For those of you visually inclined, plenty of photos to accompany this week's grab.
Quiver talk
If the fascination over the new Fanatic race boards is any sign, the roll-out of new boards in coming months will be frenetic. Seabreeze posts of the red brand’s ocean and flatwater releases have clocked over 2000 reads, and counting, in a matter of days. More pictures are emerging of the new boards that included local testing and which sponsored pros have now started racing.
Jake Jensen was spotted at the Carolina Cup with a flatwater board called the Strike, which was followed by a more recent posting of the Strikes that Davide Ionico and Davide Coddoto are using on the Euro Tour (picture left). The paint-job appears back-to-the-future for Fanatic, while that nose is all business. Jensen then followed it up with a posting of his Falcon (picture right). After a 2015 release that saw little change, the latest Falcon has undergone some serious rhinoplasty while the tail has plenty going on.
Competition
As confirmation of the new Falcon’s potential, Jake Jensen was clearly competitive in the second round of the Euro Tour over the weekend. To confuse matters a little, it was a dual second round of the Tour. Paddlers had the choice of a technical race followed by a distance race at St Maxime on the French Riviera, or a single distance race at the St’Ives Bay Celtic Cup in Cornwall, England.
In France, Jensen (Australia) fought it out with the likes of Travis Grant (Australia), Titouan Puyo (Tahiti) and Leonard Nika (Italy), among others. Day one’s technical race went to Grant, followed by Jensen then Puyo. A close match between Puyo and Grant in the distance race on the second day went to the Tahitian while Nika pipped Jensen for third. Combining the two races, Grant took gold, Puyo silver and Jensen bronze.
Sonni Honscheid (Germany) continues to dominate the women’s field in the Euro tour. Honscheid took first place on day one, ahead of Lina Augaitis (Canada) and Celine Guesdon (France). The second day’s race produced the same podium finishes.
In Cornwall, conditions were typically English. Fiona Wylde (USA) led the women from start to finish in the 3 x 4km lap race over blustery conditions. Marie Buchanan (UK) and Susak Molinero (Spain) captured the minor placings.
Connor Baxter (Hawaii) was first of the men, just ahead of Fernando Stalla (Mexico) and Paolo Marconi (Italy). And for those who prefer things tippy, local-boy Aaron Rowe managed sixth-place on a 21 inch wide Lokahi board.
This coming weekend the Euro Tour shrinks again to a single event, the Lost Mills race in Germany; one of the big name events, not just in Europe but globally.
This week’s number: 1.5
Speaking of widths, I made a mistake last week. I’d suggested that Travis Grant won the first round of the Euro Tour on a 23” flatwater board, similar to those of Connor Baxter and Titouan Puyo in the minor placings. But it turns out that Grant swapped his board at the last moment to, what I believe, was the NSP DC 24.5” Ocean Race, a board suited to choppy conditions. The following photo captures the contrasting efforts required – Grant left, Baxter right. So that’s the number this week – my mistake about board widths. Sorry.
And then to speak further of numbers, Kai Lenny’s was up at the Sapinus Pro in Tahiti, round 2 of the surf-based Stand Up World Tour, which is currently under way. A big upset with the four-time world champ Lenny knocked out of the last heat of the repechage by fellow Naish rider Noa Ginella. Don’t fret - plenty of Aussies left in the mix – Bates, Casey, Nixon, Muir, Holland, De Aboitz, although some do face off in the next round. Follow the action of those remaining on the event’s Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/StandUpWorldTour Upcoming local comps
On the left-hand side of the country, Paddleloop June 6 and Surf Series 2 Denmark June 6-7. On the right-hand side, Central Coast have made a bold claim for the silverware ahead of the Scotts Head 3 Day SUP contest June 19-21. Let’s see who takes up the challenge.
It’s official, SUP is good for you
A group of researchers on the Gold Coast have proven scientifically what we all suspected; that stand-up paddling is good for your health, both physical and mental.
Mike Climstein, Ben Schram and Wayne Hing from Bond University had noticed a high level of fitness, strength and balance exists among SUP participants, so they conducted a scientific test of its health, fitness and injury rehabilitation benefits.
The test involved taking 13 inactive people and firstly measuring their existing fitness (aerobic and anaerobic capacity, core muscle endurance and quality of life). The participants then underwent a six-week training program involving 3 one-hour sessions per week for 6 weeks. Their fitness was then re-measured. The results were outstanding and importantly, statistically significant.
Specifically, the test group’s overall aerobic fitness improved by 24%, anaerobic fitness +42%, core strength (prone bridge +20%, right side bridge +26%, left side bridge +28%), own health satisfaction (+28%) and psychological health (+17%).
The researchers concluded that many physiological, musculoskeletal and psychological benefits could be obtained from paddling, which means it is an ideal activity for those who are time limited and still looking to improve strength and fitness. The fact that it is also easy to learn and low impact on the joints are further benefits.
So, if you’re struggling to get a SUP leave pass, just say it’s on doctor’s orders.
Source: Mike Climstein, Ben Schram and Wayne Hing, “The Physiological, Musculoskeletal and Psychological Effects of Stand Up Paddle Boarding” Confederation of Physical Therapists. Singapore (pending). May 2015.
Happy reading,
SJKJ
