Paddle for Humanity “Chuck Patterson Rally signature race

Posted on May 2, 2012 by cpatterson

Jared Vargas putting in some serious effort during the sand box run.

I have been racing Stand up Paddling competitively for the last 6-7 years and I have watched this sport grow from the beginning to become the fastest growing water sport in the world.

My vision with this event; was to bring racing to the masses where triathletes, endurance racers and the average off the couch athlete could have fun pushing themselves to the extreme and not have to be the strongest paddler to excel at this race. The new young breed of paddler is ruling the SUP race scene and needs to be tested and after this first very successful event this past weekend; I am sure we are on to something and its only going to get much bigger.

The Watermans Paddle for Humanity, “Chuck Patterson Rally signature race”; is a mix between Stand up paddle sprint racing with a challenging Endurance deep sand obstacle course run; where each paddler will sprint paddle a 1.3 mile lap and then hit the beach and run a 200 yard deep sand obstacle course and then back in the water. completing 3 laps of each and finishing with another half mile sprint through the surf and beach finish.

work is never done when you dont get to use a tractor to move sand. ha ha

Tyson and I shoveled and prepped the sand obstacle course all morning to insure a very challenging leg of the race.

Let the punishment begin.

Chris Bishow staying focused and pacing himself for the next couple laps.

This was the place to watch the athletes rock and roll before hitting the water for another sprint lap.

sprinting though the surf in the paddle portion of the race made for some great carnage.

super stoked on how my event went down.

Great having some of the best paddlers in the World come and hammer in the race. Connor Baxter 1st, Fernando Stalla 2nd & Slater Trout 3rd

The Waterman and Water women of the event, competing in all 3 races. they totally killed it.

 

I want to thank Watermans Applied Science for putting on a great 3 race event; first of 5 event tour stops for this year. and to all my sponsors for their support.

Also a big Thanks to all the great athletes who competed and endured the pain while showcasing that this event is one of the toughest challenges yet in SUP racing.

For more info on The Paddle For Humanity races and tour stops, go to

http://www.paddleforhumanity.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunset Beach Pro SUP Surf World Tour Final event

Posted on March 25, 2012 by cpatterson

Evening Sunset at Sunset beach, Hawaii

After a grueling day of competition and winning the Trials. I was super stoked that the swell was still big and perfect which seemed to suit me perfectly and I was ready to do some damage in the main event.

Aaron Napoleon and I studying the line up before paddling out for our quarter final heat.

Every heat was stacked and you really had to stay focused and stick to your game plan in choosing the right waves and not getting clipped by the closeouts and suffering a severe beat down.

the view as you paddle back out. some of the drops were crazy with the offshore winds always wanting to blow your board out from under you as you paddled in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

some of the drops were crazy with the offshore winds always wanting to blow your board out from under you as you paddled in.

The swell was perfect yet challenging as it took everything you had to bury the rail for a clean bottom turn.

 Pumped and tired after 3 back to back heats and waiting for the scores to see if I made it into the semi finals.

hanging with team mate and 2 time World SUP surf champion Kai Lenny and World Champion windsurfer, Kite surfer and Founder of Naish (my sponsor); Robby Naish

Finally get word that I make it into the semis. Super stoked!! At this point your totally running on fumes and just want to get this round going. The New swell is maxing out, with huge rogue waves closing out the whole bay.

We all paddle out 10 minutes before our heat start and wait in the safety of the channel. with a minute to go before our heat start we all paddle over to the peak as a huge set breaks on the outer reef coming our way. We all paddle as hard as we can towards the channel only to get mowed down by the 15 ft whitewater.

I dive deep, in hopes that the wave will pass over head without incident. As the wave rumbles by, my board gets sucked up by the wave, pulling me backwards by my feet for 30 yards and suddenly my leash snaps. My worst nightmare possible as I take another 3 waves on the head and start swimming for shore to get my board.

I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and in one second its all gone. Luckily the water patrol grabs me with the jet ski and gives me a ride to the inside where I find my board floating. I tie a couple make shift knots with the broken leash and start my long paddle back out. ”It’s pretty crazy how quickly things can change and how important it is to try to keep your composure and move forward with a positive attitude”.

15 minutes later, I make my way back out to the peak. With only 10 minutes left, I try to pick off as many waves possible to make up for lost time. Sure enough I catch a good sized bomb that hooks to the inside; but I know that I will need at least one more like that just to stay in the game.The offshore winds manicured the waves perfectly.knowing I needed a high score, I really milked this wave all the way to the inside.

I paddle back to the outside and the ocean goes flat. I am left with a tough decision; either wait it out for a solid set wave or try to get a miracle wave on the inside. Knowing that the other 3 competitors all got some impressive waves and high scores; I decide to wait it out. I glance at my watch and my heart sank. 45 seconds and nothing coming my way.

I quickly paddle for an insider but let it go just as the horn sounds ending our semi final heat. Knowing I didn’t advance; I decide to take my time going in and wait for a real wave to go in on. Not 2 minutes later, a set appears and I take off on a really nice bowl carving my way to the inside section and just as I had hoped, the wave starts to throw; I do a quick snap turn in the pocket and the wave fold over my head and I pump my way down the line and surprisingly get spit out at the end, making the tube and ending this crazy heat with a smile on my face.

It was a great run and if I hadn’t had a little mechanical failure who knows; but I am super happy that I made it this far against the best in the world, ranking myself 7th in the world after the first stop.It was a long couple days of battling it out against the worlds best and I’m stoked.

The finals went off in perfect 10′-12′ ft Sunset making for an impressive show. Everyone went off pushing the sports that much further.

Bonga Perkins takes top honors, Kai Lenny 2nd, Payo Lizaro 3rd and Ikaika Kalama 4th

Thanks to all my friends, family and sponsors for all of your great support.

here is a video of the final day, enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunset Beach Pro SUP surf World Tour trials

Posted on February 8, 2012 by cpatterson

The media; always getting up close and personal right when you get out of the water, making for some great commentary.

Sunset Beach Pro SUP Surf World Tour Trials
It was a solid day of rising swell 6′-8′ swell with a bunch of 10′-12′ ft clean up sets.
Went out at sunrise to get a couple good warm up waves and get the conditions dialed.
I got a couple great waves and my Naish Hokua 9’8 was feeling great for the size.
Sure enough when you get a little comfortable, thats when it happens; Kai Lenny and I were paddling for this one steep bomb that I
didn’t want to let go by and getting into it a little late, I air dropped down the face, landed and set up for the bottom turn just as the lip went over my head and shut the
garage door, sending me deep to the bottom, rag dolling for several seconds trying to figure out which way was up and finally I climbed my leash rope to the surface for air.
I came up laughing and collected my gear and paddled out to get a couple more just to keep my head in the game.

Waves were pumping making it hard for the crowd on the beach to see the rider between waves

I competed in 3, 20 minute heats against a strong competitive field of athletes from around the world.
I went into each heat with one thing in mind and that was to have as much fun as possible surfing and making turns in the most critical section of the wave and it worked.
I can’t say I wasn’t nervous or full of adrenaline, but going against the best always brings out the best in you.
In The last heat, the swell was getting pretty maxed out with a couple close out sets and the wind and rain turned onshore making it pretty difficult, where any mistake could take you out
of the game.
I concentrated on getting the biggest waves and if nothing came my way, I just stayed busy on the inside which ended up working in my favor.
Now I made it into the first round of the main event and have to do it all over again.
Super stoked and I’m hoping for huge surf to separate the men from the boys.
A big hanks to NOW energy bars for keeping me going all day long and to all my sponsors for your great support and in helping me do what I love to do.
Aloha,
Chuck P
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Hello World

Posted on February 4, 2012 by cpatterson

Wind, waves and snow; super stoked to be on the NOW team

I want to start out by introducing myself as one of the new Now energy bar athletes. I’m super stoked to be a part of such a great team of athletes where we all dig deep, pushing our limits and beyond, through our passion for action sports.

I have been super fortunate to have grown up doing action sports since I was 2; growing up skiing in Europe, moving back to the US where I later learned to windsurf, surf and snowboard. My mother was a world class ski racer and pro windsurfer and my father a nuclear physicist; so I had the best of both worlds, learning skill and the business side of sponsorship from my mother and the power of the mind and focus from my father.

Chasing huge Winter storms through the Pacific riding liquid mountains and snow capped peaks is what I live for.

Its all about enjoying Mother Natures gifts

Chasing storms from the Pacific to the Mountains has it's rewards.

Wether training, traveling or competing; one of the most important things that keeps me on top of my game is my diet. Besides eating the right foods, traveling can be a challenge  and thats where eating the NOW bars has really been a life saver, especially since I’m on the go every minute.

All the bars taste so good and fit perfectly in the pocket of your surf trunks or your ski jacket

Now that I’m all fueled up, I’m off to Hawaii for a couple months of Big wave adventures, so stay tuned for more of my NOW adventures coming soon…..

You can also see more at my new action filled website chuckpattersonsports.com

Aloha,

Chuck Patterson

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