Naish International team rider Jake Jensen powered home in the recent Queensland, Australia state titles to be crowned QLD's Downwind Champion. The race, held at Sandgate in Brisbane, attracted a decent field and despite a fall near the start, Jake managed to reel in the early leaders and hold a lead to the finish line on his Glide Javelin 14'0". Jake says he's been paddling this board in recent downwind races, and it's really paying off for him. When he gets...

Team Naish (including defending World Champion Kai Lenny, big wave legend Chuck Patterson, young Frenchman Benoit Carpentier, Oahu local Noa Ginella and Maui's Kody Kerbox) put on an incredible performance this past week at the 3rd Annual Sunset Beach Pro on Oahu's North Shore. The first stop on the 2012 Stand Up World Tour was treated to some epic waves where the world's best riders stepped up to do battle. Benoit Carpentier, winner of this year's Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge,...

It was one year ago this month that Naish team rider, Karen Wrenn, took on the challenge of crossing the seven channels of California's Channel Islands - all on her Glide 17'0". The epic paddle, over five consecutive days and 150 nautical miles, made Karen the first stand up paddler to cross all seven channels (let alone the first female to brave crossing the sharky waters of SoCal's Santa Barbara Channel on an SUP). Her movie, The Crossing, has just been...

The 4th edition of the unique L'Hibiscus Naish Party held from December 27th until the 29th saw 44 competitors - pros and amateurs - come together and battle it out in 3 disciplines: Windsurf, Surf and SUP. The first day rewarded the crowd with perfect conditions for the Surf and SUP competitions with heats held late into the setting sun. Day 2 got the windsurf competition underway with 15 heats for the men and 3 for the women. The final day...

The big northwest swell that hit the Hawaiian Islands on January 4th, 2012 had big wave surfers, windsurfers and kiters from around the world all fired up -  and Naish rider, Chuck Patterson was one of them. "After an epic 6'-8' ft glassy morning SUP surfing an outer reef off the Maui coast, we decided to roll the dice and see if the new building northwest swell was big enough to paddle at Peahi - better known as "Jaws". Connor Baxter and...

Our world was rocked this week with the news that Harold Iggy, my dear friend and shaper for over thirty years had passed away from a heart attack while standup paddling in Kailua Bay.  His sudden death came as a shock to us all.   Harold was one of the purest, most humble, fittest, and seemingly healthiest men of any age that I have ever known. For those lucky enough to have known him, Harold Iggy was a very unique and inspiring...

The online standup paddling magazine, StandUpPaddling.it recently reviewed the Hokua 8'5" in detail and this to say:   Introduction Two years ago we tested the Hokua 9’3’’ and we raved about it. Since then, the entire Naish Hokua line has been updated with new models and, above all, the introduction of new shape concepts. One of the boards that better incarnates this evolution is the object of this review, the Naish Hokua 8’5’’. Shape Riding speed is apparently the concept around which this project revolves....

When you think of Austria in November, outdoor watersports don't usually spring to mind; so it was obvious to Austrians Wolfgang Leeb, Andrea Freibeger, Armin Walcher and Sebastian Kuklar that they would have to get a little creative this winter if they wanted to find a local spot to pursue their passion for SUP. The four paddlers hail from the area of Austria known as the "Land of the Lakes" - the Salzkammergut - where there is a hidden jewel of...

An exciting new season awaits the 2012 Stand Up World Tour as the official schedule is announced and riders ready themselves to do battle for the coveted World Championship crown. The events maintain the same locations as 2011, except for a special final event that will adopt a new format for 2012: the Location X Grand Finals: Sunset Beach, Hawaii: 4th - 14th FebruaryLa Torche, France: 28th April - 6th May (to be combined with a Stand Up World Racing Series...

BIG BAY, BLOUBERGSTRAND 16-18 DECEMBER Three days of non-stop action. Surf slalom, wave riding and long distance racing at its best. This years Coreban Summer Series event saw the largest field of SUP entrants in Africa with over 100 entrants ranging from 7 year old Cameron Tripney in the kids division to Novice Men and Ladies divisions, the highly contested Junior division, Legends over 45 and Open Men and -Ladies divisions. After 3 perfect days of weather Justin Bing was crowned overall...

The Copa Chile, Chile’s national tour for both SUP wave and race competitions, began last weekend in the northern city of Arica, known as the country’s "Stand Up Paddle Capital". Defending his 2011 SUP Race Champion title, Naish rider Arnaud Frennet came out strong and led the entire race - finishing the 7.5km course with a near 3 minute lead over Carlos Navarro, also riding Naish. Third place went to Jean Pierre Ohaco. The wave contest was held in difficult onshore conditions...

After three contests this year, Tahiti's 2011 Surf and SUP champion was crowned last Saturday at the Pink Coconut restaurant in the Marina of Punaauia. Naish Tahiti Junior team rider, Raioha Poenaiki took top honors in the Junior division after winning all three contests ahead of O'Neil Massin and Wong Teihotu in third. But the good results go even further, as Raihoa not only competed in the Junior division but also the Open division where he took third place overall. It...

Long Beach, Kommetjie played host to the 5th edition of the Surfers Challenge which, for the second year running, incorporated the PRIMI Naish SUP Racing Series final. The series, which began last May in Durban, is endorsed by SUPSA and constists of five races which combine to decide the Juniors, Ladies and Mens SUP South African racing champions. This year's Surfers Challenge saw 200 runners, surfskis and SUPs line up at Long Beach to race each other. The Surfski and SUP...

Our 8" Makani adjustable carbon glass paddle was recently reviewed by a blogger named "foxsup" on seabreeze.com.au, and we thought it was worth sharing: "Ok - it's no secret that I am neither a Naish nor an adjustable paddle fan so this was always gunna be an interesting outing for me. Got my hands on a new Naish Makani adjustable 8inch paddle yesterday. To the best of my knowledge it has a full carbon shaft and fibreglass blade and I know its...

On December 10th, Naish rider Arnaud Frennet crossed the entire Strait of Magellan on the Mana Air inflatable SUP - as part of his “MallSport Magellan Expedition”, an SUP adventure through one of the most southern regions of the world. This marks the first time the Strait has ever been crossed by SUP and for Arnaud, concludes a project he began three years before. The Strait of Magellan separates the South American continent from the archipelago Tierra del Fuego and is...

For a second consecutive year, the 10km stand up paddle crossing through Paris on the river Seine was held on Sunday, December 4th. While over two hundred paddlers signed up for the race this year, the competition was unfortunately limited to only one hundred people. It was a windy, chilly morning when everyone gathered at the Salon Nautique boat show hall to catch the bus to the start of the race. Arriving at the dock, the paddlers were greeted by their...

Mark your calendars for this year end 4th edition of Naish France's Hisbiscus-Naish wave party in La Presqu'ile de Crozon-Brittany-Finestere from December 27th to the 29th, 2011. The concept is easy the event unique: mixing glide sports, friendship and fun during the 3 days of competition. Having amateurs, semi-pro and pro riders all combined at the same event - windsurfing, surfing and SUP. Crozon is the perfect location for such an event (with no wind limit, no wave limit and no...

At 6:00 am on Saturday morning, I was driving towards Kihei, admiring a spectacular plum-colored sunrise over Haleakala, and trying to imagine what to expect from a "Beach Fitness and Paddle Challenge". Having ultimate faith in Suzie Cooney, I knew that whatever it was, it was going to be FUN. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the Naish/Cooney crew already in full swing setting up tents and flags, marking off big areas of Mai Poina Ole La’u Beach with...

19 year old Kai Lenny secured his 2nd World Title at the Hawaii Island Finals of the Stand Up World Tour with an impressive and dominant performance that saw his four counting results as 2 firsts and 2 seconds. His discards were a 3rd and a 4th, meaning that he was in every single final this year and has only missed out on one final since the Stand Up World Tour's inception. What a performance from this young Champion whose career...

Kody Kerbox, one of Naish's original "young guns", has come up through the ranks to prove himself a fierce competitor in the SUP world. Kody is the son of big wave legend, Buzzy Kerbox, and lives in Maui, HI where he surfs shortboards, longboards, SUP, tow-in, foil, windsurfs and races stand up paddleboards. We sat down with him after his return from the Hawaii Island Finals - the last event of this year's Stand Up World Tour - where he...