I can't believe I have not made a blog entry since October. It is not like nothing was going on in East of Maui Sup world, but somehow the last two months of 2013 sup'ed (slipped) by with out an entry or an update*.
I had a great trip to Hatteras the 1st part of November. Not much wind for windsurfing, but we had a several good days in a row surfing our SUPs down in Frisco in some small surf. A couple of shark sitings, (with a few of them a little too close for comfort) but generally a lot of fun by all.
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| Small, Clean, and......... |
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| ..........Clear! |
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| FINS! |
With the end of Daylight Savings, and the return of early darkness, it was hard to do much in the way of organized group paddles through the shop and with our customers. I still managed to get in a bunch of sessions in the last two months of the year by sneaking out here and there. It definitely takes more motivation to climb into the wetsuit or drysuit than it takes just to grab the trunks and go, but once on the water, any extra effort was worth it.
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| Late December Sunrise Paddle |
The one exception to the lack of group gatherings was our Annual Santa Paddle. What started out a few years ago with me buying a Santa Suit and hoping to take a few pictures of Santa on a SUP with Annapolis in the background to use on our website, has grown into a really fun group paddle.
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| SANTA! |
The weather was looking questionable right up to the night before, with the forecast of rain and/or high winds. Local ABC News meteorologist and standup paddler Wyatt Everhart said we would have a window between the fronts for the the morning paddle, andwe would be good to go. Santa and his elves passed out candy canes to kids around City Dock and then paddled up Spa Creek before taking another pass down Ego Ally. Just as we were heading back towards Chesapeake Ave, the wind filled in hard, giving Santa and his Elves a fun downwind sleigh ride home. As one can imagine, things are a bit crazy and hectic working retail around Christmas, and for this Santa, the "Santa Paddle" was a great way to escape that craziness, if only for a few hours, and spend some time with friends on the water. Many thanks to all who participated in sharing some Christmas Cheer.
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Santa and Wyatt talking about the weather. |
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| Jessica and her well dressed board! |
In retrospect, 2013 was a pretty good year for me on the SUP. I got to paddle in some places that I have never been before. I got to paddle with old friends,and paddle with some that I had never met before. I'm unbelievably lucky that I get to spend as much time as I do on or around the water. I'm even luckier that I get to share much of that time with so many special friends. Here is a toast to 2013, and lets keep on paddling in 2014! See you on the water. Aloha-MB
* For more immediate news and updates like East of Maui on Facebook
www.facebook.com/eastofmaui
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