September Success for Ryan James – UK SUP Champion

Curve sponsored SUP Champion Ryan James has had a hectic and highly successful September, winning or placing in more events than you can shake a paddle at!  He has kindly jotted down a few words to bring us up to date on what he has been up to. You can read his race reports below:

Summer Sizzler National Series: 3^rd September 2011

Another great paddling weekend! This race gave us the chance to showcase Stand Up Paddleboarding at the National Windsurfing & SUP Festival, Hayling Island and to show the wind surfers what SUP was all about.  The distance event was a buoy course of 8-9 km with up, down and cross wind sections.

With gusts up to 20-25 knots, the Starboard Ace struggled in the cross winds but the board and ZRE paddle took me to a convincing win in the 14’ class and overall race winner.  This win also gave me 5 out of 5 wins in both class and series winner overall, through all classes including unlimited.

The Blue Mile Triple Challenge: 4^th September 2011

The Blue Mile was a charity event. Paul White and Conrad Humphreys, creators of the Blue Mile, invited me to participate in this great event to promote the protection and conservation of the oceans that are supported by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund).  I am an enthusiastic and life long supporter of the WWF, as their ethos and mission is closely related to every aspect of my sport and lifestyle.

This event consisted of a 1mile swim, 1mile SUP and a 1mile Kayak and got me back in the water swimming again!  It really makes you appreciate how special our oceans and waters are.  The event was a great format, with competitors able to compete in each singular event or take on the ‘Triple Challenge’ by completing all 3 events. The race was great. I led out the swim and finished it in 22 minutes, some 4 minutes off my best time but hey!, I should swim more!

The part I dreaded was the Kayak stage as I have never really spent much time, but my lead gave me the opportunity to relax and give a few paddlers new to SUP some quick tips on my way round to my win.

The 11 Cities Tour: 7-11 September 2011

I can only say that this was the most extreme event I have ever done.  This event even tops my Ironman Triathlon events…they didn’t even come close.

The first day we paddled 41km of canals and then a 4 km lake crossing with 30 knot crosswinds.  It was an extreme and draining day.  Day 2 and the race directors made us paddle back across the lake into the 30 knot winds, leaving us with another 42km still to paddle.  After the 2^nd day I was in pieces, almost catatonic in the back of my van trying to recover.

The weather cleared up for the 3^rd and 4^th days for some much needed recovery but I still had to go hard and race every inch as I was so close to Bart, my Starboard team mate.  There were just 4 seconds between us going into the 5^th and final day.

I knew that this was going to be a hard day and at points we were at a race pace of 13km/hr on flat water and this was 2-3km out from the finish! I held onto 2^nd place, just 9 seconds adrift from my experienced team mate over the 5 days, finishing in 24hrs 57min 16sec.

A big ‘Thank you’ to all my supporters, specifically Margareta and Sven from Starboard for producing torpedo fast boards and enabling me to compete internationally; Chris, from Black Project, for keeping the weed off my fin; ZRE for their awesome paddles; Curve, for their great SUP travel gear and of course The SUP Store for their words of support that got me through the dark days.

Ryan collects his cheque from his 2nd place in the 11 City Tour SUP Event

We’re supporting the BSUPA SUP Series Finals at Watergate Bay!

Thain Leisure is pleased to announce today its continued support for the UK’s premier combined Stand Up Paddle board event hosted by BSUPA and the Extreme Academy at Watergate Bay, Cornwall.

This years competition dates are Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October 2011.

Following a fantastic competition in 2010, the aim for 2011 is to continue to develop this event even further while maintaining the vision that this competition has been designed for paddle boarders of all abilities.

Curve SUP together with Thain Leisure Ltd have been working with Rich Marsh and BSUPA to help promote and further develop this great sport and to also support our fantastic Curve SUP team rider, Ryan James, in this exciting competition.

For the series finals we shall be providing First place prizes of Curve SUP Travel Board Bags for both the Mens and Womens competitions this year, which we hope will see an even greater number of entrants for this last big event of the 2011 SUP season.

Thain Leisure Ltd are exclusive United Kingdom & Rep. of Ireland distributors of the complete range of Curve Surf & SUP travel board bags, travel accessories, soft racks, back packs, leashes, carry slings and hydration equipment for SUP’ers and surfers.

Recognised around the world for its innovation, quality and performance, the Curve brand is simply the choice of champions!

Giving something back!

Every once in a while you meet somebody that really impresses you – somebody that knows who they are and where they are going, somebody who has an aim in life and importantly, a plan on how to get there, somebody that possesses a talent that amazes and inspires at the same time. Well, this is what happened when I met a young man called Lewis Stritch!

Lewis contacted us about sponsorship a few years back, but at that time I had only just entered the market with Curve Surf and was not really in a position to support him – however, I did promise that we would keep him in mind and would see how he progressed over the next couple of years.

So a couple of months back I decided that having entered our 3rd full year of trading and having got the Curve brand established as a credible surf brand here in the UK, I was ready to dip our toes into the sea of sponsorship. I wanted to support a young, rising star in the surf world and I wanted to give something back to our local area too, so preferably somebody relatively close to us and a person that would be as passionate about our great products as I am!

So, true to our word, I dug out Lewis’ email address and dropped him a line to see if he was still interested in becoming a Curve Surf sponsored team rider. Lewis immediately said “Yes, please” (I think he’d thought I’d forgotten about him!) and I arranged to meet up at the cafe at Crooklets Beach, Bude, Cornwall (Lewis lives 30 seconds walk from the beach!) to thrash out a deal!

Upon meeting up, I was introduced to a truly passionate longboarder and a prodigious talent. Lewis finished 3rd in the Great Britain Under 18 Longboard rankings last year and has just completed his secondary education at Budehaven 6th Form College, where he has been studying for a BTEC in Outdoor Adventure. He is about to begin University life at the University of Plymouth, studying Surf Science at the Newquay campus. He recently competed at the Atlantic Watersports Event in Croyde, coming 2nd (by 0.1 point!) and will be participating in the BLU National ranking events at Gwithian, Polzeath and Watergate Bay later in the year. He also hopes to compete in the upcoming European Longboard Championships in Spain.

On top of all this, he is a thoroughly nice young man AND has the looks of a teenage heart-throb! Perfect sponsorship material!

Seriously though, I am really stoked to have Lewis on board with the Curve team and I shall do everything I can to help him achieve his surfing goals and ambitions.  Thain Leisure has supplied Lewis with a complete Curve Surf Travel package to support him in his quest for Longboard glory! This package includes a full set of Curve Boost day bags for his longboard quiver, a Curve Overstayer for travelling and assorted Curve surf travel accessories to make his journey easier and more comfortable. In addition, Lewis will be using Surf Gel to prevent any wetsuit rash and his boards will be cleaned and prepped with Blue Goo/Xtreme Cream by Onitpro.

We’ll keep you up-to-date with Lewis’ competition events and results via our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

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Curve Team Rider, Ryan James, Earns Podium Place in St Tropez!

We are totally stoked that Curve SUP team rider Ryan James has pulled off an amazing top three finish at the recent international SUP Cup event recently held at St Tropez, in the South of France.

Podium for Curve SUP Rider Ryan James

This is an awesome achievement for Ryan (top right in the above image) and great for the UK to be placed on an international podium again. Ryan has kindly sent in this report of how the event went…

“Leaving Wednesday evening to catch the train through the Chunnel, marking the start of an epic 12 hour drive down the entire length of France, was daunting, however this would take me to St Maxime (just near St Tropez) and the SUP Cup, my first international race.

The race promised to host an event for all the top paddlers in Europe, which last year hosted the European championships. All and more of those paddlers returned this year, with high hopes of taking the title.

My journey had started on a positive note as I had just signed a deal with Black Project Fins from Maui, to supply me with the state of the art SUP fins designed especially for racing BOP (Battle of the Paddle) and distance style races. They also look great, and lets face it that’s what it’s all about … the board looking good and feeling fast.

Well, France is one big field! The game of ‘I spy” was limited to the letter ‘F’… field, farm and freeway, that’s about it. However the journey was easy, with pretty much one road from top to bottom. Arriving in St Maxime was fantastic, we’d made it…I had survived the temptation to drop my other half off at the side of the road during our 12 hour epic trek. We were greeted by the event organiser Yannick Pinaud, who was working on French time. The French, when they say 10 minutes actually mean 60 and when they set out a schedule, it’s in the very loosest sense. But once you adjust to this, you can relax and slide into the laid back Cote D’Azur lifestyle.

The 2 races that make up the SUP Cup are a 7 km BOP style event and a 15 km distance event. Now everyone knows my prowess around buoys (reactions and skills like a finely tuned otter), so you can imagine what I was looking forward to!

The course was set and the start line full, with over 90 paddlers from more than 7 different countries, from as far as South Africa. The horn went and the 4 Loops of the course started. I had a good start on my Surf Race carbon; it accelerated well and I was lying in about 4th or 5th place,when the water turned into something resembling a swimming pool, with wake
and chop coming from all directions! So like any ‘finely skilled’ paddle boarder, I fell in (8th place) and this continued with at least 2 Mediterranean dips each lap which eventually saw me into 12th place.

You can imagine I was more than disappointed and the toys were quietly and discretely ejected from the proverbial pram. But now I know why Starboard have widened their Race this season… so you can stay on the damn board in a BOP style race, so well done Sven.

So after a night of kicking my own ass, it was revenge time. Change the mindset. Kill them all! I had all the tools for the job. Super quick Starboard 14’ Ace, ZRE paddle and my Curve Waterman Hydration Pack!

Again the 90+ paddlers lined up and the horn went and we started on the 7 ½ km upwind section. 500 metres in, I fell off from a 2nd position putting me back to 5th. I knew I was strong and that the others had noth

Curve SUP team rider Ryan James digs deep!

ing for me, so I began to pull myself back up to Bart (Maui) and Eric (France/Spain), the main contenders for the title.

 

First was Eric. I pulled him back and passed him with a small runner and then Bart De Zwart. Pulling alongside, I edged ahead by 1/2 a foot (1st place) and then he displayed his Maui skills and caught a runner which I never saw and pulled ahead and that’s the way it stayed for the next couple of Kilometres. We both then turned into a cross chop and wind section which, as good as the Ace is, it hates and after a few minutes I went in for a little dip and took 5 more on the way to the buoy. This allowed Eric to catch and pass me!

When I arrived at the ½ way point I knew I had a chance to catch them, as I now had 7 ½ km down wind. It was fantastic conditions for the Ace. It picked up the smallest of bumps and the swell was up to 2 foot and we were all catching 5-10 second rides as the bumps linked together, if you kept your eyes open. That’s what downwind paddling is all about, linking the bumps!

Although I never managed to catch right back up to Bart and Eric, I arrived with a nice cushion of time between the 4th place paddler (Naish Rider) and me, and I was greeted by a massive crowd cheering everyone in and a very happy Bart. Starboard had 2 riders on the podium 1st and 3rd, as Pascal, Team Starboard France said ‘Today is a good day for
Starboard!’ The 12th place on the Saturday and now the 3rd place on the Sunday gave me 4th in the overall standings, which for a first international race is something that I can build on.

Watch out Cali and Hawaii, here comes the Lumberjack!”

Ryan’s supreme fitness and dedication to SUP, coupled with his hugely competitive spirit makes him a force to be reckoned with in SUP distance paddling and we are immensely proud to be able to sponsor him.

Go Ryan, Go Ryan…

Thain Leisure Supports Thames SUP Team in Help for Hero’s “Row2Recovery” Fund Raiser!

We are extremely pleased to support Mark Slater, Rich Morten and Bobby Thatcher in their fund raising attempt to stand-up paddle the entire length of the River Thames from it’s source to the river mouth, a total of 215 miles!  This endurance event will be undertaken  in order to help raise much needed funds for another important and worthy fund raising activity – the ‘Row2Recovery’ project which intends to row across the Atlantic Ocean to raise £1 Million to support members of our armed services injured on active duty.

Bobby Thatcher, Rich Morten and Mark Slater with their Curve Waterman Hydration Backpacks!

Commencing on May 30th 2011, the team plans to complete the paddle in 4 days, which means that they are going to have to paddle a minimum of 12 hours per day to complete the challenge – which is believed to be the longest paddle ever attempted!

Thain Leisure will provide Curve Hydration backpacks to the three paddlers, which in turn will enable them to access essential hydration fluids during their marathon paddle. It is imperative that participants in endurance events such as this maintain their fluid levels constantly in order to prevent dehydration, which can lead to cramps, sickness and dizzyness.

Bobby said “I have been training and coaching the guys from www.row2recovery.com in order to prep them for their Atlantic Row in December 2012. R2R was the brainchild of three friends, all former British Army commanders, who went through military training together. Ed Janvrin, Alex Mackenzie and Tony Harris went on to see extensive combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and were profoundly moved by their experiences.

All three men witnessed soldiers sustain life-changing injuries,while Tony lost his own left leg when an Improvised ExplosiveDevice (IED) detonated under his Jackal vehicle while on patrol in Afghanistan in May 2009.

All three men feel compelled to help their fallen friends andcomrades whose selfless sacrifice is etched in their memories, but who will never ask for help. Ed and Alex will be selecting two soldiers who have suffered life changing injuries to row the Atlantic with them with the target of raising £1 Million for serviceman and their families.”

Bobby put the feelers out with the UK’s top paddlers back in January to see who would be keen to join him on a ‘Source to Sea’ paddle on the River Thames in order to help the R2R guys achieve their £1 Million target. He has now been joined by Richard Morton & Mark Slater. The guys aim to cover the 215 Miles in under four days, averaging around 60 miles per day. They will also be the first people to SUP the entire length of the Thames!

Thain Leisure will be presenting the team with their Curve Hydration Backpacks at the Blue Chip SUP Summer Sizzler event being held at Teddington on May 15th 2011.

You can also sponsor the guys through Virgin Money Giving and donations will be quickly processed and passed to Help for Heroes, ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity and SSAFA Forces Help. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity’s behalf where the donor is eligible for this.

Go to Virgin Money Giving site here.

Thain Leisure adds Alastair Nichol (IRL-250), Irish Speed Wind Surfer to Team Curve!

We are very pleased to announce that Thain Leisure has added Irish Speed Wind Surfer and UKWA competitor Alastair Nichol (IRL-250) to its roster of Team Curve riders for the 2011 season.

Alastair Nichol (IRL-250) now rides for Team Curve / Thain Leisure

Alastair first started windsurfing back in 1984 at only 12 years of age and he very quickly caught the bug for the sport. For the next few years he continued to progress and improve his skills, spending any time he could on the water. In 1986, at age 14; he started to compete on raceboards on the local regional windsurfing series in the North East of England where he achieved 1^st place in the Junior fleet.

In 1987 Alastair made the step up to the youth fleet, where he achieved 1^st place that year and also successfully achieved the same 1^st place in 1988 and 1989. In 1989 he decided to become a windsurfing instructor to pass on his skills and love of the sport to others, he being employed at a windsurfing school in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire in 1990. The same year he decided to compete in the U-19 championship, where in his first national competition he achieved a creditworthy 2^nd place in the Newcomers Division. Alastair decided to concentrate on teaching windsurfing  until he moved to his current location in County Kerry, on the West Coast of Ireland, where he competed in Slalom at Jamie Knox Watersports, gaining 3^rd place in the slalom series in 1997 & 1998 and then 2^nd place in 1999.

In 2000 a back injury forced Alastair to stop windsurfing until he was sent for training with work to Portland, Oregon, USA. In 2005 he decided to travel over to the Gorge and try windsurfing again and to see if his back was able to handle it again. Thankfully he came through that session with flying colours and then he bought himself some new Windsurfing kit on the spot!

Alastair competes in Rnd 5 of the Irish Speedsailing Championships 2010 at Ladies Island

For the next few years Alastair sailed just for fun, up until 2007 when he decided to compete in the Irish National Championships, gaining 4^th place overall in the Masters fleet. Soon after this he discovered Speedsailing, bought himself a GPS and in 2008 competed in his first event at the Irish National Speedsailing Championships, coming in 7^th place overall. With this result he successfully gained a place at the Speed World Cup Production World Championships held at Dungarven, Ireland. Unfortunately due to a lack of wind that year, no Speedsailing took place but he was still able to finish 60^th overall in the Speed World Cup rankings in his first year competing at International events.

In 2009 Alastair again competed in the Irish Speedsailing Championships, managing to improve his result and finish 4^th overall. He also competed on the Speed World Cup at the European Championships in Dungarven, Ireland finishing 19^th overall which earned him a Speed World Cup ranking of 102^nd for the year. In 2010 he again competed in the Irish Speedsailing Championships finishing 4^th overall and on the Speed World Cup, finishing 69^th overall in the Speed World Cup Rankings.

After watching the Raceboard scene for a couple of years he also decided in 2010 to dust off his old Raceboard and to start competing again. Alastair crossed to the UK where he competed in the UKWA inland series, finishing the year 17th overall (2nd Raceboard Unlimited Fleet & 4th Master), which considering he last set foot on a Raceboard 20 years previously, he was very happy with!

For the future Alastair’s goals are to achieve a top 3 position in the Irish Speedsailing Championship, improve his overall position in the UKWA Inland Championships and improve his Speed World Cup Ranking. He has also set himself a goal to break the 40 knot speed barrier and he knows that he is capable of this figure.

With Thain Leisure providing him with a Curve Hydration Backpack, Surf Gel, and Onit Pro Blue Goo / Xtreme Cream Board Cleaner & Polish, we are positive that Alastair will soon be flying through the 40 knot speed mark. We wish Alastair every success during the 2011 season and very much look forward to publicising his achievements throughout the year.

Alastair’s current recorded GPS speeds (Verified) are :-

5 x 10 Average 34.21 Knots        Max. GPS (display) 35.84 knots      Max. 2 sec. (software) 35.89 knots
Max. 10 Sec. Run 35.03 Knots    100 m run 35.43 knots   250 m run 34.99 knots   500 m run 33.68 knots

In addition to riding for Curve Surf/Thain Leisure, Alastair is also sponsored by Ka Sails, Starboard, Chinook, Pro Motion Wetsuits, Vector Maui Fins, Wind & Wave, MCPM, Windsurfingfins.co.uk.

For more information of Curve Surf Products please visit http://www.thainleisure.com. To find out more about Alastair Nichol, visit his blogsite at http://irl-250.blogspot.com/

Thain Leisure Announces Support for New Olympic SUP Event

Competitors practice for the new London Olympics SUP event!

Building upon it’s close involvement with the UK’s Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) community, Thain Leisure is very pleased to announce today it’s support for a new SUP event to be held as part of the 2012 Olympics celebrations in London.

SUP has experienced dramatic growth in the United Kingdom in recent years and so it is fitting that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should select the London 2012 Olympics to showcase a new event designed to appeal to an even wider audience of water sports enthusiasts.

Consisting of both mens and women’s categories, this exciting event will take the format of a sprint race held over a distance of 250 metres. In both categories, the competitors will paddle backwards around a number of predetermined buoys, placed in a staggered formation across the course. Depending upon the number of participants, preliminary heats will be used to determine qualification into the quarter finals, semi’s and finals, with all race results based upon a ‘first past the post’ finish.

Under new EU health & safety rules, all competitors will be required to wear full underwater breathing apparatus in case they should fall into the water and a lifeboat will be in attendance at all races. These new rules also apply to other Olympic sports including the high dive events, water polo and swimming.

Commenting on this new event, Swedish SUP Association President Ari Lopolf praised the Olympics Committee for it’s vision in bringing this great new sport to the games, “I believe that Backwards SUP will add an exciting new dimension to the panoply of the games and I am very excited to see how the sportsmen perform” he said.

The most likely venue for the event will be St Catherines Dock in London docklands area, however it is believed that both the Serpentine Lake, opposite Buckingham Palace and the Elephant & Castle Boating Pond have also been considered as possible alternatives.

Thain Leisure will be providing Curve SUP equipment for the event as well as taking photographs for post event publicity. To find out more information, please contact Chris Thain at Thain Leisure on 01409 240043 (www.thainleisure.com).

Top UK Stand Up Paddleboarder, Ryan James receives 2011 Sponsorship from Curve & Thain Leisure Ltd.

We are really chuffed to announce that top UK stand up paddleboarder, surfer, fitness guru and all-round nice guy Ryan James has become the latest waterman to receive a sponsorship support package from Curve and Thain Leisure. Ryan is the current BSUPA National Paddleboard Distance Champion and is a keen advocate of Curve SUP equipment and Onit Pro Xtreme Cream Board Polish.

Ryan started competitive swimming at the age of 4 and by 18 was in America on an elite swim scholarship. On his return to England he developed his training to include cycling and running and started to compete in triathlon. Ryan made the GB age group squad in his inaugural year of competition and turned professional in 1998.

Shortly after turning pro Ryan was signed by TEAMBath, at the University of Bath, whilst also competing for the Great Britain Elite Ironman Triathlon Squad. Within this squad he competed in 3 World Championships (Sweden, France and Switzerland) and 3 National Championships (highest placing 2nd).

Following retirement from competitive triathlon Ryan took up sprint track cycling, competing at two World Master and National Championships.

Ryan turned his hand to SUPing in April 2009 as rehabilitation for shoulder surgery. Catching the bug after just a few paddles Ryan has converted his 18 months in the sport to a top podium position in the National Stand Up Paddle Series UK.

“Ryan’s focus, capability and passion for Stand Up Paddle boarding undoubtedly shows in the success that he has achieved within the sport, and he brings these qualities to every aspect of his life”, says Chris Thain, owner and Managing Director of Thain Leisure. “He is always seeking to develop and improve himself and is open-minded to new techniques and products, which, from a sponsors perspective, is an invaluable asset. Ryan is a superb role model for youngsters and a great ambassador both for our Curve brand and for the sport of SUP.”

We very much look forward to working with Ryan throughout 2011 and to helping him achieve even greater success in his SUP events this year.

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Pictures courtesy of Jon Parker & David Smailes Photography.

Success at SUP Sprint Challenge 2011 – London Boat Show

The inaugural SUP Sprint Challenge 2011, held at the London Boat Show this weekend has been a massive success, with over 20 competitors taking part in the very first Indoor SUP event of its kind in the UK.

With a packed stadium of excited spectators and countless other people viewing the racing over the internet webcast, this all action event was dominated by John Hibbard, who gained the coveted Yellow Shirt on Day 1 and managed to hold on to it all weekend, winning the grand final in comfortable fashion on Sunday afternoon. We’re also pleased to tell you that John had polished his board with Onit Pro’s ‘Xtreme Cream’ from Thain Leisure, which we are certain helped him to sprint through the water to ultimate success!

We very much look forward to seeing the SUP Sprint Challenge again at next years London Boat Show!

Chris
www.thainleisure.com

Thain Leisure Supports Irish Stand Up Paddleboarding School

SUP takes off in Ireland

Thain Leisure is pleased to announce it’s support of Irish Stand Up Paddleboarding through it’s 2011 sponsorship of Stand Up Surf Zone, the SUP school based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. SUSZ provides 10 week-long SUP Summer Camps to kids in the Dublin area.

In order to help promote Stand Up Paddle boarding to the younger generation, Thain Leisure has supplied a number of Curve Wetsuit Change Bags as prizes for the ‘Most Improved Overall Paddler’ child over the course of each week, with the winning recipient selection based upon a combination of board and paddle skills development plus essential listening/learning skills and overall attitude.

We have also provided a Curve SUP Sling as a Winner’s prize for both the Spring and Autumn 2011 SUP Distance Race Series.

Paul Byrne, who operates Stand Up Surf Zone is a keen paddler himself and is working extremely hard to get SUP established in Ireland, especially with children and teenagers. “SUP is a great way to get kids safely out on to the water, to get some fresh air and exercise and to appreciate the environment in which they live, perhaps from a slightly different perspective” he says. “We really appreciate the support we have received from Thain Leisure and Curve and very much look forward to our 2011 season with them”.