Short trip to Biarritz

I was lucky to be invited by some friends with a house near Biarritz, in August. I had a window of 3 days, so I loaded my SUP Gong Shake 7'4" and off I went. It was my first "true" experience of "real" ocean surfing, with much more powerful swells and clean faces than what I usually enjoy at my home spot in the Mediterranee. The Gong Shake 7'4" proved to be a fantastic toy to surf on those waves. I shot a quick on-board video with my GoPro:

I hope I can go back real soon!

Rescue tip

Please watch this short video, on how to "load" an unconscious surfer on top of your board. It isn't done the way you might have thought, so it's good to watch and have it in mind (better still: practice it next time you are at the beach, with a friend):

I want my SUP served small, please

Gong SUP shaper, rider, manager, delivery-man, coffee-maker etc Patrice Guénolé seems totally convinced short SUPs are now ready for the market.
Check-out http://www.gongsup.com for a preview of the 2011 board line, which includes several of those short beauties, no longer than 6' and a few inches.

I can't wait to visit him and go for a ride on one of those beauties. Did I mention that the quality seems absolutely heads, shoulders and even hips above anything I've seen on the market? Made of carbon and bamboo fibers (dubbed caribou) and including additional natural components in the manufacturing process, these boards are a step in the right direction towards environment friendliness and are stiff, light, durable and with a mirror like touch!

See by yourself:

http://www.gongsup.com

Cavemen!

Some photos of a nice paddle trip we did, my friend Julio and myself to some caves nearby. Julio is on Inspiro 12', myself on Drops SUP Spirit, with matching red lycras! The Mediterranee is such a nice shore: the ocre of the rocks, the dark green of the pine trees and the deep blue of the sea. We were close to Tamariu on the Costa Brava, at sun rise, because the caves are oriented to the east, so to have some light inside, you must go first thing in the morning. We spent 3 hours exploring this shore:

http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=35216

An unforgettable trip, thanks to the SUP.

Mini SUP

Gong SUP shaper, Patrice Guénolé, insists that a SUP board for a given program should be the same length than a surf board. He proves it here with some photos of him riding a 5'11.

Patrice, 104 kilos, is no feather-weight, so he makes a point here that a short SUP can be for anyone.

If you fancy one, check-out Gong's hand made SUP gear page here:
http://www.gongsup.com/-GONG-Hand-Made-SUP-.html?lang=fr

I'll take my SUP ice-cold please

Check this one out

Follow the red boards

Gong SUP boards have reached an agreement to partner with DROPS Windsurfing and share their shapes with them, maintaining their legendary red color.

More news here:
www.gongsup.com/spip.php?page=news〈=fr#News_1400

or there:
http://www.drops.net/portal/content.php?action=show&type=news&id=292

And more in a few days when additional developments become available

New toy

SUP Gong 10'2", mast base tuning by Palmer.