After a quiet morning enjoying the sunshine on the west side of the island it was time to head to Waikiki to meet up with Kainoa McGee and Kainoa Beaupre to hear what these 2 cutting edge stand up paddlers had to say about the sport of stand up paddling(SUP). We rondevued at Waikiki Beach, where Kainoa McGee is a lifeguard.

We first spoke with Kainoa McGee who was born and raise in Oahu and is a true waterman. Some of his oldest memories are spent in the water right at the Waikiki wall. At the age of 18 Kainoa became a professional body boarder in 1989 and through the 90’s picked up stand up surfing in which he became a pro at as well. In the last 2 years Kainoa discovered stand up paddling, which he fell in love with, and quickly caught onto and became a pro. Kainoa McGee is one of the few who can stand up paddle the famous Pipeline break on the North Shore, where he surfs and body boards as well. An underlying rule in the stand up paddling world is to only stand up paddle where you normally surf or body board.

[caption id="attachment_1161" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Kainoa McGee SUP"][/caption]
We continued the day catching up with Kainoa Beaupre, another born and raised Oahu waterman and a Werner Paddles athlete. Standing at a stout 5′ 6”, Kainoa decided to push the sport of stand up paddling in a way that most can’t-making the smallest SUP boards functionally possible. SUP boards have to be wider, longer and thicker than traditional surf boards in order for the surfer to not sink while paddling out to the surf or in flat water. To push these limits Kainoa Beaupre decided to start the company Ku Hoe with shaper Robin Johnston. They currently sell SUP boards 8′-10′, but are making boards as small as 6”5′ that Kainoa Beaupre rides. With boards this small Kainoa can ride waves more dynamically than most stand up paddlers. Kainoa is also working on eliminating the weight of the foam required for SUP boards, which will lighten the board up in hopes to one day get SUP surfers doing areal tricks. [caption id="attachment_1162" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Kainoa Beaupre on a Ku Hoe Board"][/caption]
While Kainoa McGee and Kainoa Beaupre continued to tell us more about themselves and the sport, we started to get into the etiquette and opinions of stand up paddling. With SUP being a fairly new sport, especially in terms of surfing, there is a lot of people who dislike it, particularly on the mainland. People feel that it is dangerous to surrounding surfers and that the stand up paddlers don’t deserve to take their waves. It is because of these opinions that both Kainoa McGee and Kainoa Beaupre feel that etiquette is the up most importance; especially since they are some of the few pushing the limits of the sport. The most important rule is safety; with SUP equipment being of larger size it is essential that a stand up paddler does not surf beyond their comfort zone and is aware of their surroundings at all times. Much of SUP etiquette is that of surfing-no your place and be respectful. The more people witness people like Kainoa McGee and Kainoa Beaupre pushing the sport to new levels and tearing it up on Oahu’s famous surf breaks the more people will realize the potential of the sport. If you ask me, all it takes is trying to stand up paddling in the ocean once and then you will have full respect for these guys who are paddling out into the break and surfing some of the toughest breaks in the world.

Stay tuned from the next SUP report as we join Kainoa Beaupre, Kainoa McGee, Dan Gavere, Nikki Gregg, and others on the west shore of Oahu.

Click here to learn more about Kainoa Beaupre and Ku Hoe

Click here to learn more about Kainoa McGee

Stand Up Paddling Etiquette from Lunch Video Magazine on Vimeo.

There has been a lot of hype about stand up paddling in our industry. So in ordered to form an opinion about the sport and to offer our subscribers some real knowledge on SUP, John Grace and myself decided to head to Hawaii to find out what the sport is really all about. With the help of Dan Gavere of Werner Paddles and frequent flyer miles we made our to the beautiful island of Oahu. Oahu is mainly known for 2 things; 1: Honolulu and Waikiki beach for the non surf world and 2: North Shore to all the surf lovers in the world. For us, our adventures began on the west shores of Oahu in a small town called Makaha.
Makaha is about a 45 minute drive from the Honolulu airport that takes you along the coast much of the way-lending itself to beautiful views of the sunset as we made our way to The Hawaiian Princess Condos. The Hawaiian Princess claims to be one of Oahu’s best kept secrets, and I would have to agree. Now, if you are looking for a all inclusive resort with 5 pools ,10 restaurants and pool boys, this is not the place for you. The Hawaiian Princess is more of a quiet get away that seems to attract those who are escaping the cold of the winter months up north or east and families, rather than college students going on spring break to party. The condos are very comfortable, cute, and contain everything you need, including a lanai that gives you a 180 degree view of the amazing secluded beach and ocean. The resort also has a pool and hot tub for all its guests. The nearby towns of Makaha and Waianae have everything you need to get you through your stay and the hustle and bustle of Waikiki beach is only an hour.
After a peaceful night of sleep we woke up to the sound the persistent trade winds. The day before we left, we were notified that strong trade winds had settled in on Oahu and it didn’t look like they were going anywhere during our stay. This meant up to 50 mph gusts on some parts of the island, which doesn’t help the surf at all. But we were determined to make the best out of it and find surf somewhere.
After talking with Dan Gavere, we decided to head up to the North Shore to meet up with him to get a tour of the North Shore and hopefully find some surf. We made our way over the mountain and met up in the quant little town of Waialua. We immediately headed north to get a glimpse of all the famous breaks of the North Shore, such as Pipeline, Wiamea, Laniakea, Sunset, Log Cabin, Chuns, and Left Overs. Due to the strong trade winds, the waves of these famous breaks were less than desirable, but there were still a few people out there tearing it up.
When we finished the tour, we headed over to Wialua Bay to get a stand up paddling lesson from Dan. After getting the hang of it, we headed up river to get away from the waves and wind. It was here that I fell in love with stand up paddling and realized the versatility of the sport. We paddled up the river for 30 minutes or so, which gave us time to improve our stroke and get more and more comfortable on the board.
With the wind dying down some, we had high hopes that the surf would clean up and we headed out to Turtle Bay to catch Dan in the waves during sunset. Although the sea was still rough from wind, Dan battled his way out to the waves a had a session that was short and sweet. With the water being so rough, it takes a lot of strength to stay standing as well as getting into the waves; it also means the beat downs are a little more painful as well. [caption id="attachment_1138" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Dan Gavere at Turtle Bay"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1139" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Dan Surfing at Sunset"][/caption]
As the sun made its way behind the ocean we enjoyed Turtle Bays famous Mai Thais and then made our way back to the west shore.

Stand Up Paddling Turtle Bay, Oahu from Lunch Video Magazine on Vimeo.