[ We have wondered about this race for years. And with the wonderful experience recap below by Team Ambassador Loraine Gruber, we now have an idea about the vibe and scene is like. All craft, rippin wind, point-to-point? Sounds pretty epic! ~CP ]
I’ve not been this anxious or nervous about a paddleboard race as I was before this past weekend’s Davenport Downwinder, an iconic event organized by the Ghostryders Waterman Club out of Santa Cruz. The 14-mile race starts in Davenport Landing and heads south, finishing alongside the Santa Cruz Wharf. It is a true community event supporting the Santa Cruz Junior Lifeguards and bringing together all types of paddlers...prone, stand up, surfski and OC1.
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Paddle Articles
CP Race Recap - Davenport Downwinder - Santa Cruz Ghostryders Waterman Club
CP Explorations - Santa Fe Dam
Cali Paddlers are known for their passion of exploration. A desire to paddle our waters, and pay respects to the amazing wildlife and nature that lives in our waterways. Thank you to Bret Warner from Stand up to Alzheimer’s for exploring this great state and sharing new areas to paddle. -C.P.If you live in Southern California then chances are you have been stuck in afternoon traffic on the 210 and passed by the massive Miller/Coors factory. It is, after all, hard to miss its mammoth containers lining the freeway that proudly bear the companies name and logo. Regardless of any possible beer snobbery, I could see how this factory typifies the urban sprawl that lies east of LA. What also typifies inland SoCal, however, is that there is a nature escape right behind the factory where you can easily forget that you are in the middle of the city.
Youth Spotlight - California Dragon Boat Association
In a continued effort to shine a well-deserved light on the future of our paddle sports, and in anticipation of the upcoming high-caliber youth-only dragon boat race in San Francisco, we spoke with some of the top youth role-models in our sport. Enjoy being blown away by their candor and wisdom. And be reminded like we were, that paddling is not just a sport, but a parable for succeeding in life.
Annabel Anderson Interview and Ultimate Summer Workshop
[ This coming weekend Annabel Anderson is having a workshop in San Diego at Aqua Adventures, and we wanted to get the scoop from her on what folks can expect, as well as ask her some questions about paddling and life. We invite you to get to know her a little better below with this interview by our ambassador Loraine Gruber. We are pretty sure once you do, you will want to join her this Saturday April 21st 8:30-11:30. ]
CP Race Recap - Catalina Wild Buffalo Relay
A little while back Cali Paddler did a thorough race preview of what paddlers could expect with this race. But to be honest nothing is quite as exciting as getting to hear what it was like by one of our own. Who doesn't like to talk paddling after spending all day paddling (#ifyoupaddleyougetit). So one day after finishing this 41 mile journey, Micah Winslow shared his experiences with us. Take a few minutes to get the scoop and see if it is a good fit for you in 2019.
Puakea Designs Kahele Review vs Ehukai and Kahekai OC1
Want to know what the first impressions of the New Kahele OC1 by Puakea Designs were? So did we. We reached out to three paddlers who were able to take this new design out for a spin and find out how it compared to the previous Ehukai and Kahe Kai. Asked real questions, and got real answers from real paddlers.
Building a board - Creating a wooden SUP or Prone paddleboard
What made you want to build a wood board in the first place?
Actually I wanted a race board, but I didn’t want to spend the money. I looked into it, and found a design, the CLC Kaholo, that seemed good and relatively easy to build. It is too wide to be super competitive, but I was able to get some good places on it, and it helped ensnare me into the paddle racing scene.
Sea Kayaking - The greatest paddle craft you haven't tried...but should!
When I got into SUP and SUP racing years ago and I saw how interwoven it was with outrigger, prone and surfski races I was a confused why kayaking seemed to be the eccentric loner uncle of the paddling world. I learned to sea kayak with my dad when I was 12, and taught sea and surf kayaking all through college. I even played kayak polo a handful of times, so to not see any kayaks in the SoCal paddling scene was completely outside of my paddling paradigm.
CP Explorations - Lake Perris
Often times when paddling the lakes of Inland Southern California you will be one of the only paddlers in the water. If you go early enough there is a good chance you could have some of the lakes to yourself. Lake Perris is where I go when I need respite from this solitude. It is by no means like Mission Bay on a Sunday afternoon where one could jump their way to shore along all the 32” wide rental SUPS, but even when I have gone to Lake Perris at 6:00 am in 30/40 degree weather I have seen other craft on the water. It is a meeting place for the long established Valley Wide Kayak Club, a super friendly group that usually does a 5ish mile paddle there on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. It is the only Inland Lake I have ever seen an OC-1 on, or someone on a racing SUP, at least besides myself. Additionally, it is decidedly less windy than any of the mountain lakes like Silverwood or Big Bear...CP Fitness - Off-Season Paddle Training
Off-season is an important time for paddlers to work on their weaknesses, whether it be strength, form, and injury prevention. This will prepare you for a more successful upcoming race year.
A certain amount of resting at the very end of the race year gives you a good balance and a positive mental state to prevent burnout. Things gear up pretty quickly at the beginning of the season so you want to maintain a certain amount of fitness on your time off.
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