east of maui boardshop

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Labor Day Sale

SELECTED DEMO BOARDS

Boga Tsunami $1275

Bark 12'6" Competitor $1799

Bark 14' Dominator $1799

Bark 14' Eleminator $1799

Jimmy Lewis Cruise Control 11' $1399

Call for new board pricing and availability

ALL SUMMER CLOTHING ON SALE

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Holy Smokes, the summer is flying by with nary a blog post since Memorial Day. It is already August and Labor Day is just around the corner. I don't know what any of this has to do with Stand Up paddling except that time flies when you are having fun, and I've have had a whole bunch of fun on the paddle boards this summer. From solo morning sunrise sessions, to afternoon group paddles, teaching lessons, a full race calendar, and even a few night paddles I have been paddling my butt off this summer.

You might think with all the time I spend on the water that I would get tired of this but, I don't. It just keeps getting better and better.

It is hard to pick out the highlights of the last two months. There have been so many, but I have to think at least for the shop, pulling off the 3rd Annual East of Maui/ Eastport YC Chesapeake Stand Up Challenge has to be one of them.

2014

We had over 100 racers in 8 classes on two courses. The weather was about as perfect as could be, and with the exception of a computer registration and timing problem everything ran smoothly, and I think, and hope everyone had a great time. (Sarah and her friend Leslie did a great job of doing the scoring by hand and then loading the results on the computer, so everyone could see the results by Sunday morning). There are so many people to thank for helping East of Maui pull this off, but special thanks to Joe Donahue and Ramzi Bannura at EYC for providing us with such a great venue. Also to the sponsors, Naish, Da Kine, Raw Elements,Supreme, Landshark, Refllekt, Starboard, and Wise & Donahue, thanks for helping us make it happen.

Before the race I had decided I wanted to do something special for whoever was the last person to actually finish the long 6.5 mile course. Not to take anything away from the people who win, but sometimes I think it is harder to finish some of these races than it is to win. While the leaders are fighting it out for glory at the front of the race, it can be an awfully long day and lonely day at the back end of the race. It takes a lot of motivation to keep on keeping on when you know everyone else is a ashore and the party has started without you. Just before the start, Mark Colino gave me a carbon Starboard paddle and told me to use it for a prize. I immediately knew what I was going to use it for, I just didn't know who. That who, turned out to be a guy by the name of Allan Navo. I began the awards presentation by announcing that I had a special award to the last place finisher for completing the tough course and rising to the Challenge. I think Allan was in shock when I presented him with the paddle. At the time I didn't realize just how a big a challenge Allan had conquered. Allan stopped by the shop the following week to have us size up and cut his new paddle. Turns out he had on recently completed rather aggressive chemo for cancer in April and was just retuning to Stand UP after a long absence. He may not have had the fastest official time, but Allan is the new Champion of the 2014 Chesapeake Challenge.

Which somehow brings me around to the beginning of this mess. I have been paddling and selling Stand Up boards for 10 years now. I can't believe how fast the past 10 years have flown by. It seems like just yesterday Trip Foreman loaned me his board, showed me how to hold the paddle (correctly I might add) told me to "have fun and don't f' up his board". Every minute, every hour, every day I have spent on water on a stand Up board the has has flown by and be insanely fun (well actually not some of the long upwind paddles but that's another story), and like I said before, when you are having fun time flies.

Mark Saunders and I having fun several years ago. Note the state of the art aluminum paddles!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

THANK YOU

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Raves and Rants

Raves!

Spring has taken its' sweet time getting here, but it looks like it has finally arrived. The water is still a little on the cool side, but everyone at the shop is finally getting out on the water with some regularity. Yay!
I had a great time at the Carolina Cup a couple weeks ago and hope to get around to posting a full recap in the near future. Just in case I don't, let me say now, "It was an awesome event." Yay!

Testing out the Surftech 14' Bark Dominator

East of Maui started our weekly Tuesday Night Group Paddles this past week, and will continue all Summer, weather permitting. Yay!

Details: Join East of Maui for a weekly Stand Up Paddle around Annapolis. We paddle out at 6pm. Suitable for recreational paddlers, however, this is sometimes an open water paddle, and is not recommended for 1st time paddlers. We are happy to pass on some paddling tips , but the Group Paddle is not a lesson.
We will usually paddle about 2 1/2 miles with a longer option for more experienced paddlers
This a FREE event if you have your own board. Rental boards available by advance reservation $20.
Stop by or call East of Maui for more information.
410-573-9463

A Typical Tuesday Night!

Some Great Upcoming Events:

May 31st. Bliss on the Bay:

Bliss On The Bay is Baltimore’s premiere SUP race event. The day will include different levels of stand up paddle board (SUP) races, a corporate challenge event, and will be followed in the afternoon by Ultimate Watersports' annual Paddlefest! In addition to the events taking place throughout the day, there will be a racers’ village for attendees to visit throughout the duration of the event.

June 1st. Surf Swap Challenge

The Surf Swap Challenge is an event that covers all levels of stand up paddleboarding. It is a full day of racing, eating, and enjoying a wonderful day on the bay at Fager’s Island Bar & Restaurant, 60^th St. & the Bay, Ocean City, MD.Proceeds from the event will go to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. Dawn runs a great event. This is a don't miss!

July 12th. The East of Maui/Eastport Yacht Club Chesapeake Challenge. This an open water race set in Annapolis Harbor and the mouth of the Severn River. There will be two course options: The 6.5 mile Challenge for more experienced paddlers and a 3-3.5 mile Challenge suitable for more novice paddlers. Both courses can be subject to wind, chop, and boat traffic. This is a MASRA (Mid-Atlantic SUP Racing Association) Points Event.
Food, drinks, awards, and live music following the race.

yay!

RANTS!

Buyer Beware

As the sport of Stand Up continues to explode, more and more people are getting into the business from from all sides.

From the manufacturing side, it seems like everyday I get phone call from overseas, from somebody wanting to build boards for me CHEAP! I have been the board business a long time, you get what you pay for. A turd with a fancy paint job is still a turd. Sorry, I don't want to sell turds.

It also came to my attention this spring, that there is an online company that has copied/stolen the designs of a well know brand, and then are having them built using inferior materials, and then trying to pass them off as the real deal "but with different graphics". Buyer beware! -Boo!

From the retail side, there are a lot of people selling Stand Up. There are many quality retailers that know what they are doing, and do a great job matching up the customer with the right equipment. -Yay! Unfortunately there are many people selling boards that have no clue. It really is a bummer to hear that someone bought a board that is totally unsuited for them. Instead of being stoked on an awesome sport, they are turned off, maybe for ever. -Boo!

Myself, my business partner and our employees all paddle. We know what really works, and what really doesn't. We have chosen the products we want to sell, represent, stand up on, and stand behind in our store. Having the right gear is fun. East of Maui has been helping people have more fun since 1979.

If you or one of your friends a looking to buy a board or learn about Stand Up Paddling, please stop by and visit East of Maui. We promise to do our very best to put you or your friends on the right gear.

Aloha- Mark B


Like East of Maui on Facebook! Friends don't let friends paddle junk!

facebook.com/eastofmaui

Friday, April 18, 2014

FRANK WOULD GO!

The 2014 Carolina Cup is now just a week away. My training for the race is more like a train wreck. I have paddled very little this winter, and I don't think I have paddled at all this month. What the hell am I thinking?

The following is an excerpt from SUP Racer.com : " The Carolina Cup, held in humble little Wilmington, North Carolina, is fast becoming not only one of the biggest races on the calendar, but one of the most significant events in the entire world of SUP racing, period.
– in fact it might just be the second most competitive race in the world this year, after only the BOP), or because luminaries such as Dave Kalama, Jimmy Terrell and Larry Cain will be doing clinics, or because pretty much every major brand will have a presence there, but also because the event will have HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of recreational paddlers competing."

"Competing"? I'm just hoping I survive. I haven't paddled 6.5 miles since last November. I'm going to die!

You may have heard the phrase "Eddie Would Go". Eddie Aikau was a famous Hawaiian big wave surfer and life guard. Eddie would go surfing or out to rescue someone when the conditions were too dangerous for anyone else to go. I never knew Eddie, but I have a friend named Frank.
Frank is an ultra-marathon runner. He would never admit it, but he is a serious athlete, perhaps. Frank does crazy things like run 3 back to back marathons to raise money for the families of the of the Boston Marathon bombing victims (after doing an SUP race in the morning), and then personally RUNS the money to Boston. By his own account, he does many of these unbelievable feats, at the last minute, and with very little training and planning. While most athletes are carefully monitoring their diets before these events, Frank is likely to work all night, slam down a few chili dogs, and show up at the starting line and still have a respectable finish. The bottom line is Frank has never let the lack of preparation stand in the way of going out and abusing himself in the name of adventure and a good time.


Frank on top of the summit of Australia's highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, after finishing the Coast to Kosci Ultramarathon

So, what does all of this have to do with Stand Up paddling? Actually nothing at all, but as I question my sanity and my own lack of preparation for the biggest, baddest Stand Up paddle race of the season, I ask myself, "what would Frank do? " FRANK WOULD GO!
So, with that in mind, I guess I have to put my big boy surf trunks on, load the truck, and head to Wrightsville. I'm going to bypass Frank's chili dogs, but there is a real good chance I'm gonna stop along the way for some North Carolina BBQ!