On y va à Paris!

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Check out our new collection at the french watersports fair:  Salon Nautic  2017 December 3 until december 7. Visit our booth & guess the weight of our new carbon paddle and win it.

and on 2017 December 3 see the FIT OCEAN RACE TEAM in action during the 10km race  Nautic SUP Paris crossing.

A sneaky preview:

The full trip for the freaks:

 

Congrats Jan & Marcel + great familyday @SUP Race Bern

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Hey, we had such a great day taking the FIT OCEAN crew and family to a SUP Race in beautiful Bern at the heart of Switzerland. Wether it was trying a climbing wall build in a river, dreaming away at the helm of an abandoned boat in the harbour or chatting about SUP Board rocker design with the racers. Very well organised event by faltboot – a big thank you.

 

Ofcourse it’s a race and FIT OCEAN also had business to do. Jan and Marcel on 12’6 FIT OCEAN Ultra took 4th and 6th place in a field of racers on 14ft boards… extremely well done !

 

Amazing they can keep up with a 12’6 board between 14 feet boards.

 

Jan battling it out with a hardboard

Marcel overtaking a yellow board

Going deep :)

Congrats Marcel on the 1st Place 12’6 inflatable SUP Switzerland Biel 9.7.2017

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Short story

Marcel on his 2017 FIT OCEAN ULTRA inflatable 12’6 x 25′ x 5” finished 1st. 

Long story

We had the pleasure to attend the SUP Tour Schweiz SUP Race in Switzerland Bielersee, Nidau.

Several races happening and our team rider was up for the 5.2 kilometer race over the lake and through the village of Nidau.

Organisation with KayLenny attending.

Time to race

To be honest we don’t have clue how he does but Marcel always manages to land a top 3 position. He seems deliberately not to start on the startline but strategically ? at the back of the field and then creeps up on them.

On 3/4 of the race on a bridge he is in 4th position in the 12’6 inflatable category behind some Naish one boards. Nice to see in the video how good he is tracking in a cool straight line rather the zig-zagging.

We leave him on the other side of the bridge and head over to the finish.

Where to our exitement he has overtaken the last people and finishes as the 1st on a 12’6 inflatable Race SUP. In 39 Minutes he did 5.2 kilometer which makes a 8 km/h average speed.

Number 129 resting after victory

Next up the fun race where the Support team comes in action. Timo doing his first race and finishing second in the fun race on the FIT OCEAN Speedster 12’6 x 29 x 5”. And respect to Anes who is new to SUP and finished the fun race on the FIT OCEAN Cruise 12′ x 34” x 6”

Thanks to all participators and see you next race!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review / Testbericht FIT OCEAN MAGIC GLIDE 10’8

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Hey!

We got a nice review on our FIT OCEAN MAGIC GLIDE 10’8. It’s on the leading German advisory SUP Website supboardkaufen.de. Here is the original and the translation in underneath. Enjoy!

Translation: Review , Test experience FIT OCEAN Magic Glide 10’8

“A must for anyone who wants to have long-term fun with his SUP.”

price (4/5)

handling (5/5)

stability (5/5)

equipment (5/5)

Fit Ocean Magic Glide – Our all-round favorite

The Magic Glide from Fit Ocean is our favorite under all Allround SUP boards. This board is a top performer of versatility and thanks to its shape very stable. The glide excels with its outstanding properties and the particularly good material quality. We say: Quick access to Sthe sport and enjoy the freedom on the water!

Key facts at a glance

  • Very good design
  • Ingenious handling characteristics
  • very good quality
  • Versatile application
  • Good and comprehensive accessories
  • A 100% purchase recommendation

Our rating

The Fit Ocean Magic Glide is one of the best SUPs for beginners. Thanks to the width of 81cm, the board is particularly tipping stable, which means that even newcomers have a safe standing. In addition, the Magic Glide is very stiff and resilient.

People up to 90kg keep dry feet. For those who are looking for a SUP with more power, Fit Ocean Cruise could be the right alternative.

The interior design and the quality of the board are top. The internal drop-stitch construction gives the board its high stiffness. The deck consists of a 2 ply PVC layer and the sides even of 3 ply PVC. Accordingly, scratches are not a problem for the Magic Glide.

The tread of the SUP covers almost the entire upper side and has been realized with a soft EVA coating. A safe stand is thus guaranteed. A bungee net is attached to the front board area. Fit Ocean has dispensed with metal rings and instead used flexible belt loops.

In the rear of the board, the air valve is inflated and a D-ring for fixing the leash. The supplied double-stroke pump makes the inflation of the particularly easy. Air is blown in both upward and downward movements. Accordingly, you only need half the time.

The Magic Glide’s fins set off from its competition. As usual the board has three Finns. However, only the middle fin is removable. The two side fins are firmly integrated. This special feature gives Magic Glide better handling and stability.

All in all, the Fit Ocean Magic Glide is a cheap SUP board with high quality. We would recommend it to anyone and wish lots of fun on the water.

 

Training for the Swiss ICE SUP Race and doing a little R&D…

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Ready – start – go!

The Swiss ICE SUP Race is on for April 30, 2017. The race is 16 km and can be paddled solo or in Teams. FIT OCEAN will participate in a team-effort. 2 men (both 6km) + 1 woman (4 km)

At least that is the plan… 

  • Have done 2 training-sessions this far on FIT OCEAN Speedster (12’6 x 29’’x 5’’) and on the FIT OCEAN Ultra (12’6 x 25’’x 5’’) I am managing 8 km/h average over a 3km run.
  • No idea if that is good or bad.
  • It is definitely not getting everything out of the boards as Dani from supsafari.ch can do 10 km/h on the FIT OCEAN ULTRA. ? Why the FIT OCEAN boards are that fast you can read at the bottom of the article.

So I need to crank up the condition/ skills/ mindset. And stop playing with the go-pro, gliding just from the wind…

Training goals:

-Less ‘way’ (zig-zag). Going more in a straight line and stop wasting energy. Here is a link to a thread I found useful

-feathering the blade. Link

-Build up condition. I need to be able to paddle 6km non-stop at a decent speed.

? Why the FIT OCEAN boards are that fast?

The boards are that fast because of the combination shape + design details + construction.

 

We develop shapes in our backyard in Switzerland, here is Marcel testing a sample. We are a bit addicted to ordering samples and drive our factories crazy, but creating 3D shapes on the computer is one thing, but the real input comes from testing.

The design-details (width, thickness, fin, etc.) results also from testing.

One of the main points is that we make the 12’6 length (which is an official race-class) boards not 6’’ (15cm) thick, but we make them 5’’ (12 cm). This has several advantages that contribute to speed: Less weight, more stability (lower center of gravity) and sharper rails (better water release). This thickness is also used on some starboards, red paddles and especially the ULI Race-board (ULI won the Molokai 2 Oahu race). Some think it is a disadvantage from having a thinner board, and that will bend more, but the 20 PSI fused double layer takes care and provides a super stiff boards easy.

Here is a test-report from a happy customer on Amazon (German)

The construction is very stiff because they are made out of fused double layer MIRASOL drop-stich. We call it Premium Double Layer Light (PDLL). This fusion (melting together 2 layers) is much lighter and stronger then gluing the layers. The boards can therefore be pumped up to 20 PSI and are much stiffer.

Here is a link to buy the speedster online in Europe or in Swiss

Time to make time to do more paddling.

History and origin of Stand up Paddle SUP surfing

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Stand up Paddling can be interpreted in many ways as there have been recordings of people stand up on a floating device moving forward with a paddle, dating way back… Let’s check them out chronically

tub History of Stand up Paddle

3000 BC Apparently the Peruvian fisherman paddled on their knee and stood up when they caught a wave (archaeologically evidenced from pottery shards). Board made from reed and were called TUP (pretty close to SUP!)

 egypt History of Stand up Paddle

1275 BC Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter Queen Bithia
The Bible and Midrash assert that she was the foster mother of Moses, having drawn him from the Nile and bestowed upon him his name (Exodus 2:10). Apparently she was standing up so she had a better view to spot the baby prophet and future Savior of the Jews.

hawaii History of Stand up Paddle

400-900 AD Polynesians develop stand-up surfing as a recreational/ cultural practice. Apparently only the king was allowed to ride the expensive long boards (the olo) on which it was possible to stand up! Common Hawaiians rode cheaper shorter boards, described around 1850

bamboo-drifting

500 AD China river drifting. Apperently first time sigthing of a Monk on a reed crossing the river, later on followed by what is now a cultural sport in China single bamboo drifting. 13ft bamboo poles.

arab History of Stand up Paddle

800 AD -1300 AD Hasake. this is a board-boat hybrid of the Stand-up Paddle (SUP) Board family, with alleged Israeli and Arabic roots, possibly dating back to as far as the 8th century A.D. The Hasake was used primarily for fishing. At 10’x42’’x5’’ this thing comes pretty close to a now-a.days SUP

one-leg History of Stand up Paddle

1200 Burma, Inle Lake one-legged paddling fishermen. Stand up on one leg and paddle with your leg around your paddle. A must try for summer 2017?

History of Stand up Paddle afrika

1712 Report from the Gold Coast of West Africa by Frenchman Jean Barbot describing recreational playing in the waves amongst other with boats with paddles.

hawaii2 History of Stand up Paddle
1769 Matavai Bay, Tahiti recreational surf riding described by Joseph Banks (member of James Cook’s first Pacific expedition). Mark Twain writes about recreational surfing in Polynesia in 1860.

venice History of Stand up Paddle

1869 Mark Twain writes about gondolas in venice

surfski History of Stand up Paddle

1912 Australia BREAKTHROUGH – instead of all these open canoes a closed hull is made that doesn’t catch water and to be stand on. It’s called the surfski and is made and first rode in Australia.

duke History of Stand up Paddle

1939 The SURFSKI gets most known after it has been brought to Hawaii where Duke Kahanamoku rides it, as can be seen in the movie Blue horizon. Wearing a leash to his two-bladed paddle, stand up paddling waves. Watch him on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPnM4ymNj3o

jodkv

1945 John Zapozocky picks up Stand Up paddling from the Duke and uses single-bladed paddles. Together with Pops AhChoy they continue paddling in the 50’ 60’ and 70’ties.

1995 Laird Hamilton starts experimenting with long 12’ surfboards to ride with his child together and in small surf. Together with Dave Kalama they start using paddles. A renaissance of the DUKE’s stand up paddling.

blimp History of Stand up Paddle

2001 US brand ULLI uses dropstich-material to create inflatable surfboards. The material was developed by the US Army in cooperation with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to create the the Goodyear Inflatoplane. The US military abandoned the inflatable plane project (nobody wanted to fly an aircraft that could be brought down with a bow and arrow). In 2008 inflatable stand up paddleboards become more and more common.

laird History of Stand up Paddle

2002 Laird Hamilton rides a six-foot south swell at Malibu with an American flag on a specifically designed board and paddle (with US flag) for stand up paddling after experimenting and developing the SUP sport since 1996.

Everything that has happened in what is now known as SUP has happened since that day… If you want to read more, we recommend the book from Ben Marcus (Art of Stand up Paddling).