Thursday, October 21, 2010

Covewater Paddle Surf Santa Cruz: Thanks for QuickBlade Elite Racer!

Covewater Paddle Surf up in Santa Cruz is the hub for stand up paddling in Northern California. My brother lives in the area, has checked out the shop and gives it two thumbs up. The place is legit. According to him, the shop is fully stocked with all the latest and greatest paddle surf gear and the employees are both knowledgeable (the guys paddle surf almost daily) and friendly.

They are also heavily involved in the race scene.  Fortunately for me, they've been reading my racing posts this summer.  Even better, they thought I should demo their favorite race paddle, the Quick Blade Elite Racer - so they sent me one!  Thanks guys! I'm stoked on the new paddle!

Look what was waiting for me when I got home from work today... Lilly was stoked on it too. Thanks Covewater!
 If you live in the Santa Cruz area or are just passing through, check out the free Paddle Surf Hawaii demos and Used SUP Board Sale and Swap Meet they've got going on. The Paddle Surf Hawaii board demo is this weekend and the Used SUP Board Sale and Swap Meet will be going on October 30th.

I went with the 8.75" wide blade.
I did get a chance to get in a couple of flatwater miles using the new paddle. I have to say I'm really excited about this blade. In the past, I've used the big 9" wide blades on my QB paddles. Those big spades felt like I was digging into wet cement- you'd plant them and they'd hold like a big old anchor. Some guys have got the horsepower to turn those things over mile after mile. Not me. After a half hour I could feel myself running out of gas and getting slower by the minute. This newer, smaller paddle was perfect for me- I never got that "blown out" feeling.

 The blade, coupled to a featherlight prepreg shaft is the perfect size for me. It's 8.75" wide and has a 100 square inch footprint. I cranked out four miles and felt like the blade was super positive in the water, tracked nicely down the rail and slipped into the water so cleanly on the catch it felt like I was using a scalpel. I've got a race coming up in mid-November, I'm excited to give this paddle a shot at it.

 Thanks to Covewater Stand Up Paddle Santa Cruz for the paddle and I hope to get some waves with you up in Santa Cruz soon!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Congrats on the new paddle. Use it well. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Anonymous said...

Scott at Covewater is awesome. This is the premier shop to go to in NorCal. Definetly two thumbs up!

- Larry