How to Stand Up Paddle with Verena Mei

Learn how to SUP with Verena Mei and Blue Planet Surf.  

Verena is a professional race car driver. She grew up in Hawaii and recently moved back to Oahu.  She got into Stand Up Paddleboarding and has been a great customer and supporter of Blue Planet Surf Shop. In this series she is getting tips on safety, technique, board handling and more from Blue Planet Surf founder Robert Stehlik.  We will post regularly new videos on our blueplanetsurf youtube channel and plan to release the parts of this series in the Spring of 2016. For new videos please check back here and subscribe to our youtube channel.  

Watch the first video in the series:

How to Stand Up Paddle Board with Verena Mei, Part 1: Safety

SUP is a great, fun, health and safe sport if practiced with some common sense.

Basic points covered in this video are:

1) Be aware of conditions. Light wind and protected water are the best conditions for beginner and learning quickly.  Light winds are fine but the chop created by the wind will make balancing more difficult and you should always make sure to paddle into the wind first to make sure you can get back to where you started.  Don't go out if the wind is strong, offshore winds (blowing you away from the shore) can be very dangerous as they can carry you out to sea and usually get stronger the farther out you get.

2) Always wear a leash.  In Hawaii we are not required to wear a personal floatation device when Stand Up Paddle boarding but you should always wear a good leash and make sure it is attached securely, that way your boards is always attached to you and acts as your floatation device.

3) Know how to swim.  This should be self explanatory, but before you learn how to SUP, you should learn how to swim first.  The rule of thumb is: don't go out further from shore than you could swim back on your own power.

This is the second video in this series: board handling and gear

In this video you learn how to protect your board from heat and fin damage, how to safely lift up and carry your board and some things to consider when choosing your first board.  At Blue Planet we always recommend trying several SUP's before choosing one as nothing beats trying a board to get an idea of whether it will work for you or not.  Balancing should be challenging at first, as your balance quickly improves.  We often talk to customers that bought their first board without trying it first and then finding out that it is just not a good board for their needs.  Let's face it, it does not matter how cheap a board is or how great the deal seems to be, if you don't enjoy using the board and it sits around collecting dust, it's a waste of money.  We want you to get out on the water and enjoy your board, so we want to make sure you get one that is right for you.  

Click here for more information on how to choose the right board and watch the video.

Click here for more information on our free SUP Clinics for Blue Plane customers.

Keep watching the playlist to see all 11 episodes on "How to Stand Up Paddle with Verena Mei"

SUP Paddle Technique Part 6: Turning the Board

This post covers techniques to turn the board and adjust direction.

First off, it is important to understand the difference between a forward stroke and a steering stroke.

The forward stroke is used to propel yourself straight forward with minimal turning or yaw.  The basics of the forward stroke are covered in Technique Post #3: Stacking the Shoulders.

The steering stroke is used to turn the board effectively.  To turn the board, you want to use the angle of the blade and the stroke path to maximize turning.  To go straight, you want to use the pitch and path to minimize steering.  My friend Jeff Chang wrote a good post on his blog on using the path and pitch of the paddle: Paddle Steering by Jeff Chang.

To steer the board you basically want the blade to angle out away from the board at the beginning of the stroke, then follow a curved path as far out away from the board as possible, watch the video for a demonstration.  The same applies to the backward strokes on the opposite side.

If you are paddling in a side or cross wind, you may have to use a slight steering stroke for every stroke just to go straight.  Remember, the more forward you can get the blade towards the nose and the more you angle it away from the nose, the more effective the steering stroke will be.  On longer racing boards you can also use the rail of the board to steer into the wind.  Most racing boards with full rails will turn upwind if you put more weight on the downwind rail.  Try taking the weight off the upwind rail, leaning the downwind rail into the water; this should result in the board turning upwind with less effort if combined with steering strokes on the downwind side.

During a race, you want to avoid paddling backwards and slowing down, so the crossbow turn and pivot turns are better options.  Turns in a race can be very important and place changes often happen at turns, so practicing turns is an important part of race training.  In Stand Up Surfing, turns can be even more important as a quick pivot turn can make the difference between pulling off a late drop into the bomb of the day and getting pounded.

The buoy turn at the Battle of the Paddle can get pretty crazy.  Photo: Kialoa

Links to the paddle technique series posts:

Paddle Technique Part 0: Introduction to SUP

Paddle Technique Part 1: Choosing the Right Paddle

Paddle Technique Part 2: The Three Ingredients of a Powerful Stroke
Paddle Technique Part 3: Stacking the Shoulders

Paddle Technique Part 4: Reach and Catch

Paddle Technique Part 5: Recovery, Paddle Length and Grip

Paddle Technique Part 6: Turning the Board
Paddle Technique Part 7: Catching Waves

Aloha, Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com