The 2012 Rainbow Sandals & Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle was a complete success with hundreds of spectators, competitors, vendors, sponsors, & newbies.

Jason Lee and John McMasters had little time to make it to a 2012 Superbowl party. So, they had to make a quick 4.85 Nautical mile paddle (5.5812). The weather was 75 degress in Avila Beach, perfect for Winter in California, so a wetsuit wasn't necessary. McMasters was riding the 2012 Bark Dominator, while Lee was riding the 2012 Jamie Mitchel by Birse. McMasters and Lee headed toward the end of the pier for a quick warm up as they waited for their third paddler, Eric Zino. Zino just bought the 2012 Larid Bark 14ft.

It was another beautiful day to stand up paddle board. California Kiteboarding, LLC applied Cal Poly's "Learn by Doing" philosophy on this adventure. But, the interesting part is the philosophy wasn't applied to Cal Poly students, instead on Cal Poly professors and Alumni. The professors were Carly Head, Carter Hammett, Amy Swanson, and Staley Avakian. They were all great sports, even when told they couldn't wear wetsuits.

Another beautiful summer day in Avila Beach for a Stand Up Paddle lesson and tour. California Kiteboarding typically insists on doing our lessons and tours in the morning to avoid wind, but sometimes our clients like to start the lesson a little later. Our paddlers in this adventure at Avila were Ryan, Nick, Julie, Megan, Mary, Hannah, and the Harbor Patrol. Usually, an afternoon paddle can be fun, but in some cases the wind can pick up in Avila, making it difficult to paddle. Today, was no exception.

California Kiteboarding set out for a 10.5 mile stand up paddle mission, which had various destinations with beautiful scenery. The riders started from Eldwayen Ocean Park in Shell Beach, to Cal Poly Pier, to Avila Jetty, then back to Shell. The riders on this mission were Victor Sellinger, Jason Lee, and Jeff Glenn. Lee ended up paddling more than 10.5 miles, since he was riding the Bark Dominator and didn’t want to leave his friends in the dust.

California Kiteboarding,LLC organized a free stand up paddle board day for Central Coast ladies! Overall, we had a pretty good turnout with most of our demo and rental boards in the water. The two crew leaders in charge of the ladies were Jason Lee and Wes Cooke. The Ladies included: Natalie Lee, Courtney Scallan, Michelle Cook, Vino Versato owner Cindy Giovacchini, Meg & Amy Boulware and a reporter from the Santa Maria Times. The conditions in Avila Beach were perfect for a time like July to stand up paddle board. The fog had made it a little cold, but provided a crisp sheet of glass to paddle around.