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A few days of wind and we get excited. Sean, Eva, Pat, Ed and welcome to Mike L. Nice pieces in the ocean, some surf and some flat. 23 km today..all fun.

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Natchex, Mississippi, finish line of the 42.5 miles Phatwater kayak challenge. […]

Patrick and DeAnne Hemmens defended the Phatwater race title from last year, but not in record time for 2010. The win was just under 4 hours at 3:54. The river didn’t come out to play as the fast water was hard to find. Also a slight headwind for about 1 [...]

Talked Sean into racing the Phatwater, so today we travel. All the work has been done, so now its time to race. Hope the wind blows the right way.

Don't see this too often. Ken, thanks for sharing.

After much consideration, Ocean Paddlesports has joined Facebook. I guess if you can't beat em, join em. But I am not telling the kids. So if I understand it right, search us and like us...and recommend to your friends. We will post tibets there and important updates too like demo [...]

ok, speed endurance now, no more long slogs..we hammered 8.5 km in the double, we call a Willie lap..best time ever at 37.53. Not the best current either, so stoked with that time..and we are sore from the 5km run yesterday (me with Hayden) and Pat did lifeguard iron man [...]

Check out this race at www.kayakmississippi.com

After a week of grinding hard with some distance and speed endurance..Sean and I played in and out the surf today..warm sunny day, no surf, no swell, but great to be on and in the water.

Training for Phatwater just started, 15km into the head wind and 15 km surfing home. awesome day to paddle. […]

40km is 40km..I guess somehow I tried to think it would end up being 30 km or it would go by fast cause its a lake along a beautiful city, or I am still trying to figure it out. Not sure why we thought it was a great idea to [...]

Dawid pulls in another win on his USA tour with a decisive victory in the 40km marathon along the Chicago shoreline. Conditions couldn't have been more different from the weekend before in San Francisco, but the enthusiastic vibe was the same. Tim and Kristin Flentye did an excellent job of [...]

I want to personally thank everyone who made this mission a success. All of you who know us, know what it takes to get it all together and make it happen at Champs. See photo…and we could not do it without your help. If you are reading this you know [...]

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We are ready, are you? […]

Typical Newport training day […]

Pat drove up to SF this weekend to drop off some skis and then I flew up to race the last summer Wavechaser race. It runs almost the identical race course as the USA Champs next weekend. […]

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Rich Sprout...the youngest here at age 29. Born in George, South Africa and currently resides in Costa Mesa, CA. He is Firefighter for the City of Anaheim and before that was a Newport Beach Lifeguard. Rich has only been paddling for just over 2 years and has risen quickly to a top ski paddler. He is also spending time in K1s with aspirations for the national Kayak team. No doubt he will get there. His interesting fact is not so interesting, but he says he still has his tonsils. I think he is hiding the really good stuff. Sean Lupton-Smith, age 41 Restaurant Owner Sean is the newest to our group, making his way from Atlanta to Malibu and now down here. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa He has been paddling on and off for 20 years, but when we met him, definitely been off for a few. Now the bugger has just completed the Berg River Marathon in Cape Town. March of 2010 he could barely balance a ski..day after day he hammered and now he's fit and fast. He did not give me much as far as interesting stuff to write and I don't know him well enough to guess. Nice to have a new friend. Patrick Hemmens Age 46 Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Glendale. Pat was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and has been paddling for over 30 years. Raised in Fish hoek, SA now resides in Costa Mesa. Pats interesting fact is that he was a Lieutenant in the South African Army and stationed on the border of Angola. Ed Visser Age 56 Physical Trainer Born in Aruba, Dutch Caribbean, now resides in Hollywood. Ed has been paddling a little over 2 years but came from Olympic Style weightlifting and(we will tease him forever for this)...his "Blades of Glory" phase of figure skating. Not sure if there is anything more interesting than that from Ed. Eva Mauck, Age 48 La County Firefighter and Paramedic Eva was born in Sweden and now resides in Newport Beach. She has been paddling skis for about 3 1/2 years but before that spent 8 years with outriggers. I am so glad to have her as a friend and the only other gal around that paddles ski. We can laugh at the things those men do in training. Barry Borm, Age 50 ER Doctor, born in Kansas City, MO Barry has been paddling on and off for 15 years. Inspired by Cliff Meidl to start paddling ski Barry lives near San Diego, works in LA and joins us for sessions before or after work. One interesting story about Barry is a scary paddle he had with Cliff and Patrick when they were paddling in a big, cold downwind and he fell out, losing his ski. That day was one of the windiest we have had here and a quick reminder of how important it is to paddle in groups and with the right equipment. Cliff, Pat, Barry and Noah Cliff Meidl, Age 44 Financial Analyst Born in Hollywood, resides in Hawthorne Cliff has been paddling 25 years and has one of the most amazing stories. When he was young he jackhammered into 30,000 volts of electricity. He suffered 3 cardiac arrest episodes and was basically gone for over 2 minutes before he was revived. He endured over 15 surgical procedures and spent 6 years trying to rehab his body and life. He started paddling as a way of therapy, but excelled and became a 2 time kayak Olympian. He had the honor of being voted by his Olympic Athlete peers as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Games.