Happy New Year!

 It is hard to believe that another New Year is here and we are already a couple weeks into it.
What a great couple of weeks it has been for snowboarding and skiing. With the extreme cold weather, our local resorts had the snow guns cranked up and the snow conditions have been really good. Many of  you only know us for summer boardsports, but we also sell snowboards and other snow and cold weather related gear in the winter.  There has not been too much paddling going on since the waterways around Annapolis have been pretty much iced up since just after the 1st of the year.  Enjoy the cold weather, take advantage of it and hit the mountains.

Frozen Waters 1/6/18 

There are lots of  events coming up in 2018 for the local SUP community.

In the immediate future we are partnering with Capital SUP on Saturday Feb 10th for a day of fun on the snow at Whitetail.  Details coming soon!

 The East of Maui/Eastport YC Chesapeake Challenge is scheduled for July 14th. Our friends at Mantra Fit are  hosting the PaddleFit Games on June 24th, and The Bay Bridge Paddle is on the books for June 2nd. There are tons of social sup events in the works too. 

I tend to live in the moment, and look towards the future, but  I did take  a quick look back at some of the highlights of  2017. What a great year it was!  

SANTA PADDLE

We wrapped up 2017 with our Annual East of Maui Santa Paddle. Close to 40 stand up paddlers and a few kayakers, dressed in festive attire,  joined Santa as he paddled around Annapolis and handed out holiday treats along the waterfront. It is always a fun day and a good way to wrap up the season.

Merry Christmas    (photo: Deb Stipa) 

PADDLE FOR PUERTO RICO

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, I had an idea to get a few friends together, go for a paddle, throw $20 bucks in a jar and then send it to someone in Puerto Rico to help them recover from the hurricane.

That idea grew beyond my wildest dreams. Before I knew it, I had prizes being donated for raffles and auctions from friends, the SUP industry, and people I  didn't even know. The support of the community was mind blowing and heart warming.

I could and should devote an entire blog  thanking everyone for their support of the event.

IT WAS AMAZING! THANK YOU ALL!

Paddle For Puerto Rico   (Photo: Deb Stipa)

On Sunday October 15th, 119 people came out and braved a cool, drizzly day to paddle. After an safety meeting by me,  and short talk from former Puerto Rico Attorney General Jose Fuentes, we got a first hand report on the conditions in Puerto Rico from a long time friend and customer Drew Koslow who had just returned from aid and relief efforts on the island. 

Mary Howser form Team Starboard and Capital SUP lead a fast paced 6 mile paddle, while most of us paddled a more leisurely  3 mile lap.

 Nice Overhead Photo by Brian Meyer 

Upon returning to the beach we wrapped up the morning with an auction and drawing for the raffle prizes.

The event raised almost $5800! The funds were then donated to Ridge to Reefs and to SupportPuertoRico Strong. Thanks again to everyone that came out in support of the event.

Labor Day! 

Labor Day marked our 1st anniversary in our new location. 

We love our "new" home  in the Woodbridge Center, and we want to thank all of  our new and old customers for your business and support.  We celebrated Labor Day with a trip to Assateague.  Not much going on in the wave department, but we all caught a few on our stand ups, and had lots of  fun talking story on the beach. 

Labor Day Fun. Ponies & Surf  (photos:Sarah)

 2017 East of Maui / Eastport YC Chesapeake Stand Up Challenge

On July 8th, along with our host  Eastport Yacht Club we held our Annual Chesapeake Stand Up Challenge . 

The race start.  (photo by Spinsheet Magazine) 

We had 151 registered racers competing on 3 courses. The weather was great, and the competition strong. Unfortunately, several of the lead racers in the long race did not honor a buoy on course the correctly, resulting in a protest, and the subsequent disqualification of many men and women paddlers. As the acting race director, it was a very difficult situation, and I found no joy in having to make that decision. Everyone of the disqualified racers while extremely disappointed , accepted my decision with great sportsmanship and class. I want to thank them for that, and their support.  We are looking forward to the 2018 event, but racers, please go around all the buoys on the correct side this year :)       

FUN!

In addition to all the individual events, we had a lot of fun in 2017. We spent a lot of days on the water, paddling with old friends, and paddling with new friends. We paddled places that we have never paddled before.We watched sunrises and sunsets from our boards.  We even closed the shop one Sunday and  all of us went to Nitro Circus, and saw hometown boy Travis Pastrana do his thing. That was fun.

The Circus came to town! 

 We love having fun. When have been helping people have more fun on boards since 1979. Holy cow, that's 39 years!  That is a lot of fun. We can help you have more fun too!     

Tuesday Social SUP

Aloha -MB