Monthly Round-up of SUP / October 2022

Welcome to our collection of the biggest news and stories that have taken place in the SUP world from the previous month. Let's recap what happened in October 2022.

Brendon Prince Completes Full UK Circumnavigation - The Long Paddle

Earlier this month, Brendon Prince and The Long Paddle team completed a stand up paddle around the coastline of Northern Ireland. This was the final piece of the puzzle to paddle the entire length of the UK’s coastline after his mainland Britain circumnavigation last year. Brendon has said that this paddle wasn’t a continuous route, but paddled in sections due to the weather and time available to complete the incredible feat.

This wasn’t Brendon’s only achievement though. He claimed the world record for the fastest crossing on SUP on Lough Neagh at 4 hours 54 minutes, eclipsing the previous record by 17 minutes.

Brendon also began to paddle The Royal Canal which covers 145km and includes 45 locks. Weed and other weather factors meant that Brendon had to stop, but he will return to paddle the Canal at a future date to spread awareness that paddling on calm waters needs safety as well.

Brendon has set these challenges for himself to promote the charity Above Water which works to teach water safety and prevent drowning. There will be many more epic challenges and expeditions from Brendon in the future, so stay tuned.

ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championships - Puerto Rico 2022

The 2022 ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championships is well underway in Puerto Rico right now with the racing disciplines kicking off the week long action. Day 1 saw the SUP Sprints take place and it was a double gold for team USA with Connor Baxter and April Zilg taking out the mens and women divisions respectively.

Each of the four women’s finalists started strong, with local Puerto Rican Mariecarmen Rivera in the lead, however it didn’t take long for Zilg and Caroline Küntzel (DEN) to sneak ahead, with Rivera and Cecilia Paminella (ITA) crossing paths on the opposing buoy. By the home stretch it was Zilg easily in front of Küntzel in silver, with a tight race for bronze, which Rivera just edged to the delight of the loud and enthusiastic local crowd, leaving Paminella to collect copper.

The men’s Final was a decisive affair, with a three-second or more spread between each of the finalists. Baxter led from the start and didn’t let up, despite the best efforts of Noic Garioud (FRA), silver, David Leão (BRA), bronze, and Christian Anderson(DEN), copper.

Today will see the finals of the Technical Racing and we’re on standby for the start of the SUP surfing this week too. Later in the week and toward the weekend will see the distance races taking place.

You can watch the action live here: https://isasurf.org/event/2022-isa-world-standup-paddle-and-paddleboard-championship/

2023 Starboard SUP - New Ranges & Designs

Starboard dropped their new 2023 SUP range last month and 2023 sees exciting new ranges, upgrades to popular models and new colour graphics. Starboard have some of the worlds top riders and designers which makes this release so exciting.

Some of our top favourites is the new Spice SUP surf shape that blends the stability of the Wedge range and the performance of the Pro shapes. The inflatable Generation has hit shelves too which is exciting. There’s a new Pro surf shape line-up plus changes to the new airline.

Starboard now plant 3 Mangrove trees for every board sold, absorbing 2 tons of CO2. That is an incredible commitment to the environment. Starboard use this planting opportunity to offset their emissions, but also to claim carbon credit to fund local community projects in Myanmar.