Tumalo Creek Blog

Sunsets over SUPs at Tumalo Creek.

Join us for a mid-day paddle Tuesdays and Wednesdays in September.

We hate to admit it, but the sun is going down earlier these days and instead of paddling in the dark, we decided to move our SUP series to mid-day. There is still huge demand for this great program.

Drop the kids off at school and head over to Tumalo Creek for our SUP Opera series, a two-hour paddle from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning September 6th and running through the month.

The deal is still $20 for a paddle, a board, pfd and light instruction.

Thanks to all who came out for Tumalo Creek’s SUP Race Series last Wednesday. The course is the same set up as the Race for the River in a few weeks, so it is a great opportunity to train for that event. Spread the word to your fellow SUPers. It’s free!

And as always, if you are just getting into the sport, Tumalo Creek offers lessons on Sundays from 9 – 11 a.m. and 3 – 5 p.m.

Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe will host a stand-up paddleboarding race series for six consecutive weeks, every Wednesday evening from 6 – 8 p.m. from July 27 though August 31, 2011. The series is designed to encourage the fun aspect of paddling, while allowing a casual atmosphere to compete. This series begins on the same night that Tumalo Creek hosts the Pickin’ & Paddlin’ Music Series and Demo Days, assuring a great after party for SUP racers.

Tumalo Creek rents boards to all race participants for half-price every Wednesday night – that is $20 for board, paddle and PFD. The race is free.

Please check back at the Tumalo Creek Blog for weekly results: www.tumalocreek.com/blog.

About Paddleboarding in Central Oregon

Kia Loa crew parties with paddles on the back lawn.

Paddleboarding is currently the fastest growing water sport in the US and has gained a steady following in Bend, where the flat sections of the Deschutes offer the perfect spot for an evening workout in the summer months. The sport originated in Hawaii as a way for surfing instructors to manage their classes. Paddleboarding has now become popular world wide, and many athletes are embracing it because of the strong “core” workout that is gained from balancing and using arm strength at the same time.

Tumalo Creek offers instructional SUP classes every Sunday from 9 – 11 a.m. and 3 – 5 p.m. for $45. We also offer Ladies SUP Nights every Monday and Thursday from 6 – 8 p.m. with light instruction and all gear included for $20. Locals/Co-ed Night is every Tuesday, also 6 – 8 p.m. for $20.

Women's Stand Up Paddleboard Night at Tumalo Creek: Every Monday and Thursday this summer

We are the oldest Stand Up Paddleboard store in Central Oregon, which basically means we were invested in the sport way before it exploaded in popularity. By invested, we mean we want to help grow the SUP community and teach people the sport in the fun and safe atmosphere so that they will become lifelong paddlers.

Join us out on the water this summer! We have a full schedule of events every night of the week at Tumalo Creek from our ever popular Women’s SUP Night, to Full Moon Paddles, to an easy-going SUP Race Series. We are your Central Oregon SUP headquarters.

So mark your calendars and check out our events calendar often. New events are always being added and we encourage you to sign up early as our programs are super fun and therefore really popular. Great value, great times. It’s all here at Tumalo Creek.

Monday – Women’s SUP 6 – 8 p.m. $20 now through Aug

Tuesday – Local Co-Ed SUP 6 – 8 p.m. $20 now through Aug

Wednesday – Fun SUP Race series. Six weeks beginning July 27. Boards rented at a discounted rate to competitors.

Thursday – Women’s SUP 6 – 8 p.m. $20 July & Aug

Sunday – SUP Class from 9 – 11 a.m. and 3 – 5 p.m. $45 for two hours of SUP instruction , board, PFD, paddle.

I recently purchased a Naish Mana 10′ soft top from the good folks down at Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe and I couldn’t be happier with the board.

First you’ll notice is the bright yellow color which contrasts sharply against the black foam rubber nose and tail caps and painted waves which run down the sides of the board.  The rails are completely wrapped with a cool looking prismatic skin fabric to prevent your paddle from dinging up the sides of the board, an issue which plagued early soft top designs.  The skin of the board has held up very well so far to all of the abuse I have thrown at the board.  The deck itself is a squishy foam material like a dense yoga mat and is very comfortable to stand and kneel on, even awkward falls onto the board are not painfull.  The bottom of the board is a slick and very durable plastic, a plus to those of us prone to offering up our boards as sacrifice to the volcano goddess Pele from time to time.  I have parked the board on lava rocks several times and there is barely a scratch in the hull material.  Though the bottom skin will dent from sharp pressure, the dents seem to puff back out after the board has been in the sun a while.  Lastly the fins are a super durable somewhat flexible molded urethane with nylon retaining screws which tighten down with either a quarter or the provided multitool from the top through a special puka which goes all the way through the board, a bomber setup.  This brings us to my only real complaint about the fit and finish of the board which is that  the center fin would not tighten down all the way without shortening the front screw.  Because I paddle often in whitewater I wanted to add a grabloop which I made from a short piece of nylon webbing with a hole burned into each end.  Used as a washer, it allowed the retaining screw to tighten up the fin without having to resort to cutting down the screw.

What about performance?  The Mana 10′ is fairly wide at a full 32″ and thick enough to support 200+ pound paddlers.  I find it extremely stable and easy for novices to stand up on thier first time on the water without fear of falling off.  While the board is thick in the center, the rails are definitely designed for the surf as opposed to the chunky rail shapes found on some other soft tops and inflatable boards.  The 10′ Mana glides decently for its length, thought it is certainly not the fastest due to an abundance of tail rocker.  The long progressive tail rocker makes the board turn easily up and down the wave for a board of this width, but also makes the Mana slow in the pocket and not the easiest board to paddle into the waves.  The extra tail rocker really shines in the river where it allows the board to surface predictably when it is swamped with water and allows the rider to trim the board on short steep river waves so that the nose doesn’t get caught under the oncoming rush of current.  For me, the Mana has opened up several river waves which were simply too fast and tricky on other boards.  Paddling downstream, the Mana punches through small hydraulics with ease and rides up and over big waves with confidence, it  catches eddies without getting sucked under on the eddylines and ferries across tricky current with complete predictability.  I guess that a person could always wish for even more volume and width for charging big whitewater, but the Mana is very stable and definitely a higher performance board than some of the big logs on the market.

In short, I find the Naish 10′ Mana to be a great beginners board with high quality materials and bombproof construction.  It is the type of board that anybody can have fun paddling and which will serve you well for years whether you interest is paddling lakes, rivers or smaller surf.  The Mana 10′ doesn’t do any one thing brilliantly, rather it blends all around performance and carefree fun into a good looking design which is one of the most versatile and durable boards available today.