely hungry, angry and sad.  Hence, the hell dwellers  spent their days yelling at each other and blaming the person opposite them for their predicament.

The monk asked the folks in Hell “how long have you been here?”.  One individual viciously spat back and said, we have been like this for ten Kalpas!……(In Sanskrit:  literally 10,000,000,000,000 trillion years!).  The monk was aghast!  He thought that hell was a really messed up place.  The monk wondered what force could curse people to such a grim place?  He hastened to get out of hell and go to heaven.

The monk then visited heaven.  To his surprise he saw the same exact things that he saw in hell!   There was a great rectangular table that was twenty feet long and a number of feet wide.  There were also ten people seated on one side of the table and ten people on the other side of the table.   To his amazement the people had great expressions of happiness and joy.  In fact in their demeanor,  the monk noticed a great serenity and calmness.   The monk was perplexed as he saw that the occupants of heaven had the same three foot chopsticks!   

The monk sat and watched the occupants of Heaven do something miraculous yet so simple.  The heaven dwellers would use their huge chopsticks to pick up food from the other side of the table and HELP feed the other out of compassion and kindness.  This act was kindly reciprocated by the person on the other side of the table and all were well fed, utterly content and wonderfully happy.  The monk attained a deeper enlightenment when he saw this.   He thought  “To help another through compassion are the keys of enlightenment”.   The monk also thought to himself that those in hell are in hell for the sole fact that they don’t help each other.

The monk reflected “how amazing it is that Heaven and Hell are exactly the same place”.  He went back to his life with the conviction to be  kind and compassionate to all beings with a will to help all.  The monk lived happily ever after.

Well what does this have to do with the surf?  I have another quick little story showing how you can apply the “Zen Chopsticks” spirit to the surf.  I saw two beginners a few months ago floating around at Ala-Moana.   Everyone in the surf was talking like “oh great,  these people are just going to get in the way”.  The locals were getting very frustrated and flustered at the novices.   In a way they were creating their own hell by not helping them. 

I am lucky because I am a teacher at heart and I asked the surfers if they wanted to catch waves.    They heartily agreed and I positioned them to catch a swell.  As each beginner caught waves they became very happy.  Happiness is contagious.  I was laughing my head off as they caught long rides while expressing gigantic smiles on their faces.  It brought me back to a time when I was a beginner.  This period was marked by pure stoke.  I was so happy and conversely they were surf stoked.  We have become wonderful friends since.

The point being, by helping others I was creating a heaven out of a hell!   Mind you, in Zen, Heaven and Hell are the same place.   In this philosophy,  it is to the extent  that you are compassionate and helpful that shape what world you are in.  If you are a jerk to people, welcome to Hell.  If you are GENUINELY  compassionate and helpful, welcome to heaven.  Can you now see that  this is so?   It is really that simple.  If 120 fourteen-year-old students at Roosevelt High School can understand this and take social action with the homeless (they raised over 2,000 dollars and 2 TONS of canned goods), I hope we as mature adults can grasp this wonderful phenomena.

In this world of hyper-capitalism,  ultra-violent video games, and pure narcissism,  people wonder why they are so miserable despite having the luxuries of modern materialistic life.   The answer is elementary.    Quite simply they don’t choose to help others.   Sometimes I am amazed at the behavior of some Americans (like myself).  I am not a saint but it is my professional Anthropological opinion that it is almost  ” hip” to not care for others  in America.  It is cool to flaunt your selfishness.  If you don’t believe me “just turn on your t.v.” and flip through the channels.  You may also choose to play your child’s video games, where you can literally shoot prostitutes after copulating with them (Grand Theft Auto) and bayonet enemy soldiers in the face (while getting points for it!?).  Has not caring become part of our culture?  

If it is we are in trouble.   In a Zen view,  not caring and being selfish will only lead a person to exist in a hell realm as a hungry ghost clings to brushes and weeds.  When people don’t care about the environment and trash mother earth we get global warming and the like which is already affecting our happiness.  In a way we have all collectively created a type of hell.   When people don’t care about the social environment and others  well-being you get social abuses like homelessness, war, violence in the ocean,  spousal abuse, elderly abuse and child abuse.  Again these are types of hells which we have collectively allowed to be created.  If you want to understand the universe,  just look in the mirror.

A question arises:  where do you stand?  Are you truly happy or frustrated?  If you are not content , maybe moving outside of yourself to help strangers may be a solution to your sadness.  It is not that hard to do once you get started. 

In short, just spread da Aloha!!!!

Thanks to all the RHS teachers who developed this program. You are all bodhisattvas (Buddhist compassion super- saints) and you don’t even know it!  That’s you Mr. Kim da surfa.   Cheeeee haaaaa.

Aloha Len Barrow

Occasional Letters:  Nov 1, 2011

Bottom configurations by Len Barrow

What’s Up With Bottom Configurations?

If you are a beginner surfer or surf SUPer bottom configurations may seem most perplexing.  They seem complex yet the basics are quite simple.  For our purposes here the bottom refers to the entire bottom plane of the board.  If you want to examine what type of bottom you have just flip your board over wax or track, side down.  Run you had horizontally from one tip of the rail to the other at the midsection of your board.  Does the board express a V shape or does the board express a concave shape?  Make a careful mental note of this.  Repeat this process every twelve inches as you move to the nose.  Go back to the center of your board and do this again except move toward your tail.  Presto!  You have just mapped out your bottom configuration.

You may find that at some areas of your board are almost flat while other areas are heavily veed.   Some of you may surprisingly find two double concaves dug out of this plane in your board.  The question arises: what does this all mean to your surfboard or SUP’s performance characteristics?  The following article will answer these questions.

V Bottom Configuration

Vees were the first in bottom variation and were innovated by the indigenous Hawaiians.  It was often thought that early Americans such as Tom Blake in the 1940’s created the vee configuration but in fact it was the native Hawaiians.  There are examples of 150 year old boards with veed bottoms in the Bishop Museum of Hawaii.  This is an interesting subject yet it shall be left for another article   

How does the vee function?  Imagine a see-saw with to children on them.  If the lower child applies force via his legs to lift off the ground, this child rapidly and efficiently rises;  conversely  the higher child quickly drops.  With a see-saw force is rapidly shifted in a predictable manner.   This see –saw effect is crucial to modern surfing in which requires precise and efficient redirections of energy.  This effect allows Kelly Slater to do his rapid direction changes.  If you watch professional -surfers closely, they are tipping the board from side to side in a see-saw motion to create momentum and utilizing the vee for quick direction changes.   Vee is literally the reason that modern surfboards are able to do what they do today.

 To put it simplistically, bottom Vees allow you to tip the board on the rail to “cut”  in one direction or another.  One may also use the vee to “bottom turn” off your rail to do an off the lip.  Vee also functions  to tip the board from side to side.  Again, this enhances the boards maneuverability and speed by allowing rapid directions changes.  Next up are concave bottoms!

Concaves

Bottom Concaves have revolutionized surfboard design.  When I was growing up we were restricted to veed bottoms.   Concaves suddenly became mainstreamed in the late eighties.   When we jumped on concaves we were surprised at how maneuverable and fast they were.   We were pretty bummed out that we were missing out on so much fun for so long.

Concaves seem complex but they are actually based on a very simple principle.  A concave allows a small air pocket to form under the board.  This contributes to the board’s ability to lift out of the water very much like a hydro-plane.  A concave theoretically uses the Venturi effect.  This phenomena can be roughly explained as follows.  When a wide river reaches a narrow bottleneck in its form, the water speeds up.  Shapers use this to good effect.   Often in modern surfboard design, a wide single broad concave in the nose is channeled into two narrow concaves in the rear third of the board.  The water flow is thus speeded up under the board and translated into speed. This can be used to great advantage by the surfer.   Most modern concaves today are a variation of this theme.  The extreme version of a concave bottom is a “Bonzer”.   In this design a deep broad concave is dug in then formed into a narrow channel in the tail of the board in a direct emulation of the Venturi effect.

Lastly, vee can actually be incorporated into concave bottoms.  How is this done one may ask?  The shaper will initially carve a vee into the bottom of the board.  He will then dig two concaves into each side of the stringer keeping the center higher than the rail edge thus retaining the vee despite the concave.   This is the standard for high performance boards today.  In the end equation, you can create an excellent board with the qualities of both a vee and concave. 

Experimental Bottom Designs and SUPs

I hope the SUP surfing community starts to experiment more with bottoms configurations.  So far I have seen only single to double concaves, vees and nose concaves.  As creativity is part of our sport, it would be wonderful to see SUP shapers experiment.  I have yet to see an extreme Bonzer-bottom on a SUP surfboard.  That would be really cool and probably very functional.  Another unorthodox bottom that I hope that shapers experiment with is the reverse vee.  Tom Curran did his best surfing on this bizarre design.  The Reverse Vee was innovated by the French shaper Maurice Cole.  The vee which is usually in the tail is completely reversed and moved to the front 2/3 of the board.  The tail is completely flat, with no vee.  This configuration seems totally illogical but they are amazingly manouverable.

The world is the SUPers oyster.  These alternative bottom configurations have never been (to my knowledge) applied to a SUP surfer.  We know how they work on surfboard but the SUP has the extra element of the paddle which allows the surfers to modify the performance envelope of the design.  When the paddle is added into the performance equation these experimental bottom types may blossom, in fact I am sure they will.  So, until next time, keep your minds open and I hope to see some weird boards out there!

Aloha Len Barrow