Stoked!

Despite the windy conditions, we had two happy customers this morning after the successful completion of their standup paddle lesson.

Lynn and Fran came to us with little experience and were paddling around the marina in no time.

One tip that we have really found helpful for stand up paddle beginners is simply to relax.  When learning to standup paddle, it is so important to keep your knees soft and your back straight.  Also make sure that you are centered on the board.  If your feet are too far forward on the board, it forces the nose of the board into the water, making the board less stable.  If you are too far back on the board, the tail sinks under and the board becomes squirrely and difficult to maneuver.

Keep in mind that most boards these days come with a built in handle that is relatively centered on the board.  If you are unsure about where to put your feet, look for the handle as a rough guideline.  The arch of your foot should be lined up with the handle if you are centered on the board correctly.

For more information about our SUP lessons, click the Lessons link above or visit our website:

http://www.wetfeethawaii.com

Holiday Sale-A-Bration This Weekend at Wet Feet Hawaii!!!

Come join us Saturday December 18 and Sunday the 19th for our Holiday Tent Sale! We will be offering special board and paddle packages, goodie bags with purchase of $150 or more, free gift with Maui Jim purchase, raffle prizes and more. Bring a friend or 6 and come by from 9 to 6 and get ready for the Holidays!!!

Free SUP Clinic, Saturday December 11

Come join Morgan Hoesterey, Jenny Kalmbach, and Nicole Madosik in Hawaii Kai for a free SUP Clinic on Saturday, December 11 from 9am to 11am. Bring your board and your friends and come spend a few hours talking paddling with us!

Holiday Shopping Ideas

Do you have a hard-to-shop-for standup paddler in your life? If so, then we have good news for you. Wet Feet Hawaii has tons of holiday shopping ideas for you. Come on by the shop, and we will be happy to help you figure out something to get the person who seems to have everything. In the meantime, here are a few suggestions…

Racerback tanks from Sweet Waterwear

1. Sweet Waterwear.
Wet Feet is proud to carry Sweet Waterwear. Features of these tanks and paddleshirts include: UPF 50+, are quickdrying, are cut specifically with paddling in mind, and are very flattering. For a limited time, get a free Sweet Waterwear trucker hat with purchase of a paddleshirt.

Board Protection Kit

2. Board Protection Kit
We all love our paddleboards and want to keep them looking nice for as long as possible. We have several products designed to keep your board looking like new. Rail savers by Puka Patch protect the rails from dings and chipped paint, while nose and tailguards by Surfco make sure that your board is safe during transport. Finally to protect your paddle, we have Paddle Guard Kits by Surfco.

Gift Certificates

3. Gift Certificates
Give the gift of fitness with certificates for our Spring and Race Season Training Programs. Gift Certificates are also available for our Molokai Training Group, our new Eco Tours and our Standup Paddleboard Rentals.

Standup Paddleboards

4. Standup Paddleboards
Want to make someone’s Holiday season? Nothing says “I Love You” like a new standup paddleboard. We carry several different models and manufacturers, including: Surftech, Boardworks (C4, Paddle Surf Hawaii), Starboard, Jimmy Lewis, and Blair among others. Come check out our in store inventory and see what we can do for you.

We wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season, and hope that we can help you pick out that perfect gift. Come by the shop to celebrate the Holidays with us!

Standup Paddle Training Groups with Wet Feet Hawaii

Here is our official flyer for our upcoming training groups. The groups will be a great way to get into shape and will be a good way to meet other paddlers. If you would like more information, or would like to sign up, call the shop at 808-373-7873 or come by and see us!

Get Ready for the SUP Race Season with Wet Feet!

With the new year comes a new season of racing.  The Holiday Burn Off race hosted by Pa’a officially starts off the Honolulu race scene on January 8th.  (For a complete list of Hawaii races along with races around the world, check out www.allsupraces.com).

For may people, the races are intimidating.  We get a lot of people coming in to the shop saying that they are afraid to do the races because they feel they aren’t ready to paddle out that far, aren’t fast enough, or fit enough.  In a effort to get everyone ready to have a safe and fun race season, Wet Feet has put together a few training groups to get everyone ready to get out there and paddle.

Spring Training Group:

January 8 – March 5, 2011

8 weeks:  3 one hour sessions per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to prepare for the upcoming race season.

Workouts include:
*Stretching and flexibility on land
*Strength and conditioning for SUP
*Race practice and paddling technique

Race Season Readiness Training Group

March 5- May 29, 2011

12 Weeks,  3 one hour sessions per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to get into shape for the race season

Training programs include:
*Weekly workout schedules provided via e-mail
*Emphasis on speed, agility, technique and endurance
*Workouts will get longer and more intensive each week leading up to a taper for the Battle of the Paddle Hawaii
*Ultimate goal is to be race ready

Program will feature:
*Speed:  Pairing up with people of like speed to add friendly competition to the training program.  Learn what it feels like to race instead of just paddling hard.
*Strength and Flexibility:  Dryland training to strengthen muscles used in padding and flexibility for warm up and recovery
*Agility:  Board handling work including turns, bumps, and crowds.
*Technique:  Paddling technique for efficiency, turning technique and footwork
*Endurance:  Long weekend paddles to increase endurance

Give us a call at the shop 808-373-7873 for pricing and more information

Free Half Day SUP Rental When You Volunteer With Us…

If you have ever spent time in or on the water in Hawaii Kai, then Maunalua Bay has been a part of your life. For most of us paddlers, Hawaii Kai is one of the go to places for standup paddling. We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful place to paddle, and it is time for us to give back to the bay that gives so much to us.

Come and Volunteer to support Malama Maunalua in their effort to “Huki”(pull) invasive algae on Sat 11/6 at 9am. Sign up at the Wet Feet store & receive a gift certificate for a free 1/2 day SUP & Paddle rental at Wet Feet! Gift certificates will be given out after the “Huki”. Come sign up today!!!

The spread of invasive, non-native marine algae is one of the greatest threats to Hawai‘i’s coral reefs and other near shore marine ecosystems. Hundreds of alien species have been introducted to O`ahu over the past decades. Free from predation and other control measures that would be found where these species are naturally found, some of these alien species are able to take advantage of new conditions and grow rapidly. As alien algae spreads, it grows over and smothers coral reefs and native algal communities, killing extensive areas of native habitat. Lowered populations of reef fish, a result of unsustainable fishing pressure and poor habitat conditions, are unable to keep the algae in check.

Five species of alienmarine algae have shown this ability to grow and spread at alarming rates, outcompeting our native corals and limu, and so destroying native reefs. Of these five species of alien algae, three are devastating Maunalua Bay. Gracilaria salicornia (a relative to our native manauea), Acanthophora spicifera, and Avrainvillea amadelpha.

Removing alien algae from high priority coral reefs is essential to the survival of Hawaii’s reefs. Currently, Malama Maunalua is implementing a number of measures to address this quickly growing problem.