KAI LENNY WINS THE 2011 STAND UP WORLD TOUR
This is the second consecutive World Championship for Naish production boards.
As the final horn blew this morning, announcing the end of the Maresias Pro in Brazil, it was official: Kai Lenny is the 2011 Stand Up World Tour Champion.
In an intense final heat with Brazilian surfer, Leco Salazar, Kai surfed with signature style, combining smooth flow with progressive maneuvers, punctuated by some sick arials in the shorebreak.
Naish is so thrilled for Kai, who we have supported throughout his career, and we are stoked to see all his hard work and dedication pay off. Kai has been an integral part of the development of the Naish Hokua series of shortboard-style wave boards. Along with Master Shaper Harold Iggy, Robby Naish and SUP brand manager, Michi Schweiger, Kai's input and progressive surf style has helped shape his championship-winning boards: the Hokua 8'0" and the Hokua 9'8" Gun.
The Hokua series of boards have all been crafted with this same surf performance in mind, and come in a variety of sizes to suit the rider's weight and skill level. Loose, fast and curvy, the boards combine a single-concave in the nose with a double-concave center section, leading into an accelerated vee out the tail. The increased tail kick allows these shapes to release off the top effortlessly, while the center vee section keeps the boards loose rail to rail and easy to bottom turn. Unlike many other boards, the Hokua's rocker doesn't require you to shift your body weight excessively front to rear, resulting in smooth transitions and turns - Kai's signature flow! For heavier riders, the same ease and kick can be achieved with the Hokua 8'5", Hokua 9'0" and Hokua 9'5".
With one final event remaining in the Stand Up World Tour, we can't wait to see the show Kai will put on in the Hawaii Islands Final in November. Congratulations Kai!
TEAM NAISH: RACE SEASON WRAP UP
Team Naish at the North Shore Paddle Challenge 2011North Shore Paddle Challenge, OAHU
Great conditions awaited the racers on Day 1 of the North Shore Paddle Challenge at Turtle Bay Resort, on Oahu's north shore. The triangle course for the surf race was laid out right through the 2 ft break at the west side of the resort. The 12'6'' surf race elimination concept, with six riders competing against each other for the three spots that would move them into the next rounds...read more
Ventura Stand Up Paddle Surfing Championships, CALIFORNIA
The second annual Ventura Stand Up Paddle Surfing Championships were held at the world-renowned point break, C-Street, last weekend. Competitors from Mexico, Brazil and Hawaii added to the California talent pool. The surf and weather co-operated to produce some epic conditions, with a combo NW and S swell making for consistent lefts and rights throughout the two days of competition. 15-year old Naish team rider Tucker Ingalls...read more
Kona Iron Man 2011, BIG ISLAND
A group of Pro triathletes replaced their early morning workout with a stand up paddling lesson at Mauna Lani Bay with Kona local, Jenny Kalmbach, one of the world's top women paddlers. Hillary Biscay, Matt Lieto, Tim DeBoom and Fraser Cartmell took to the pristine waters of the Big Island's Kohala Coast and not only learned the basic techniques of paddling, but gained valuable SUP fitness and cross-training tips...read more
MORE HEADLINES...
Podersorf, AUSTRIA: NAISH AUSTRIA'S ROMAN FRUEHWALD SCORES TWICE
SUP NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Pichilemu, CHILE
Chile’s first national SUP championship, Copa Chile 2011, took place last weekend in the surfing village of Pichilemu on the central coast of the long, thin country. The wave contest was run in 7 ft swell on the long left of Punta de Lobos—South America’s most famous pointbreak and home of Naish Team rider, Arnaud Frennet. Riding his 8’5" Hokua, Arnaud came second in a very tight final, only 0.4 points behind the young Renzo Lombardi...read more
Paris, FRANCE
For the opening of the 2011 show, Nautic–Salon Nautique International de Paris, in partnership with Naish France and Microsoft, is holding the second cross-Paris race on stand-up paddleboards down the Seine on December 4th at 8:30 am. Robby Naish, the number one living legend in surf sports and creator of the brand of the same name, will be present in Paris to sponsor the second Nautic SUP Paris Crossing...read more
Corinth, GREECE
Following paddle crossings of classic locations all over the world, Sequana of Paris, Silvapalana of Switzerland and Germany's Port of Hamburg to name a few, the first Greek Corinth Canal SUP crossing connects the newest sport of SUP with the history of the country. The Corinth Canal was first envisioned by Corinth’s tyrant, Periandros, in 602 B.C., and Demetrio Poliorketes, Julius Caesar, Nero and Herod of Atticus each envisioned...read more
MORE HEADLINES...
Mer d'Iroise, FRANCE: BEN RIPS UP HIS HOMEBREAK
Bavaria, GERMANY: CHIEMSEE ISLAND MARATHON
Chesapeake Bay, USA: A CHESAPEAKE PADDLE ADVENTURE
A MANA AIR, A BIKE AND A RIVER:
OLYMPIC SKIER TAKES TO THE WATER
Olympic skier, Resi Stiegler, enjoys the freedom of being able to carry her Naish Mana Air inflatable SUP board around on her bike at home in Jackson, WY - finding lakes and rivers to cruise on before race season starts in full force.
And don't forget to enter the Win a MANA AIR Contest!
EXTREME SURFING BARBADOS:
BRIAN TALMA CATCHES KATIA SWELL
Naish rider, Brian Talma charges the Hurricane Katia swell in the Barbados: "Friday I am at my shop, getting my boards organized...and waiting. There is no business, so I am sitting in my lounge chair, breezing. The water is glassy with not a wave in sight, but then as predicted, the swell grows. By noon, the waves are lining the outer reef. It's the effects of Hurricane Katia, and the real action is at Bathsheba on the East Coast. Kenny, the local photographer and videographer, meets me at Bathsheba...ACTION!!"