Stand Up Paddles|Outrigger Paddles|Dragon Boat Pad

KIALOA Paddles helped carry the Olympic Torch

2010-02-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

KIALOA Paddles was proud to help the Canadians paddle the boat that carried the Olympic Torch on it's passage across Canada. Dave made these custom paddles for False Creek Outrigger canoe club some years ago. Go Canada.

2010-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

This was shot by our friend and European distributer, Jean Phillippe Wuilmart of sunshort.com

Pipes

2010-02-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Introducing KIALOA's new SUP the Pipes. Although designed for women we're finding that their men seem to digg it as well. Our friend Casso in Australia has some fun with his wife's new Pipes. He "borrows" it while she's at work. :)

www.australianpaddlesurfer.com.au

Friends of ASV

2010-01-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

"A Tale About Bros Not Pros" I like that title. This is a new release DVD from KIALOA rider Ken Wilson of AwesomSurfVideos.com. Ken is a surfer from the Oregon Coast who recently won a record breaking 4 trophies from the Noll Longboard Classic.

Check out the DVD by getting a copy from the Oregon Surf Shop.

Cold Stroke Classic in Wilmington, NC

2010-01-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

Meg and Dave Chun, founders and owners of KIALOA Paddles, are at the Cold Stroke Classic this weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina. Cold is definitely and apt title this year as they are currently experiencing freezing weather. The SUP races start at noon on Jan. 9 at Dockside Restaurant & Marina, 1308 Airlie Road and tonight there is a pre race dinner where Chuck Patterson is the key speaker. Paddlers will do a 3.5-mile recreational course or a seven-mile “elite” course. The race is put on by Coastal Urge and proceeds benefit the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation.

Stay tuned to KIALOA's blog, facebook and twitter to get results!

SUP in Bend Oregon

2009-12-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Bend Oregon is home to KIALOA Paddles and famous surfer Gerry Lopez so it is no wonder the SUPing has some great support here, even if we are more than 3 hours from the ocean.

Treasure Island Classic in Florida

2009-11-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

First I want to thank everyone for coming to the Treasure Island Classic. When I first started organizing this event we had three six man outrigger canoes, all from the same club, and a handful of single/tandem participants. This past weekend we had 16 teams of OC6s on Saturday and 48 paddlers racing on Sunday. That's a record!! I want to acknowledge Michael Sieber, Cortland Reilly and Jean Rass for steering three short course boats on Saturday, then coming in and paddling on their teams in the long course, plus they paddled single/tandem canoes on Sunday. Quite amazing, and thanks!!

Second I want to thank all my sponsors and helpers. Harry Black has supported this event from the beginning and has let us “take over” his hotel every year. This year he not only supplied the beer, but also the lunch on Sunday. He and his wife cooked and served all that food, and I can't thank them enough for their hard work. Sloppy Joe's catered the delicious food on Saturday.

Meg of Kialoa supports me every year, and congratulations to Mike Owens of the South Carolina Canoe Club for winning that beautiful paddle from Kialoa. I also want to thank Bill Edwards of MIC, Darry Jackson of Bill Jackson's and Mike Siebel of Canoe Country for their support and contributions every year. I wouldn't have all those cool raffle prizes without them.

I also would not be able to race or run this event without the people who volunteer to help me. Lewis and Erin, great job on the timing with 3 seperate starts on Saturday. Thanks to you two, and Pat, Jeannie and Glenda for helping with lunch and the awards. Beans, I needed your voice for the raffle. That was great!

In addition, I want to thank Angela, who I'm so happy to have met on the beach 4 weeks ago. She's and experienced paddler who paddled in California and recently moved here. She joined Kai aniani a few days later, and showed her Mahalo spirit by immediately volunteering to help me. She helped with timing on Sunday, which is always a sterssor for me, and was there helping to the end. My friend Glenda was also there for me this weekend, with lots of experience at doing this. Terri Bezuidenhout was in charge of photography, and we wouldn't have all these great pictures without her.

I've attached a few. To see more pictures please visit the Kai aniani website, which Terri also created at: http://www.clearwatercanoeclub.com/. Then there was Rob Mirlenbrink who had the beer there for us when we all came in!! That liquor run is most important!

I also want to congratulate my team mates for an awesome job. We had never paddled together as a team. Our steers person Mike Owens from South Carolina, Larry Frederick stroking from Gainesville, Doug and Belem who I had never met, but are from this area, and Carolyn, who I have paddled with, all did a great job. We missed John Kee and some of his team, due to a prior planned event. Anita, you did a great job getting a team together from Ft. Lauderdale, and thanks for the advanced registration mailed to me. You are quite organized. I appreciate everyone who came from out of State and to my New York friends who traveled the furthest.

Until next time....

Rea Sieber

Race Organizer,

Treasure Island Classic

SUP on Lake Padden, Bellingham, WA

2009-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

KIALOA would like to thank Heather and Brandon Nelson for being such enthusiastic ambassadors for KIALOA paddles and the sport of SUP in the Northwest. They did a demo over this last cold November weekend and had a good showing. Check out the video.

www.bellinghamsup.com

Hawaiian Youth Paddler Award

2009-10-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

This year at the Hawaiian State Chamionships for Outrigger a student athelete from each island was chosen for the "State Youth Paddler " award. The young paddlers are chosen because they best embody the spirit of Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Paddling, they perpetuate all Hawaiian tradition, show a passion for the sport, show humility, exhibit teamwork, and showcase leadership abilities. Each student was awarded a KIALOA custom hybrid paddle, hand-made by Dave Chun. We gave paddles directly to kids from Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (Big Island), Kauai and Lana’i. Moloka’i had not chosen an award so they took theirs home to choose their paddler at a later time. Pictured above is Meg Chun awarding Jaslynne Chang her custom "orange burst" paddle. Jaslynne paddles for Imua One Blade on Oahu.

Jaslynne wrote us a very kind letter and said, "Much mahalos for the beautiful paddle...I'm never going to forget this. You made my whole summer truly amazing and showed me that commitment and dedication really pays off."

Oregonian Ken Wilson Brings Home a Record from Noll

2009-10-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Noll Longboard Classic debuted in 1996. A True "Longboard" contest, all boards ridden in the Classic must be 9 feet or longer. This year was number 14 and was held in Crescent City, California on Oct 3-4th. The event has a category for all ages and all skill levels are welcome.

KIALOA Rider and Oregonian Ken Wilson took home a record breaking 4 awards in 4 different divisions. Longboard age 30-39, SUP, Tandem and the Superheat, which you had to qualify for from the previous years contest.

"So it was kinda 2 years in the making because without qualifying for the super heat contestants can only enter 3 divisions," said Ken.

Congratulations Kendog! Be sure to check his website Awesome Surf Videos

Moloka'i Hoe 2009

2009-10-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Team Shell Va'a uses an all wood Tahitian double bend paddle and the steersman uses KIALOA's Foti Steering Paddle. Keep an eye out for KIALOA's Tahitian Style paddle coming out in 2010. It will be available in all wood single and double bends as well as a Hybrid version.

We're excited about this new addition to ouroutrigger paddle line-up!

Team Lanikai uses KIALOA's, you guessed it, Lanikai Hybrid Paddle named after their club.

Order of finish:
1st Shell Va’a 4:40:17 Tahiti
2nd Team Primo 4:52:24 Hawaii
3rd Paddling Connection 4:57:51 Tahiti
4th Era’I Va’a 5:02:15 Tahiti
5th Lanikai 5:05:22 Hawaii

Battle of the Paddle 2009

2009-10-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Day One of Battle of the Paddle:

While some will want to use the clichés “Super Bowl of Stand Up Paddling” to describe the Gerry Lopez Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle, I think “Super X of SUP” is a better description for yesterday’s rough and tumble Elite race. Gerry’s motorcycling roots were evident in the winding course laid out by the evil genius.

The course was an in and out affair, taking the racers through the surf zone and into a shallow section referred to by the locals as the Bone Yard. While twisty and technical, a healthy south swell breaking the length of the bay proved to be the triple jumps of the day. I had thought the first buoy turn was going to be a cluster. I was wrong. Mother nature thinned the herd by sending a timely set of waves at the mass. Riderless 18’ unlimited boards mow a wide path. If the sprint out through the surf didn’t get the heart pumping, I am sure having a carbon fiber missile firing at your legs surely did. Karen Wrenn from Portland, Oregon, had asked my opinion on wearing a leash. I told her a leash would complicate remounting the board if she took a spill. 30 seconds into the race and I’m thinking, “Man, that was some bad advice”.

Aaron Napoleon and Chuck Patterson had great starts and my fingers were crossed for a 1 and 2 KIALOA finish. My 2010 advertising campaign was quickly smashed as my friends crashed in pack which included Danny Ching, Slater Trout, and Jamie Mitchell. It was a mad scene as some of the best big wave riders in the world participated in what looked like a surf lesson at Waikiki.

My classic moment of the day was watching Aaron longboard his way to the finish on his last wave. Aaron looked like the Duke as he carved his way “right” though the finish line was to the left.

A side note: KIALOA Paddlers Vicki Mills and Beau Whitehead met for the first time at the local Immediate Care. Vicki needed a few stitches for her head wound; Beau has a new scar on his wrist.

Aloha, Dave

More pictures of the event at KIALOA's facebook page.

Top Results:

Elite Men:

1.Jamie Mitchell (AUS)

2.Slater Trout, HI

3.Danny Ching

4.James Billy Watson (AUS)

5.Chuck Patterson ,CA

6.Aaron Napoleon, HI

Elite Women:

1. Shakira Westdorp

2. Candice Appleby

3. Brandi Baksic

Open Men:

1.Mark Raaphorst

2.Dane Deboer

3. Barth Garrit

Open Women:

1. Nikki Gregg

2. Dian Wenzel

3. Sue Sheard

Full Results

Karen Wrenn at the Hennessey's Cup and Battle of the Paddle

2009-09-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

The Hennessey's Cup in San Diego was this past weekend and Karen Wrenn is becoming quite a contender. Karen was happy with her race, here's what she said, "The Hennessey Race went really well. I got 4th. Which was really good considering who was there. I can tell I have improved a ton just since Tahoe."

The next big event is this weekend, Battle of the Paddle. KIALOA will be on the beach with a booth ready to demo! We are all excited to see Karen compete there as well as defending champ Chuck Patterson.

Both Karen and Chuck will be competing in the elite category with the possiblity of winning the largest cash purse offered in SUP racing, and on Sunday they are teaming up to do a relay.

Good Luck and see you there!

SUP Catch and Release With Michelle Woo Bowan

2009-09-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

KIALOA is excited to introduce Michelle Woo Bowman. She is the latest addition to the KIALOA family and has been using her experience in fly fishing and surfing to combine the two sports with SUP. She is an avid fisherman and a full time marine biologist.

http://www.bowmanbluewater.com/ Her husband, Conway Bowman, is a well know fisherman and IGFA record holder. He runs a guide and outfitter service in San Diego.

Southeast SUP Championship in Wilmington, NC

2009-09-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

KIALOA Paddles is proud to support the Fastest Growing Water Sport Races through Intracoastal Waterway

Coastal Urge will host the largest Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) race on the East coast this Saturday, September 26, 2009. The South East SUP Championship will draw people hundreds of miles to race the 3.5 mile course around Harbor Island to compete for great prizes from race sponsors and the coveted bragging rights.

Hosting two races earlier this year, Coastal Urge owner Jeoffrey Nathan predicts this race to be the largest yet. Originally 4 classes were established: a 12’6” and under board division and a 14” and longer division for both men and women. This race will bring a new element to the water adding a Lifeguard class.

Dockside Restaurant will host this Saturday’s big event as well as a private racer’s dinner the night before. With the gun sounding at 9am Saturday, racers and their families will be able to join in on Dockside’s community wide bash featuring music and food to celebrate their 25th year in business.

Want to get involved in the world’s fastest growing water sport? The Coastal Urge crew will be running SUP demos out of Dockside all day Saturday. Also, monthly SUP Cleanups are open to all types of paddlers.

While all proceeds from Coastal Urge’s first race, the Cold Stroke Classic, went toward the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project, all proceeds from May’s Intracoastal SUP Cup and the upcoming South East SUP Championship will benefit the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enjoying the beaches and oceans.

For more information, contact Jeoffrey Nathan at (910) 256-6468 or Jeoffrey@CoastalUrge.com.

Footage from the Intracoastal SUP Cup can be found at www.vimeo.com/5551962.

Portland Dragon Boat Races

2009-09-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

KIALOA attended our first dragon boat race last weekend on the Willamette in P-Town. The weather was great, the people were friendly and Kai Ikaika had an awesome beer garden. KIALOA would like to thank everyone who stopped by our tent to check out the Hybrid Dragon Paddle. Mahalo!

Congratulations Ken Wilson 1st at Rogue

2009-09-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ken Wilson won first place at the Rogue SUP division in Newport Oregon. Ken is one of the KIALOA riders in the Northwest.

Here is an older photo of the Ken Dog in action.

Check out Ken's website Awesome Surf Videos.

Meg Chun is Interviewed About Women in SUP

2009-08-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Interview with co-owner of KIALOA Paddles in Bend Oregon Meg Chun and interviews with the Ladies winning team from the Asthetic Clinic YOLO Race Series, Julie Ogle and Nancy Babin. Below is the link to 30A Radios podcast and the video from YOLO.

30A Radio Interview podcast

Ta-hoe Nalu SUP Classic 2009

2009-08-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

Vicki Mills 1st place overall for women.

Chuck Patterson 1st pl men and Karen Wrenn 4th place women

Congratulations to Chuck Patterson and Vicki Mills for first place overall in the Men's and Women's categories. The Ta-hoe Nalu had their 3rd annual event this last weekend on beautiful King's Beach at North Lake Tahoe. The weather was kind and the water was a sparkly blue. Both Chuck and Vicki were using KIALOA paddles to take first place out of the 200 plus participants in this year's event. The race is 7 miles from King's Beach to Crystal Bay and back. The Ta-hoe Nalu provides a venue for paddlers of all skill levels from beginners to elite and has become a popular race over the past three years. Here are some pictures and we have a bunch more on our Facebook page and KIALOA's photo gallery.

2009-08-18T15:11:00.001-07:00

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First Race in the So Cal 9 Man Series

2009-08-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Team California's men who came in first in Masters and 2nd overall in the first of the Southern California 9 man race series. An excited Chuck Patterson told us that it was his first water change race but not his last. The Whitney Harris 9 man race is a 20 mile course that runs up the beach from Dana Point to Laguna Beach then back towards San Clemente to Dana Harbour.

The men used KIALOA's Lolo paddle.

Check out the video of this race from Andrew Waldron on our facebook page. Click the facebook badge in the left column of our blog.

Hawaii State Championships 2009

2009-08-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Hawaiian Outrigger State Championships were this weekend in Hilo, HI. The State Champs are held annually on different island but every other year on Oahu. This year it was in Hilo on the Big Island. States is a Regatta with 39 different events and hundreds of heats that run from about 8:30am to 6pm. The races are held in beautiful boats that are made from traditional Koa wood.

The overall top places went to:

1. Hawaiian Canoe Club from Maui

2. Kai Opua Canoe Club from the Big Island

3. Kailua Canoe Club from Oahu

KIALOA Paddles had Meg and Dave Chun at the event with a booth. KIALOA was proud to have donated custom paddles to some select young paddlers. Each Island chose a outstanding young paddler whom they thought represented outrigger paddling best and KIALOA presented them with a custom colored hybrid paddle.

Congratulations to all the winners and I hope everyone had fun!

Hanna and Superboo Paddle the MR 340

2009-07-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

The MR 340 is a 340 mile race on the Missouri River running from Kansas City to St Charles on August 4th - 7th . Hannah and Marissa, aka "Boo", are the youngest to ever attempt this race and they are doing it to help raise as much as 10,000 for breast cancer research. KIALOA Paddles was proud to sponsor the girls with a pair of custom pink hybrid paddles. Check out The Adventures of Superboo and follow their race!

Here is a great video the two girls did about their upcoming adventure.

KIALOA's 2009 Scholarship Winners

2009-07-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Live Like You Paddle Student Scholarship was a huge success. The Scholarship commitee had a hard time choosing just 10 winners, in fact, we had to change it to 11 winners this year! We just couldn't compromise.

This year was the 6th annual Student Scholarship where kids 18 and under are eligible to apply for the opportunity to win a KIALOA Hybrid outrigger paddle. They were asked to express their love of Outrigger Canoe paddling and how it ties into Hawaiian cultural values. We received essays, poems, videos, collages and drawings, just to name a few.

Below is a video by one of the winners, Ho'oulu Bueltmann. He is a 6th grader from Hilo and a first year paddler.

Congratulations to the 2009 KIALAO Scholarship winners:

Haile Brant, Ho'oulu Bueltmann, Rebekeh Mersbergh, Katie Amberg-Johnson, Ricki Alao, Makana Macomber, Wren Prouse, Alakahea Familar, Rosie Smith, Iris Tung, and Chelsea Kennedy.

Check out the KIALOA website soon for a complete winners page and view their projects.

Press Release:

PDF : http://www.prlog.org/10284558-kialoa-announces-student-scholarship-winners.pdf

HTML: http://www.prlog.org/10284558-kialoa-announces-student-scholarship-winners.html

Gorge Outrigger Races

2009-07-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

The 12th annual Gorge Outrigger Races are taking place July 17-19th on the famous Columbia River Gorge! This race draws paddlers from all over the Northwest, Canada, California and Hawaii. The unique waters and beautiful gorge make this the premier race in the northwest and the most anticipated event of the season.

On Friday there is a fun downwinder for OC1, OC2 and surfskis. If you're lucky you can get behind the Sternwheeler for a really fun ride! Saturday is the 6-man races and Sunday is the 1-man races and an SUP category as well. Camping is free at the Stevenson Fairgrounds where you really get a chance to visit with all the clubs for the two nights we're there.

KIALOA has always been a proud sponsor of this race and we haven't missed one in all the 12 years. Most of KIALOA employees are paddlers and we look forward to the event every year! KIALOA will have a booth at Bob's Beach with many good deals to be had!

For more information go to Waterwalker or Bend Oregon Outrigger.

Watch a fun and informative video!