Saturday, January 24, 2009

A Wonderful Day in Oahu

Our morning started with the SUPAH paddle racing clinic, put on my Wet Feet, with instruction provided by Todd Bradley and Dave Parmenter.

The clinic was fantastic. We've been paddling wrong for the last 2 years. I bet 80% of those out there reading this, also paddle wrong. I thought because I could pull a blade straight and not ding my board, I knew what I was doing. WRONG! After completing this clinic Todd completely transformed our paddling skills. Later, when we surfed Waikiki in crazy wind, these new skills paid off HUGE.

I'll have to give all my buds at home the same clinic. For the rest of you, you'll have to wait on the C4 video they shot today. You might even see me in that video.

Todd, Dave, and the crew at Wet Feet were great hosts.

Todd Bradley is a super nice guy. He hooked us up with a guest pass to a private club right on the beach, with access to an uncrowded break. Free parking. Amazing food on the beach at reasonable prices. Dave, Todd, Robert, Jacky, and I all had lunch at the club today.

Todd offered to take me on a down winder today with a Vortice XP. I almost took him up on it, but when I found out the run was 8-10 miles, and he'd complete it in under and hour, I realized I'd be a huge handicap on them, and might get myself in over my head. That's a fast run. Wind was honking today. They said they surfed the whole run. Conditions were absolutely perfect.



The women of Hawaii. Not your typical Wrightsville Beach women, that lay on the beach with cell phones stuck to their ears. Pretty cool!



All these cars and trucks came for the SUPAH paddle clinic. Amazing!


Jacky at Waikiki


A few of the clinic participants testing their skills.



Dave Parmenter and Todd Bradley at the clinic.


Tommy, the C4 video guy and the voice in the videos.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

DW - Sounds like you guys had a blast. Sorry I missed you guys today. I'm glad you got a chance to spend time w/ Todd and crew. The wind today was perfect for downwind although you're smart about knowing your limits. Todd is way faster than you expect and in a blink of an eye he's gone in the distance. I think you'll like the XP though. It's faster than the BW one although much more delicate.

I love seeing your pics from Maunalua Bay and I live here. Hope to connect w/ you Sunday or Monday.

Aloha,
Evan

CB1 said...

Sounds like you and Jacky had a blast on your first day! What great timing for the clinic! When you return, I'll be signing up for your home paddle clinic! :-)

WP said...

Hey sign me up as well tryed the new race board this AM down wind and got my butt kicked! I may need more than paddle help:-) You and Jacky enjoy the water feels like it has dropped another 3 to 5 degrees
Later

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you're having a blast. Tough not to I guess.

Make sure you do a clinic at CHills race in June.