I held off publishing this week because I thought we've have details of Naish's 2016 model range, which I was hoping to compare with the new Starboard range. Alas, the House of Yellow has delayed it to the 18th, so here's what I've got.
Quiver talk
Starting with the local stuff, demos of the Gulliver VBOX Evo 2 are now available on the GC. The idea is that extra speed is generated by the board's parallel rail shape (box), flat rocker and channel bottom. Less swing weight in the nose and exaggerating the V-bottom shape height and length boosts manoeuvrability.
Surftech revealed its 2016 range at the Outdoor Retailer show in Utah this week. This is the first year that NSP boards are included under the Surftech umbrella and now sit beside the Bark brand. Here are some details.
www.surftech.com/news/surftech-unveils-its-new-%E2%80%9Cexplore%E2%80%9D-collection-sups-and-paddleboards-2016
Travis Grant's M2O board featured on the Surftech stand (see below). I also saw pics of him out on lake helping kids paddle the board.
With little fanfare, Starboard stole a march on the other big brand releases by revealing its 2016 catalogue last weekend. The range is comprehensive - something for just about anybody. One thing to note is the sharper colour mix; for those with an eye on design trends, brushed carbon has been ditched.
Throughout the range newer interpretations are blended with carry overs from last year. The catalogue has plenty of detail, including the great six-way web charts, which help portray what boards are best at doing. Board weights and profile pics would also help. The company's website hasn't been updated yet with the new range (from memory it took a long while for this to happen last year). The next thing to consider are the prices here in Oz. [Sorry but just noticed that SB seems to have retracted its online catalogue. WT..?]
Anyway, here's a summary of what's new:
Surf range - very little change with most shapes carried over. A smaller whopper and longer widepoint have been added.
Pro-performance surf - Again, most shapes continue, although the range has been stretched at both ends with a new 9' and two new 7'4 and 7'1.
Hypernut - A new range of performance hypers, including a pocket rocket 6'9 x 23. The two board nut range carries over.
Race - Last year's Race model has been dropped while its triple concave bottom has been incorporated into the AllStar. This allows it to maximise its area in the web chart and comes ever closer to a one quiver solution - it will be interesting to see reviews. New designs have also been produced for the Ace in 14' and 12'6. The long ace and sprint shapes are unchanged.
Exploring - A new expedition board and a couple of new fishing options, including an esky mount (cool!).
Polo - A whole new polo range has been released. A solution to a problem I didn't know we had. Who's going to outlay the capital on this one?
Inflatables - A new range of blow up race boards and three new river boards. In the description for the smallest river board they've provided another way to interpret tippiness: this board is for "riders wanting added sensitivity".
Paddles - All carbon and hybrid carbon paddles now feature a matt tape finish for control in wet and dry, and a textured surface at the top so you can emulate Connor's choke stroke. Shafts also come in oval, round or skinny. The High Aspect range has been re-named the Bolt range (I'm not sure which is worse).
Finally SIC has released its 2016 catalogue with plenty of new stuff, including a new crossover race board (the FX Pro), an expanded surf range, redesigned inflatables and a new rudder system. For the biggest SIC die-hards there's even new luggage sets.
issuu.com:443/siccatalog/docs/sic_cat_inter1
Competition
After a busy period of downwinding and continental racing, things are quieter on the comp scene. So nothing to report (happy to report on local comps if someone wants to PM me with results), just upcoming comps.
Sunshine Coast SUP Club released its calendar of events for the remainder of the year - plenty of reasons to keep you on the water. Details at the end of this post.
The date for the 2016 Carolina Cup has been confirmed as April 23rd. Held at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, this year's "graveyard race" was another showcase of Travis Grant's and Annabel Anderson's skills and determination. Racing a nasty cocktail of flatwater, downwind and upwind, Grant went rail to rail with Danny Ching throughout the race, but claimed it in the end. Anderson motored away from her competitors mid-way for a commanding win.
Here's the obligatory Rogue Re-cap vid to keep you going until April.
Here's a close up of the tiller arm on the new SIC rudder system. You can also swap sides from regular to goofy in five minutes with a screwdriver.
