Words & Photos: Jeff Lewis
The Santa Catalina Island Company hosted the Catalina Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Festival this past weekend, marking the final stop of the developing SUP tour. The three-day long event featured two days of races at the Descanso Beach Club, SUP demos, and the screening of the first ever SUP film.
The festival—deemed the largest event in the short history of the sport— brought world-class paddlers from as far as New Zealand and Hawaii to compete for a chance at $15,000. Recognizing the rapid growth of the SUP industry, sponsor REVO Sunglasses—a Luxottica-owned eyewear company under the Oakley umbrella, along with Tahoe SUP, jumped at the opportunity to host the final event Saturday, October 1, contribute to the hefty prize purse, and donate new shades for the winners circle.
Tahoe SUP, a board design company for adventure/tour paddlers, teamed up with REVO during the event to premier its new film, EXPLORER Project: Catalina Island, which documents David Defoe, Whitney Wall, and Ronnie Ayres two-day journey around Catalina Island. The first-of-its-kind SUP documentary submerges audiences in the lives of dedicated paddlers encountering all the beauty and fury Catalina has to offer. Be sure to check out the trailer on YouTube, it’s awesome.
Tahoe SUP Founder Nate Brouwer says the SUP market continues to expand, growing his company 200% each year since it was founded in 2008, and by nearly 300% in 2010 alone. Brouwer has captured a niche in the SUP market by producing adventure/tour boards molded from boats and kayaks, rather than surfboards. “At my first show people laughed at me when they saw my boards,” says Brouwer. Pushing forward, the brand continued building environmentally friendly SUP boards and has since established a strong presence in the SUP community.
Similarly, REVO’s polarized lens technology, which is designed with an environmentally conscious goal in mind, has been undergoing a massive comeback within the action sports and SUP community. ”The Catalina SUP was a great venue to reveal our new 2012 line of polarized water lenses,” said Brianne Bates of the REVO PR team. Many of the event’s athletes were sporting the brand’s new shades, which feature water lenses and an optional built in neck strap.
Catalina Island, with nearly 90% of its land protected under the Catalina Island Conservancy, served as the perfect venue to host serious paddlers, as well as introduce newcomers to the sport. Big thanks to sponsors REVO, Catalina Island Company, Sierra Nevada, Skyy Infusions, Bacardi, Catalina Island Vacation Rentals, Catalina Flyer, SUP Magazine, and Team Duke Cancer Foundation for making the event a success—and congratulations to all the winners as well!
RACE RESULTS: Official Results
Top 10 Women’s Elite Final
1. Anderson, Annabel ($1000)
2. Gibree, Gillian ($600)
3. Hoestereui, Morgan ($375)
4. Zur, Kristztina ($250)
5. Plunkett, Terri ($150)
6. Thomas, Kristin ($100)
7. Holcomb, Jennifer
8. Deeolfe, Sofia
Top 10 Men’s Elite Final
1. Ching, Danny ($1500)
2. Trout, Slater ($1250)
3. Terrell, Jim ($750)
4. Pelkey, Rob ($500)
5. Armstrong, John ($250)
6. Kahn, Mitchell ($225)
7. Maximus, Thomas ($175)
8. Patterson, Chuck ($150)
9. Johnson, Ej ($125)
10. Fielder, Chance ($100)
