SUPin' in the SUN at the WPA Hennessey's World Champs, Cabo, MEXICO

SUP Mexico Classic and WPA Henessey's World Championships

friday evening race package pick up

turtle release

3.5 days of SUN, warm water, SUP, guac, salsa, and tortillas!!!!!!!!!  I love Mexico!

The distance race was Saturday. I was hoping for fairly flat conditions not necessarily because I think it is the most fun but mostly because that is my strength. Unfortunately, for me the wind gods were hungry and they started howling. The ride there was an adventure in itself, we drove on some crazy dirt desert roads with no real direction other than we were following a red truk with some boards on top of it hoping they were actually heading to the race start: Punta Gorda. We finally arrived at the start to only have to wait in the heat, watching the wind get stronger and stronger for the bus with the rest of the athletes to arrive. Adam drove Vero and I in their awesome van!

Adam and Vero's Pacifc Paddle Surf Van....

We finally started the race an hour or so later than the intended start which was fine except for the WIND and HEAT! I had one of my worst starts EVER but no biggie as it was a long race and drafting would be difficult with the chop, waves, and wind! I was feeling physically strong, and ready to attack but for some reason something was off with my mind/board flow.... it could have been the rough conditions or it could have just been a mental blah on my part but I was NOT one with my board. I felt like I was battling with it the entire race... I tried to be nice to it, I tried to swear at it, I tried to sing a mantra, breathe, love, get angry but nothing was seeming to work for me... OH well, I suppose these things happen... so I came in a respectable 5th place and managed to squeeze myself into the last money spot for the distance race! I did have fun and I loved being out there and my frustrations only last a little while... I was quickly enjoying the sun, the beach, the people, and the fact that I was at the WPA Hennessey's world champs in Cabo, MEXICO!

Sunday was the technical short course and the wind did not give up on this day either, if anything it might have been even wilder than Saturday, so wild in fact that they had to change the course format for safety reasons! The open racers headed out first and they had three laps of a upwind, downwind, side shop triangle course with a beach touch! Adam from pacific paddle won  the Open race! He smashed the course!

Vero, Adam, and I enjoying life and being at the event!

Warren Bruce, came down from La Ventana to join in on the festivities!

We, the elite went after the open race, the race moved the buoys out a little further and increased our laps to 5, and reversed the direction. We headed straight into a head wind, the head wind got stronger as we neared the buoy, we then turned the buoy and had a downwind, the last buoy took us to a side wind and then we rounded the fourth buoy on the beach with our boards.... The first lap into the wind I felt good but then once I hit that first downwind section I kept falling off my board and getting frustrated with myself. Needless to say the second half of my first lap sucked! HA.... I managed to gain a little more control on the second lap but still fell in a bunch and the last three laps I found myself on top of the board (thankfully) but I think it was a little too late.... I again crossed the line in 5th. It was a tough course but it was really fun in a weird kind of athletic/racer kind of way:)

Kristin Thomas and I with our Werner paddles!

Me doing something funny with Werner paddle, Ryders sunglasses, etc!

For both races I was on the 2012 BOP Starboard Carbon board 12'6 x 26.5, with my Werner small Grand Prix paddle! I used the Vestpac with Nuun for hydration.

I managed to get on what  I think was the BEST relay team there! Janet Jensen from Snell Real Estates, who is originally from Vancouver as well but now lives in Cabo had two local Mexican surfers and myself on her team. We got to wear these fun referee uniforms and just have a blast! We came in second to last but who was counting!!!! :)

Celebrating post relay race with Janet Jensen of Snell Real Estate!

Sunday's event celebration and awards were held at Don Sanchez restaurant in town. It had good food, awards, and a really great dance party!

Top 5 ladies at the Hennessey's WPA World Championships. Cabo, Mexico!

WIND/WAVES/SURF: I will love you in a race in the near future..... just let me have some more time to practice.....

It was great to reconnect with racers I have met in the last 3 months and in addition I got the opportunity to meet even more fabulous new racers/people in the SUP industry. The more I am getting myself involved in the SUP community the more I am feeling such warm welcomes, and a great vibe. I really loved stepping out of myself for a moment on the dance floor at the event after party and enjoy the scene of people from different parts of the world, at different ages, with different backgrounds together on the same dance floor celebrating the SAME PASSION---- SUP..... it was beautiful:)

I have many thank yous....
*Adam and Vero at Pacific Paddle Surf. Thank you for letting me join you and your beautiful family for the weekend. Thank you for making me feel like part of a team. Thank you for your amazing spirit and inspiration!
*Kristin Thomas. Thank you for being positive, accepting, and an amazing role model and ambassador for the sport of SUP!
*Trident sports/Starboard SUP for the continued support and for creating and distributing such fine boards!
*Nikki Rekman Sales/Werner Paddles for the continuing support and for creating such a great product!
*Ryders Eyewear for comfy, stylish sunglasses on and off the water!
*Laiph Clothing for taking me on as an ambassador, for keeping my stoke high and making me feel a whole lot of awesome!
*WPA and SUP Mexico for putting on a fun event. I could have done with a little less wind but by ordering the tough conditions you kept me on my toes and certainly made the paddles more adventurous! I look forward to many more events!
*Crossfit Vancouver (especially coach Tbear) for the support and motivation to stay strong, fit, and healthy! Thank you for constantly making me feel sore:)
*ANDREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the best hubby in the world!

Thoughts about the last 3 months
2012 is coming to a close and the last 3 months have been a whirlwind of awesomeness! I had a year away from SUP while working and traveling in China and I came back eager to race and see what I could do on the international scene. I surpassed my vision these past 3 months, I have met great SUP women paddlers. I have learned a lot by watching, racing, failing and succeeding and I find myself in an exciting spot. I definitely have room for improvement, development and growth but I am not so far off the top women in the sport... I am excited and ready to see what I can accomplish.

My focus for 2013
SURF, DOWNWIND, surf, downwind, more surf, more downwind..... haha... its not so bad that these are the skills I need to practice and improve to make it to the next level. I WANT to get better at both of these skills. I will do my best to find every opportunity to practice, play, and learn so that in 2013 I can get excited about a downwind race instead of cringe and sigh and wish for flat water.... I want to be an all around paddler. I think my strength will always be distance flat water but I would love to be hot on peoples heels in a downwinder or technical surf race:)

Racing 2013
I am in the process of figuring out a plan for racing, expeditions, and travels for 2013. I have many ideas at the moment BUT I also have many unknowns and other things to consider as well: time, finances, job, family, to name a few....
What I do know is I will keep following my heart, my dreams, my goals, and hope to continue to be a part of the SUP community, find my spot within it and spread the stoke of this awesome sport. I hope I can give back as much or more than my share... There are so many inspirational and wonderful people that have already helped me soo much in my life and I hope I can return the favor to others!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Port Mann Bridge from a new perspective

Friday we had a little house re warming party! Andrew spent the last 1.5 months building, creating, and fixing our little home. Check out his blog for PICS etc
www.andrew-in-bc.blogspot.com

SUP and Port Mann Bridge

Saturday morning we joined Johnny and Marc on the Fraser River. It was pouring down with rain so out of our sport options paddling seemed like the most sense AND Johnny thought of a cool adventure. I am always up for exploring new places... I wanted to get out for a SUP anyways and paddling with others is always more fun! Johnny and Andrew were in Johnny's skin on frame canoe, Marc was in the evo surfski and I was on my Starboard BOP SUP. We were quite the scene launching out near a construction site underneath the Port Mann Bridge! We headed not too far upstream into the Coquitlam River. Here we paddled until basically the current got too strong for us to make significant headway. I kept getting little waves of dizziness whenever I looked down as we were heading the opposite way to the current and it was fairly shallow waters so I could see the bottom rushing past in a weird direction.... it was kind of trippy! I was enjoying the "resistance training" of the current and also trying to keep up with a surfski:)  The paddle down the Coquitlam was much quicker than going upstream... we explored the Fraser river some and then headed back under the Port Mann and took some time looking up through the gaps of the bridge... again definitely a little tipsy standing on a river looking up at traffic whizzing overhead:)

MORE PICS HERE

Saturday evening we enjoyed some Halloween celebrations and after a well needed lie in, on Sunday afternoon we headed out to Cypress to explore some new trails. We decided to only take our running shoes as we weren't too sure where the trails we were looking for were and in what condition they might be in! We managed to be out there for about 3 hours and found some trails but not the one we were looking for:) We will be back as it is a whole new area of trails that we have yet to discover/ride/enjoy:)

Sunday night I got called into Deep Cove to guide a full moon tour! Love the full moon tours!!!! Sunday ended up being a wonderful day that we spent in the outdoors:)

Now, it is time for my body and mind to get prepared for the last BIG SUP race in awhile.... Off to Mexico to battle it out at the Hennessey's World Champs!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!
lina

Doing many different things......

I've been busy in a really good way lately!

I have missed out on writing about some recent adventures so I am going to summarize.  Adventures keep popping up lately and I am loving it but its tough sometimes to keep on top of all of the other smaller but really important parts of life:)

Winthrop Thanksgiving weekend

The crew at the top of Angels Staircase

Biking the ridge of Angel Staircase

There was lots and lots of sunshine... lots and lots of really great mtn biking, lots and lots of amazing food.... fun people, slacklining, and good times.
We rode 4 days: all over the area of Winthrop and still managed to ride some trails that we had never rode before.  We also rode some of my favorite classics like Cutthroat and Angels Staircase.
I am one for traditions and this is one tradition I hope we keep alive for a long time coming. THANK YOU Chris's parents for lending us your cabin for a weekend, WE LOVE IT there! I also love it when you bump into someone on top of a mountain in the middle of what feels like nowhere... Great to have bumped into you Dale! It truly is a small world...

Andrew at top of Cut Throat Pass

Me biking down Cutthroat Trail

me slacklining behind the house

andrew and I at the top of Angel Staircase hike a bike

I got to finish the weekend off with a SUP in Bellingham Bay. Andrew dropped me off and I paddled the bay and he picked me up about 45 minutes later! It was great to beable to get out for a little paddle. I was on the Starboard Astro Blend Inflatable SUP board! Great for packing it up in a small space and quick to pump up and put together!

Bellingham SUP

Bellingham SUP

Bellingham SUP

Slipstream 90 Hour Wilderness First Aid Course
Following a great weekend of mtn biking, food, and friends I headed straight into a 9 day intensive wilderness first aid course. The days were long, the information plentiful but interesting and useful, and the nights full of readings and review. Although it was intense and tiring it was a great course. I met some really awesome people and learned a lot about myself and first aid! A double winner in my books! I just have to finish an online multiple choice test and I am officially done...well for the next 3 years at least! I totally recommend Slipstream if you are ever thinking of doing a more intense first aid course!

Birthday SUP Surf weekend in Tofino

Birthday at Chesterman Beach

I wanted to go surfing for my birthday. My birthday happened to have landed on a friday and I managed to get that friday off from work.... SO, Andrew organized a birthday weekend in Tofino. Its a process getting over there.... the ferry line up, and the ferry itself, then the drive across the island. Luckily, it was worth it:) We got three days of mix of sun and rain, and am happy to say it was mostly sun! The waves were a perfect size for Andrew and I. Thank you Trident Sports for lending us the boards. I really love surfing on the Starboard Whopper board. We also had a Starboard Blend and Andrew was looking solid out there on that board! We stayed at a greta little guest house called Tofino Travellers. It was very peaceful and FUN! It was just what I needed after a long 10 days of class! THANKS ANDREW for the perfect birthday weekend!

my mad skills:)

Now, its time to gather my thoughts, do some soul searching, and figure out what is next for me. I have many ideas and desires but they are a little unfocused, and I can't do it all in one go. I have to pick and choose and frankly I find the choosing tough... tough when there are many great choices and I have no real indication what the outcomes of each choice can be.....

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point California

View from the Starboard team House. I heart beaches

When I came back on the scene of SUP after a year away in China.... The BOP was not on my list of races to do this fall. I knew I hadn't surfed since probably two years ago and so much of the race depends on the ability to read waves, catch them and ride them.... The BOP is a really great event but it does cost A LOT of money to enter the races. I spent money on getting there etc but I still couldn't bring myself to lay down the $$$ for the elite short course. I just wasnt mentally confident enough to regularly catch and surf in waves most of the time. Right now catching and surfing a wave is more in the hands of chance than skill. I am hoping to practice surfing throughout the winter and change this.... So, the money bothered me BUT I wanted to be on that start line up BUT it would show me nothing other than I could finish and I know I could finish.hmmm... I had to make a choice....

lots of people on the water...

The OPEN race.
A whole bunch of craziness!!!!! What happens when 400 paddlers paddle around a circle five times?.... I think you need to experience it yourself to fully understand. Some called it a huge human whirlpool and others just plain chaos....
At the start of the race, I didn't even get butterflies in my stomach.... no pressure, no tension, no nervousness (other than not really understanding how it would actually work with so many paddlers out on the water at the same time?!?... ) The start signal went and I just hammered away.. I wanted to sprint out of the mess from the start:)  Luckily we only had a minimal amount of small surf breaks to get out to the first bouy, unluckily for some paddlers they managed to get caught in a big pile of a mess around the first bouy... I stayed WIDE and far away from that scene as I didn't want any part of that. I consistently paid attention to others and tried to react to their movements in order for me to stay upright and not get caught in a battle field of people and boards. I did fairly well until on the last length a man in front of me fell and tipped me in.... oh well... its all part of the game!...and then again I fell on a wave riding in to shore but did manage to catch the next one and rolled in with the ever so famous Gerry Lopez. I found myself with a first place prize and my confidence boosted!  I was on a Starboard carbon BOP 12'6x26.5 board. A board I enjoy in the chop and swell. I find the BOP board light and stable yet maneuverable. It was my first race with my new Werner Grand Prix Paddle and so far it felt good in my hands. The shaft is slightly longer than I am used to and I think it helped with my reach which is great!  It is super light weight and think it definitely helped me get out in front throughout the start of the race.

Start of Open Race Photo by Jason Lexa

Open race madness Photo by Jason Lexa

Photo by Shannon Bell Running in with Gerry Lopez in the background!

winning my 1st place prize for Open race with Sparky and Gerry Lopez

Karly and I with our prizes. Photo by Mike Darbyshire

Open Race Award

The DISTANCE race.
Coming into the BOP event I knew the distance race was the event where I had a better chance to flourish and really test myself against the best. Less luck would be involved and more just hard good ol fashion grit and mental tenacity. I kind of expected to finish somewhere around maybe 10th or so and would have been content with a top 10 placing among the elite women. The start was a water start and it was a little mental with people sneaking forward, the officials making people move back, forced to sit, and the skidoos infront of the line making waves and then somewhere in the mix of all that there was a GO! and...we were off. I truly just concentrated on my stroke, my balance, my hydration and going in the right direction. Once we started, the waves and people made it too difficult to concentrate on anything else but staying upright on my board. After the first few minutes of banging boards and crazy waters I kind of fell into a rhythm... I looked up and then saw Jenny Kambalch, a truly accomplished SUP racer right there beside me.. My first thoughts were "oh she must be having a bad day cause I am so close to her"... I then saw Brandi Baksic, another amazing SUP racer, just ahead and got some jitters as I realized it would be kind of unlikely that they both were having bad days at the same time...maybe I was having a good day:) So, I got on the end of the drafting train behind Jenny and some boys. In this race anyone could draft anyone.... I was gettting excited and maybe got a little too exctied because the next thing I knew I was in the water and the fast train had just pulled away from me :( I shook it off and got back on my board and just put my head down and started to paddle again.  I got some drafting here and there but it seemed as though I was in an empty space with not too many guys or gals really around to draft.... hmmm... I sipped my NUUN more than usual... the heat was getting to me and my stomach was growling. The water was tough throughout the entire course, swell and random chop made it tough to keep a straight line. I rarely get sore legs but I was feeling it with all the micro movements needed to stay on top of the water rather than in the water. Slowly though I could see Jenny and Brandi and their clan moving farther and farther away from me. It was frustrating as drafting really does help and there just wasn't a train for me so on I pushed by myself. I rounded the last bouy and sort of luckily for me I was in between sets. This did mean I had to paddle all the way into shore without a free ride form a wave but it also meant no carnage...:) My Werner Grand Prix helped me paddle hard into shore. I proudly found out I was the 5th girl across the line. 5th elite women!  It felt really good. I am totally stoked!

Comin in at the end of Distance Race photo:Jason Lexa

Distance Race photo: jason Lexa

Running into 5th place women elite photo:Jason Lexa

Pretty Stoked after the distance race photo: Jason Lexa

I heart Team Canada! Mike Darbyshire, Norm Hann, Gary Parsons and myself created a Team Canada for the relay race. We raced on a starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon board. I wanted a leash so Mike D created a system that I could take on and off the board as the other badass surfers didnt need one! One day maybe I will be confident enough in the surf that I won't need a leash either:) I loved the relay race! The carnage, the crowds, the team aspect... all of it! Team Canada came in 10th out of about 50 teams! YAY CANADA!

Team Canada Relay Team: Gary, Mike, me, Norm photo by Karly Cox

Me waiting my turn photo by Karly Cox

Mike running photo by Karly Cox

Gary photo: Karly Cox

Heading out to paddle photo: Karly Cox

most of the Canadians at BOP but not all... CANADA ROCKS!

A BIG THANK YOU to
*Trident Sports and Starboard for helping me out with boards and accomodations and for being a really fun cool team to hand out with!
*Nikki Rekman sales and Werner Paddles for providing me with a stellar Grand Prix Paddle that helped me get to where I needed to get to(start line to finish line..) quickly!
*Ryders Eyewear for protecting my eyes while chillin on the beach and at the beer tent:)
*Laiph Clothing for bringing me on as an ambassador to what seems to be an amazing team. I look forward to being part of the team!
*Mike Darbyshire for driving us around and just being awesome
*Dan Gavere for organizing us athletes getting us boards, food, and ensuring we were having a good time
*All the amazing people, the community, and the stoke!
*ANDREW my hubby for encouraging me to go to the race and being awesome in every way possible! LOVE YOU

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

Triple Crown on Saturday? Why Not? SUp race on Sunday: should be interesting... Funfilled weekend of outdoor fun!

This week has been GORGEOUS! Wow Vancouver is beautiful in the sun and there just isn't enough daylight to stack everything you want to do in a day. I was lucky enough to be working outdoors at Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks all week. I was teaching SUP and taking people out on kayak tours and got to guide students from Mulgrave School for a wonderful three day adventure on the Indian Arm. Upon my return on Friday Andrew invited me to join him and Paul on a local adventure for Saturday. We were to climb and descend all three local mountains on bikes in one day....


Triple Crown

start

climbing my seymour

top of mt seymour

We met at 8:30am at John Henry Bikes. We started off with riding our road bikes to the water for a true beginning of the sea level to mountain top ride. We first rode to the top of Mt Seymour. We all felt good, chatting away. We were a funny crowd: Paul looked like a road biker with the proper attire and bike, I was half way there with the carbon bike and spandex but sort of ruined it with my camelback, Brooks seat, and mtn bike bike shoes, and Andrew looked like a commuter on his frame he welded himself, straight bars, handlebar pouch, baggy shorts, and mtn bike bike shoes!.... I was drinking nuun and had some trail mix as my food/nutrition while riding. It seemed like the ride up Seymour was easy with all the chatting and sunny weather. I get nervous on steep curvy descents on my skinny road bike tires so I let the boys go ahead while I enjoyed using my brakes!

climbing the last bit of Grouse

Top of Grouse

Following some cinnamon buns and lunch at the car we switched bikes and headed up Mountain Highway to get to the top of Grouse/Fromme. We rode up the road until it switched to gravel, a place we were familiar with as it is where we have ridden many times for mtn biking.  We then past the highest trail all the way to the very top of Grouse resort and onto the top of the peak chair near the windwheel. Grouse was rockin with tourists and tourist attractions from ziplines, to bear and log shows, paragliding, and hiking! We took a quick break and then made our way back down the mountain. I managed to fall on some of the gravel road so felt a little shaken and passed on the first actual trail down (the boys rode seventh) but then joined the boys down bobsleigh and then all the way back down to the water/cars.

Top of Cypress

We took another food break and switched bikes for the final mountain: Cypress.. It was the farthest one out of town and had quite the climb from the water to the highway. Once on the hill climb I was starting to feel little pains in my back and neck... I needed a couple of quick breaks to get things stretched out.. Paul was a machine and zoomed ahead while Andrew and I plugged away pedal stroke by pedal stroke. It was very rewarding making it to the top and I was getting excited for our celebratory beer and food but we were still quite a ways from our car... we needed to get all the way down and across the north shore..... After a quick stop at Ambleside we finally made it to our cars at about 7pm! LONG DAY! It was about 10 hours and 20 minutes 3200m elevationa and about 140km in length! WHOA! I feel like I am now part of a special club.... Another CHECK OFF THE BUCKETLIST for sure!

Ambleside Beach

In hopes of a quick recovery I kept myself hydrated with NUUN and beer! and filled my tummy with delicious Banditas burito! I wasn't too sure what else to do? I needed to recover quickly: in 14 hours I had a 15km SUp race.... I figured food and whatever rest I could get would be the best thing....

Pictures by Paul (thanks!) and a write up by Paul HERE

Board the Fjord SUP race
The wake up call came and I was nervous to see how my body felt. I surprisingly felt pretty good, just a little tired and really hungry.  After coffee and some granola, fruit and yogurt, we were off. Andrew being the best hubby in the world dropped me off in Deep Cove. I kept hydrating with nuun throughout the morning and ate a banana about 30 minutes before race start as I remembered getting really hungry during round the rock last weekend. Following the race briefing I jumped on my Starboard BOP 12'6x26.5 carbon board (Thanks Trident Sports!) and did a little warm up paddle. It was flat out there... there were 8 females in the 12'6 category so some competition to be had! It was gonna be a constant push all the way to the end on the flat water.... I found my start position just beside the dragon boats... I was happy with that as there weren't too many people right around me and thus less chance of bump and grinding off the start line. I had a decent start and managed to stay in front of most of the mess. I found myself a rhythm and went at it. Being on a 12'6 board I was naturally slower than the 14s but still I found myself surrounded by a bunch of 14 boards which is cool. Eventually the pack spread out and I was kind of on my own for most of the race. Not having anyone around to chase or get chased by I did find myself day dreaming a little but was able to snap myself back in the game once I realized I was thinking about other things. The body felt alright, my back was a little sore throughout the race which was definitely from biking as I have never really experienced back pain in SUP race, and my arms felt a little more tired than normal but the legs weren't as shaky as I thought they would be and my energy felt pretty good. I kept sipping on my nuun and focused on my breathing. The weather was perfect really and the course stunning! It was a wonderful race all in all. I got to meet some new folks from washington state which is awesome and also enjoyed the company of fellow canadian SUPers...
I managed to win the 12'6 category which felt good, I am gonna have to keep on top of my fitness as the competition is growing! Thanks to everyone at Deep Cove Canoe and kayak Centre for making this happen and for all the SUP athletes coming out to support and race!

Pictures HERE

Thanks Nikki Rekman for my new Werner Grand Prix Paddle...can't wait to use it on the water!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!
lina