2 x Jenny = Double the trouble (for her competition)

Compression gear?  I’d seriously never heard of it before walking into the offices of Sports Multiplied this past spring.  My buddy, Joe Gerber, took my by just to check it out and chat with the charismatic man behind the scenes, Richard Verney.  Richard gave me the lowdown on what he had going on with an Australian company called 2XU, also pronounced two-times-you.  What it came down to was shorter recovery and increased efficiency and where it came from was a guy (Richard) who ran a sub three-hour Boston Marathon.  Legit!  I was interested, mostly for selfish reasons.  Could this stuff really make me better?

Shortly there after, Jenny Kalmbach and me were traveling through the area and stopped by to get her fitted up with some gear for the 3-degrees trip.  To make a long story short, she wore the stuff religiously throughout the journey and still raves about it.  Sooner then later Rob Rojas, Chuck Patterson, EJ Johnson and Brandi Baksic all started using the products as well.  George Plsek, Roch Frey, Tyler Anderson and Shane Scoggins already rock it.  The whole Watermans team now sings its praises.  After trying 2XU I was hooked and I have to tell you, I now swear by the stuff.  Turns out a bunch of pro surfers and Watersports athletes use some kind of compression, including Jamie Mitchell.  Shoot, if it helps TO practice longer doesn’t it make sense it could help you surf, paddle or simply play longer?  Could it be the secret?  You tell me.

www.paddleathlete.com

Mormaii 27 Mile Pailolo Express held on Sunday July 11th. Otherwise know as the Maui to Molokai Crossing. The first time I did this crossing I was 8 1/2 years old – and I windsurfed across it. But this time I did it – I WON FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!

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The Hennessey Paddleboard Racing Series is one of the longest running race series in Southern California.  It was also one of the first to include SUP as a separate division and help legitimize SUP in the sport.  I remember going to my first Hobie Hennessey races in 2008, seeing a dozen guys on experimental gear suffer through horrible conditions and thinking to myself, “What are these guys doing to themselves?”  Boards ranged from strange tippy things that looked like a sunfish sailboat to the standard surfboard design still popular with entry level participants today.  The next year, 2008, over 150 people would enter that same race in the SUP 12′6, 14′ and Unlimited class.  This year that number topped 200.  Todays Paddleboard Race scene is more SUP focused than ever and the sport is better for it.  The popularity of SUP has brought much needed money and attention to the existing event and new events are popping up daily.  In 2010, there is literally a race or two every single weekend and getting involved is as simple as checking one of any number of SUP and race specific websites.  Why does this matter?  Easy, because racing has legs.  You can do it absolutely anywhere that has a body of water.  But more importantly, racing drives the progression of the sport, nothing encourages innovation quite like the athletes instinct to come in first.

Be sure to check out the final installment of the Hennessey Race Series when the International Championships comes to San Diego’s Mission bay, September 25th.

word by Dave Kalama

Connor Baxter- He sure has been making a lot of noise lately. Jamie Mitchell and I were talking about it the other day. How some people just have that ability to read and ride swells. I’m not saying that just because your not born with it that you can’t acquire it with practice and experience, but some people just start out with it and continue to get better. I’ve got a feeling that his current weight doesn’t hurt his cause and combined with his height, he has really good leverage on the paddle.  So when you combine his skill, weight, height and throw in some good equipment, he has everything he needs to be extremely competitive. Like Slater the scary thing is how old he is. I suspect that if he continues to maintain his dedication and puts more effort into the strength and conditioning, along with paddle technique, that he will become a serious force to be reckoned with. He already is extremely dangerous, obviously with his third place finish in the Battle of the paddle. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching the next group climb up the ladder and fight for superiority, but trust me the torch will not be handed over without a fight.

For more great insight from one of the worlds best watermen visit http://www.davidkalama.com/2010/06/my-two-cents-the-bop/

Jamie shown here after winning the Battle Of The Paddle in 2009

Orange County, CA.  June 22, 2010 – Watermans Applied Science is proud to announce the addition of Jamie Mitchell to its team.  Mitchell, eight-time World Paddleboard Champion, XXL nominee and 2009 Battle of the Paddle Elite Champion, joins an already stellar team including several former and current World Champions.

“I’m honored to be joining the Waterman’s Applied Science team. Not only do they have a great range of products to keep me protected longer, but they are a core company with an awesome and diverse team of athletes,” says Mitchell. “I look forward to working with Watermans Applied Science for many years to come.”

Jamie joins fellow past and present World champions, Sam McGlone (Ironman), CJ Hobgood (Surfing), Bob Soven (Wakeboard), Harley Clifford (Wakeboard), Mick Di Betta (Paddleboard), Shakira Westdorp (Paddleboard) and Jenny Kalmbach (SUP).

On July 25^th Mitchell will pursue his 9^th straight Paddleboard title at the 14th annual Molokai to Oahu paddleboard race.  Watermans is an event sponsor.

For more information on Watermans Applied Science visit http://www.watermansappliedscience.com

For more information on Jamie Mitchell, visit http://jamie-mitchell.com

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About Watermans:  Applied Science

WATERMANS Applied Science is dedicated to providing today’s Watermen and women with the best, most effective and functional, high-performance sunscreen on the market. Made and manufactured in California, USA. Visit www.watermansappliedscience.com

to learn more.

Jay and Anik during their 22-hour non-stop journey.

Jay and I had been talking about paddling around Lake Tahoe for 5 years.  Sunday June 27, 2010 we finally did it on SUP’s!  The idea was first brought up when we decided we didn’t want pots and pans for wedding gifts we wanted a 2 person outrigger canoe.  We thought it would be fun to paddle around the lake taking a few days and camping along the way.  Instead of paddling around the lake the last 5 years was spent buying a house, starting a couple new businesses and competing in stand up paddling.  About a year ago Anik and I switched our idea from paddling around the lake in our OC2 to paddling around the lake on SUP’s and soon after that idea, we had the genius thought of doing it non stop……. Under 24hrs.  All the talk and all the ideas were put to the test and with Anik on the Tahoe SUP 14′ Z Elite and Jay on a Tahoe SUP 12’6 Z Elite the outcome was 72 miles in 22hrs 36mins!

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