The Ocean Grove demo day on June 13 was a great day and it started at 5.30am for me as I loaded the SHQ (Sailboard Headquarters) van outside my house.



I drove for an hour and a half to Geelong where I was to pick up Sam from Kialoa paddles.. Anyone who's been to Geelong will know there's heaps of these funny pole figures.. Did I mention it was freezing..and the sun was just starting to come up.





Soon Sam joined me and we headed off to Ocean Grove.



This SHQ van felt huge compared to my tiny Suzuki car but when I parked next to the SupBus van the SHQ van felt tiny.



We set up our tent and put some paddles out on display.. It was cold and windy and the paddles swayed around in the wind.



Brendan walked past with a great looking board that caught my eye.



It was one of the new Surf Shapes boards and when I picked it up I almost threw it into the air it was soooooo light.. About 5 kgs I think.



I noticed that Brendan had one of our new SupVic tops on.. It was the first time that I'd seen one.



We set up all the demo boards and wondered if anyone would turn up considering the weather was so foul.



The SupBus had some of their boards out and the new Naish 11'4" had a factory fitted deck pad and Naish logo in black along the rail.. It looked good.







Then it started to rain and it was time to find some cover.



Once the rain stopped the barbie got fired up and it was bacon and eggs for breakie.





I turned to feel a wet nose in my ear as the barbie guys dog was sitting in the back of their Kombi van.. How cool is this van.





I took these pics for my friend Helki because she's a Kombi fanatic.





The surf stickers looked cool.



Nice but they needed one more.. One of our SupVic stickers that I noticed on another car nearby.



It was great to see that the Kombi guys support the disabled surfers and money made from barbie donations was going to disabled surfing association.. Cool.



Anyway.. Back to the demo day.. Phill had a crowd forming in front of him as he explained the basics of SUP.. Here he shows what the bottom of a board looks like.



Phill then asked someone to try and pick up one of these big boards.. It was a struggle.



Phill then showed how much easier it is when the board has a hand hole.



The first lot of demo'ers couldn't wait to get going and we stopped them for a quick pic.



Matt was nice enough to let some demo his big 16' Penetrator.



It takes two.. When it's windy and you don't want to risk damaging such a beautiful board.



Those keen to get wet followed Phill down to the waters edge for some more instructions.



Phill explains how to get from the kneeling position to standing.



Rich then explained how your paddle becomes an extension for extra support to help balance.



Phill walked around in waist deep freezing water helping out those first-timers.



Soon more and more braved the cold conditions.. Here's Christian demo'ing the Naish 9'6" and the first to try one of the new Naish paddles.. Happy or what.



Speaking of happy.. Cam got his hands on the new PSH 12' Gun to demo.



Well... That's half my post.. I have heaps more pics but I've just noticed the sun's out and there's no wind.. So I'm off paddling..

I'll post the rest later when I get home.

DJ

Oh and the new Naish paddles go unreal as well

Lobes said...

Oh and the new Naish paddles go unreal as well

Errrrm. What were you doing with the new Naish paddle and a nice girl?

( Sounds like a nasty girl to me ... which is even better. You're going to be stuffed if she ever reads this forum. )

Gorgo said...

Lobes said...

Oh and the new Naish paddles go unreal as well

Errrrm. What were you doing with the new Naish paddle and a nice girl?

( Sounds like a nasty girl to me ... which is even better. You're going to be stuffed if she ever reads this forum. )

She was a very sweet girl and didnt seem at all interested in SUP* so I might be safe

actual quote: "You went surfing? In this weather??"

Ok.. Here's the rest of my pictures.

While those nutters avoided ice bergs while paddling I checked out the gear that was on display.



Rod's BoardBumps/SurfShapes boards looked fantastic and there were heaps there to check out.





I loved the attention to detail with his leach thingies (forgot what they're called).



The first time I saw his paddles I thought.. Look a couple of Methane's but they were Rod's..and a similar shape to my favorite little paddle.



The face may be similar but the back is very different.





I also liked the slim and thin T grip.. It felt very good in my hand.. I think my friend Cam has one so I will have to check his out one day in the water.



Naish sent down some of their new paddles.. They're heaps better than their past paddles.

They said that I could hang on to them for a few days to try before returning them to SHQ.. I'm interested to see how they compare to my Kialoa's.



I finally got to check out the famous 'Woogie Paddle'.. The Kia Kaha.



What surprized me was how beautiful they were.. There performace was never in doubt in my mind because Woogie uses them and for some reason I expected a type of backyard quallity. They were as good as any Werner/Kialoa/C4 type paddle as far as quallity and finish goes.





I was even more amazed at how beautiful the T grips were.. Such a nice slim shape and I also liked the feel of the karbon/kevlar weave on the shafts.





I'm looking forward to trying one on the water and because my friend Kev bought one and I'm sure he'll let me give it a go one day soon.

Here's Woogie number for those thinking about ordering one.. Having a choice of colors makes them even more special.. Kevs was a nice yellow/green paint job.





Phill didn't stop all day.. Here he is on his laptop doing the live webcam thing.



Dean and his son and I were checking the SurfShapes boards and we thought they were very nice.. Then Dean showed me his latest board.





I was also surprised at how light it was.. I thought he called it the ricebubble because of the shape.. Maybe it's because of the weight.



I checked out a 16' DC.



There was always a croud around the PSH 12' Gun.



Here's the bottom.. It really did look beautiful.



There was a good colection of Starboards there.. They also looked very good.





The new C4 SubVector was one that I wanted to suss out and it looked really interesting.



It had these unusual bowlingball type finger holes.



I think this was one of the new Aussie made C4 boards.. It was hard to get a pic that showed the concave deck design.



You could run it as a single fin.. thruster.. or a quad set up.. Even a five fin if you wanted to.



Due to the deck design the rails looked pretty full without being boxy.. I'm sure it would be nice and stable for a bigger guy.. Maybe Brett will let me have a go one day.



The GSI guys had a new 10' NSP board there.



The day went so quick and before I knew it we were packing up.. Just as the weather started to come good... Typical Melbourne weather.

This is Rich all loaded up and ready to meet us at the local pub.



Some of us went to the local pub for a couter meal and talk about the day and how we can make the next one even better.



The sun set with a beautiful sunset looking down the main street of Barwon Heads.



Here I am on my way home taking a pic to kill the bordom of Geelong freeway.. The SHQ guys gave me a T shirt that stayed hidden under three layers of clothes.

DJ

DJ,

You are the master of the forum, how the hell did you take all those pics and do everything else at the same time!

There must be at least 2 of you, next time I am gonna check and find your clone lol

Excellent work as usual

Please pretty please can I have a copy, I have 5 pics only

Regards

Phill

JB Mel said...

Thanks DJ for such a comprehensive overview of the day.

It sure looks cold!!!!! But wow, looks like there was a great turn-out.
On a different note, can you tell me what is the purpose of the notched out section in the bottom of the blade of some of the paddles on display?

Mel

Thanks Mel.

Good question about the cutout in the new Naish paddle.

I can only guess.. I think it may be there for two reasons.

1. Gimmick..

2. When you first dip these triangle shaped blades you get a sudden bite as the paddle dips into the water and can tend to pull you off balance.

There is two ways to make that initial bite a bit softer.. Make the blade shape oval or pointed on the end like the Otter-tail shapes and there's another new wood paddle that is like a leaf shape.. or.. put a cut away in the standard shape blade.

Gust a guess.. Maybe someone else might know for sure.

BTW.. I took one of those new Naish paddles for a test paddle today and here's a couple of pics.. I used the wood blade paddle without the cutout bit.

It's a similar shape to my Shaka Pu'u bit a little larger.. I'll post a review and post the rest of todays pics soon.

Why couldn't the weather have been like this on Saturday.

DJ

Only one word to describe DJ's OG demo day rundown. OUTSTANDING

ps, I take my hat off to you MAD keen SUPers,braving such cold wet
weather,well done Phil ,DJ and all the crew

mac

JB73 said...

Hey DJ ....cool photos man.....where can I get a vicsup top & sticker from?? very cool!

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

JB73 Try checking our new SupVic website ( www.supvic.com ) and I'll PM you once I know myself how we get them.

DJ

All those surfshapes boards lined up look sweet - the paddles look great too. Also liked the look of the kia kaha paddles. It's good to see local manufacturers making high quality products that compete with the big brands.

Any word on when we are going to see some c4 boards in stores in Vic?

62mac said...

See everyone, we can make awesome paddles downunder [}:)]
DJ, it was cold wet and miserable,but did you hit the water and
try the KIA KAHA paddle mac

Yeah I agree about the paddles.. Rod's were like a piece of art and almost look too good to use.. They even have that nice shaft shape that makes Kialoa's so special.

No.. I didn't get wet and try one of Woogie's paddle.. My friend Kevin bought one and I'll try his one day soon.

Oliver asked "Any word on when we are going to see some c4 boards in stores in Vic?" ... No Oliver... Still nothing that I've heard.

Thanks for your input NC Surfer and there could be something in that theory..

But I used the new Naish paddle yesterday without the notch and it paddled very straight for a big blade paddle.. It didn't wonder or flutter at all.

DJ

Great effort DJ you are a real asset to this site , it looked so bloody cold I would have been flat out getting out of the car let alone in the water.

So was your pick for the day out of the new boards ?

Rob

StKilda SUPB said...

Great work Lobes....
If the VIC SUP hoodies produce those sort of results, put me down for two Bnaccas!

They are now for sale on www.supvic.com along with T's and stickers.
Members can also join online now through the shop.
You need a paypal account though which most people have these days.

I might just keep the hoodies for myself though, especially if they produce those sort of results!!

Firstpoint,

Thanks again to both you and Annie for your mammoth effort to drive down for OG 13. Rod Hockers Surfshapes boards have caused quite a stir, I have passed his number on to 6 or 7 people so far.

With guys like Brooko and Camo Hosk riding his boards the work will get out fast!

I need to convince him to put a pink demo board down here lol, I would be happy to mind it for him. I promise to keep it healthy and feed it lots of west coast juice!!

Anytime your back this way ( when the temp is in the balmy 30's me thinks) drop in and say hi there is some warm OG hospitality and a wave or 2 awaiting!

Best regards

Phill Page