Naish SUP Summer Race Series - Labor Day Weekend

This past Saturday, standup paddleboarders from around the country kicked off the 2009 Naish SUP Summer Race Series at REAL. The race took place in the Pamlico Sound with a 3.5 mile course that started and ended at the REAL Flagship Store in the Village of Waves. Fifteen paddlers fought upwind for a mile before rounding the first buoy. They then paddled southwest to the second buoy placed 1/2 mile offshore and continued downwind around Slick Island to the finish. REAL employee Eric "Numbers" Nelson was the first to cross the finish with a time of 47:47.01. Local chef, Victoria Lowe, won the woman's competition.

Standup paddle boarding is quickly becoming the fastest growing water sport in Cape Hatteras. It is now quite common to see two or three standup paddleboarders mixed in with the surfers at any local surf break. Additionally, on a light wind day, you now see as many SUPs as kayaks in the Pamlico Sound. What's the reason for this growth? Standup paddling is an extraordinary, full body workout. It's also great for your balance. For men, women and children of all ages, standup allows easy access to the miles and miles of flat, waist deep water that the Pamlico Sound has to offer. Likewise, many kiteboarders seeking "no wind" activities are being drawn to the sport. Whether it be in the flat water or the surf zone, the balance, endurance and paddle skills required to master the sport keep people coming back for more.

REAL will be hosting two more SUP races this Fall. The next race will be on Saturday, October 10th, followed by Saturday, November 28th. All are welcome to participate and there is no cost to register. Whether you're a seasoned distance paddler or a beginner, we encourage you to come out and join the fun! Stay tuned for more information on those events.

Demo Daze & Party Nights Recap

Hurricane Bill Surf Photos

http://www.islandfreepress.org/2009Archives/08.28.2009-MoreAerialPhotosOfSurfingBillsWaves/index.html

Amazing shots taken from a helicopter! I find it incredible to see guys getting towed into waves on the East Coast...as if we're in Hawaii! Very cool!

Just called my boss DUDE. love this place. :-)

Cape Hatteras Sea Turtles

Volunteers will be hitting the beach tonight in hopes of protecting baby sea turtles as they make there way past the ghost crabs to the open ocean and out to the Gulf Stream!

More on the subject here...

Off The Beaten Path

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a 72-mile stretch of the Outer Banks from Nags Head to Ocracoke Island. The waters off these barrier islands, once marauded by Black Beard the Pirate now serve as an outdoor adventure paradise where the fun is powered by the sun, sea, and wind. Surfers, surf casters, body surfers, wind surfers, kite boarders, hang glider pilots, all migrate to the Outer Banks like waterfowl along the eastern flyway. The seashore boasts miles of white beaches for the beachcomber, sunbather, and wader. Further inland, hikers can explore nature trails that meander through sand dunes, marshes, and woodlands. - GORP.com

We Belong

Turn your volume up. This song is beautiful! This is a collection of my favorite photos I've taken since I've been in Cape Hatteras with music by Jamie Litt, who recently visited REAL, and her sister. Gave me chills the first time I heard her play it.

Hurricane Bill

Hurricane Bill is pushing triple overhead swells towards Cape Hatteras. The fire department is closing the bridge in a few hours. I just went to the beach to check out the action and well...the beach is gone! The waves are washing up to the dunes. The ocean looks PRETTY angry!

Check out the Hurricane Bill Report on REAL's website...

Naish SUP Summer Race Series Comes to REAL!

Click here for more information on this great event and to register!

Party Boat

This shot was taken before REAL's 8th Anniversary Party Saturday night. Party shots will follow if I get my hands on them. I was having too much fun on the boat and forgot to take photos. :o)

SUP photos

I surfed tonight on a Naish 10'6 Standup Paddle Board. Right in my backyard. Beautiful waist to chest high glassy sets rolling in from 7pm until dark. We watched the sunset over the dunes while we were out there. And it's a Monday. I feel like the luckiest man alive.

REAL Flagship Store Build Out

This week REAL Watersports celebrates its 8th

Year Anniversary. A lot has changed since

then...

inlcuding the construction of the REAL

Flagship Store in the Village of Waves, NC.

Buena Gente

My 36th Birthday

Today is my 36th birthday. I celebrated all weekend with some great surf and kite sessions and in the company of some good friends from New York. We had a campfire on the beach Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night. We ate a lot of fish tacos and drank a lot of beers. Good birthday weekend for sure!

Today, after work, I checked two surf breaks before deciding that the ocean was too flat to long board. My SUP is out of commission. I tried to make it over a wave a few weeks ago and as the wave crested and I realized I wasn't going to make it, my body slammed so hard against the board that it literally snapped the board in half. Only my deck pad and a little foam held it together. Too bad. It was only a month old.

I've taken my beatings getting my surf skills up to par... bruised ribs, a gash on my back from eating the sand in the shore break, and a sprained ankle. Hopefully these things come in 3s because I'm 36 now! My body can't take this kind of beating! :o)

But I never expected to so soon into my SUP career snap a beautiful 11 foot Takayama in half!

So now I'm long boarding because all I have left is a long board. And I'm getting good! Surfing is no joke! You have to pay your dues, but it's worth it. I can honestly say that I am as addicted to surfing now as I am to kiting. Lucky for me I live in Cape Hatteras and can do one or the other every day! Every single day!

Happy birthday Carl. It's going to be a good year!

Kiteboarding for Cancer

REAL Watersports is a proud sponsor of this year's Kiteboarding4Cancer event in the Gorge. We're donating a 7 night stay at the lovely Watermen's Retreat in Cape Hatteras, NC...built from the ground up by kiteboarders for kiteboarders.

http://kb4c.org/sponsors_detail.cfm?RecordID=22

My Bio on the REAL Website

After spending 12 years in New York working in the investment management business, Carl accepted the position of marketing director for REAL and moved to Cape Hatteras in February of 2009. A long time snowboarder and kayaker, Carl learned how to kiteboard in the winter of 2007. Immediately recognizing the growth potential for the sport, Carl started a kiteboard club in Manhattan and spent his weekends teaching fellow city slickers how to kite. His passion for kiteboarding and teaching kiteboarding led him to realize that this sport was what he wanted to devote his career to. Although Carl still misses the pizza, the jazz and the nightlife of NYC, he is very grateful to wake up to the wind and the waves of Cape Hatteras every morning.

Summermodo

It took a tremendous amount of planning and preparation but thankfully Summermodo went off without a hitch. Heineken Light was the sponsor. Twnety-two editors and readers from Gizmodo, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics came to Cape Hatteras to test water gadgets. They tested everything from a giant hamster ball made for a human to a 2010 model Sea-Doo jetski that can go 70mph across the water. Everyone took a two day kite camp at REAL, spent their nights at Watermen's Retreat and were fed by Mojo's Sunset Cafe on the back deck of REAL. We had Mojo Collins and Camp F perform for them Friday and Saturday night. It was a great time! The blogging just started on Gizmodo and I look forward to reading more of their reviews.

Check it out yourself at Summermodo!