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Hurley aquires Hobie apparel license

4. May 2011

“Hobie by Hurley” starts a new chapter in the iconic brand’s storied legacy

COSTA MESA, CA. — May 3, 2011 — Two of the most innovative names in surfing ­ — Hobie and Hurley ­ — announced today that they are joining forces on a new line of men’s apparel. The partnership and resulting product will help support the near 60-year-old brand’s unequaled assortment of ocean-based sporting equipment.
 
“Since my dad shaped his first balsa surfboard in 1950,” says Jeff Alter, son of industry pioneer Hobie Alter, “we’ve been all about making fun and functional toys for the water. Hurley shares a similar mindset, and I’m excited to see what we can create together.”
Hurley founder and chairman Bob Hurley agrees. “We’re not typically in the licensing business,” says Hurley, who also began his 30-year career in the shaping bay. “But we’ve always had such an admiration for the Hobie brand. Hobie practically started this industry and shares our vision of making it even more magic in the future. We’re honored just to be associated with him.”

Considering his long list of achievements, Hobie Alter can best be described as surfing’s Thomas Edison. “Perhaps more than anyone else,” wrote surf journalist Drew Kampion, “Hobie Alter has been responsible for the growth and development of surfing.” From the first commercially viable foam surfboards to the Hobie Cat, Alter was there on the ground floor. Combine this legacy with Bob Hurley, one of the most creative and forward-thinking minds of the modern surf age, and there’s no telling what might come out of it.
 
One thing we do know: the focus will be on gear that speaks to the water-sports enthusiast. In short, Hobie by Hurley will be pinnacle product for those who enjoy fun and functional toys in the water.
 
A preview of this collaboration will be available Fall 2011.
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A Wild weekend for Hobie Stand Up Paddle Team

3. May 2011

 With what could be called the big kick off weekend for the stand up paddle race season, the Hobie team found it self on both the left and right coasts. 

On the east coast, Byron Kurt and Colin McPhillips were part of the inaugural Carolina Cup that took place over 2 days in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Colin and Byron kicked off their eastern excursion at Carolina Beach Surf Shop, where they held a pre race surf and race clinic for shop customers. The event itself was fast and furious as many noted elite paddlers came to be a part of the event. Colin finished the grueling “Graveyard Course” in a respectable 6th with Byron finishing close behind in 7th
 
On the west side, the Hobie team once again came out in force to support the Waterman’s Applied Science Paddle for Humanity that took place at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. The Hobie team, for the second year, once again took home the team title led by Hobie SUP ambassador and all around nice guy Mark Carlisle. The racing was fast and furious and saw team rider Jay Wild make his long awaited Southern California racing debut after a long Lake Tahoe winter. Jay led the team with a 1st place finish in the 12’6 division, while Mitch Kahn placed 2nd in a heated 14’ division.
 
To add to Mr Wild’s two day Southern California adventure, Jay participated in the Stand Up Round Up Sunday in San Diego, Jay once again showed what a long winter of training can do by taking the overall Round Up title. This would be the second year that the Hobie paddlers have shown their dominance, with last years victories by Chuck Patterson and Emmy Merril

Jay Wild 1st Place 12'6

12'6 Podium

Mitch Kahn - 2nd Place 14' Overall

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2010 Battle of the Paddle

6. October 2010

It is hard to believe the radical evolution of the Battle of the Paddle. Compared to the inaugural event that occurred only 2 years earlier just a few hundred yards south in an area 1/4 of the size with a 1/4 of the competitors. The 2010 Battle of the Paddle defined the true and heavily discussed evolution of SUP as a legitimate sporting event. The BOP has grown from what it was 2 years ago to an international event that is broadcast internationally via the world wide web, hosts a vendor expo of almost trade show scale, and now consumes an entire state park and its beach front. It has become an official international event  with competitors representing countries from almost every continent.

The Hobie Team Race Pit came alive first thing Saturday morning. Team riders eagerly stacked their boards on the race racks and prepped for what was setting up for two days of true Battle. The beach began to buzz as the first and most prestigious event of the weekend neared, The Elite Race. I am not sure what kind of rain forest juju occurs before the BOP, but almost like clock work the typical Doheny flat conditions transform with consistent sets sweeping across the course. The start is nothing lass than chaos with more than 150 paddlers jockeying for premier position. The Hobie Elite paddlers showed their depth placing 4 in the top 20,  Colin McPhillips  11th, Jay Wild 16th, Byron Kurt 17th, Chuck Patterson 18th, and 16 year old Emmy Merrill securing a top 10 finish among the women.

The afternoon's event de jour, the open race, probably saw the biggest competitive single stand up racing field ever, with 313 paddlers tackling the 5 lap box course. Hobie paddlers did extremely well with, many placing within  the top 3 in their respective age groups.

Day two started off a quite a bit more reserved than the first day as paddlers carefully worked out the aches, pains and kinks from the day before. The 10 mile distance race saw many of the same SUP Elite work horses return, this time some had opted for longer unlimited or 14' boards and others kept the 12'6 grind alive. Hobie's Chuck Patterson posted the best team finish of the day placing 3rd overall behind Danny Ching and Rob Rojas. Byron Kurt (1st 12'6 40-49), Colin  MCPhillips (3rd 14' 30-39), Rob Pelke (3rd 14' 40-49), Jay Wild (2nd 12'6 30-39)  and Mitch Kahn (1st 14' 50-59) all finished top 3 in their respective age groups.

The Grand Finale of the BOP, The Team Relay, is an event that Team Hobie has been very successful in the past with it's paddling depth. From the start, Team Hobie (Colin McPhillips,Chuck Patterson, Emmy Merrill, and Byron Kurt) jumped out to a commanding lead and looked as though it may of been enough to hold off Team SUP Co. Byron Kurt hit the final lap with about 10 yards on Sup Co's Jaime Mitchell, but unfortunately was unable to maintain the lead as Jaime was fortunate enough to catch the 1st wave on an outside set. Sup Co 1st, Team Hobie 2nd in one of the best fought SUP Relays.

It is hard to fathom the next evolution of the BOP, what is next is purely up to the organizers and the SUP community supporting it, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the next BOP include prime time TV coverage, who knows???    

Team Hobie Race Pit 

Elite Race Start 

Open Race Start 

Team Relay - Colin McPhillips, Chuck Patterson

 

Team Hobie - 2nd Place Team Relay (Emmy Merrill, Colin McPhillips, Chuck Patterson, Byron Kurt )

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2010 Hennessey's International Paddle Board and SUP Championship

29. September 2010

The Hennessey's International Paddle Board and SUP Championship. the final and biggest stop of the 2010 Hennessey's Race Series, came to San Diego, California September 25th. One of the longest running and prestigious paddle events, the International Championships brought paddlers from all over the world to the scenic Catamaran Hotel on Mission Bay. The event featured a 3 mile fun race and a 6 or 9 mile pro race that pitted the world's elite paddlers against each other.

After a pretty questionable Summer, the sun was out and the wind was not making the course nice and hot and the racing just as hot. As tame as the courses appeared on the map, mostly inside the bay,looks were deceiving.  With not a lot of help from mother nature, it came down to paddler vs paddler in most cases with everyone pulling all of their tactical tricks out of the bag.

As as race series sponsor,  Team Hobie showed up with guns blazing. The trio of Byron Kurt, Colin McPhillips, and Chuck Patterson swept the 12'6 stock division and Mitch Kahn and Rob Pelkey took 2nd and 3rd in the 14' division behind 1st place finisher Jaime Mitchell. In all, Hobie paddlers secured an incredible 5 top 3 finishes out of a possible 9 age/board divisions.

 

Chuck Patterson - 3rd Place 12'6

 

Colin McPhillips, Byron Kurt, Chuck Patterson - Top 3 12'6 HIPC finishers

 

Mitch Kahn - 2nd Place 14'

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Team Hobie goes Coast to Coast

22. September 2010

Hobie's Elite athletes were on the move during the middle of September, with the Round the Rock Stand Up Paddle Race in Seattle Washington and the Yolo Seaside Celebration in Seaside, Florida.

The Round the Rock race was first out of the gates with team rider Chuck Patterson making the northwest journey to compete in the 13 mile course that circumnavigated the scenic Mercer Island, loacted on Seattle's Lake Washington. Before the racing began, local paddlers were treated to a 100% Chuck race clinic to get them in the mode and hopefully some new paddling pointers. Race day fetched a 160 paddler field and less than favorable SUP racing conditions with a 20 knot headwind and choppy conditions. Chuck confidently won the 14' division on his custom 14' Elite Race displaying his trademark ability to grind it out in any condition

Round the Rock / Rob Casey



The next stop on the transcontinental tour was the beautiful gulf coast town of Seaside, Florida fort the 2nd annual YOLO Board Seaside Celebration. A pretty remarkable shift from Washington, the competitors were welcomed to warm and flat conditions. Once again competitors were treated to one of Chuck's popular pre race paddle clinics. 

The event included both a seven mile Elite Race with over $5,000 of prize money and a three mile recreation race. The 123 paddler field, including many of the Elite paddlers that competed in Washington the weekend before,  hit the hot flat conditions with only one thing to do but grind it out. At the finish line,  Chuck once again showed why he is one of SUP's premier athletes winning the 14' class on a production 14' Elite Race model. Unlike Washington, Chuck wasn't alone in Florida joined by Byron Kurt who raced the 12'6 division. Byron completed the Hobie Elite sweep taking 1st place in the heavily contested  12'6 class on his production 12'6 Elite Race. 


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Hobie SUP Team delivers at the 2010 Tahoe Nalu

26. August 2010

The 2010 Hobie SUP Road show came to Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe for the 4th annual Tahoe – Nalu Race last weekend. The event drew competitors and their families from all over the US for two days of SUP racing and fun. The Hobie team came ready to race and offered up some impressive results across two days of intense racing in some of the most challenging conditions. Day one saw Team Hobie show its depth in the Elite race by placing 5 in the top 10 with Chuck Patterson placing 3rd, Byron Kurt 5th, Colin McPhillips 6th, Mitch Kahn, 7th, and Rob Pelkey 8th.

 
Day two’s 10 mile distance race proved to be as much as a challenge as the previous days Elite race with racers having to contend with 5 miles of stiff head winds prior to a much welcomed 5 miles of downwind running into the finish line. Chuck Patterson led the Hobie team overall with a 2nd place unlimited finish. In the much contended 14’ class, Byron Kurt led the team finishing 2nd with Mitch Kahn 3rd, Rob Pelkey 5th and Colin McPhillips 8th. 
 The 3 mile technical buoy race saw Emmy Merrill take the women’s division as well as placing a very respectable 4th place overall.
 
The team relay rounded out the 2 days with Team Hobie really proving its depth.  Colin McPhillips, Mitch Kahn, Emmy Merrill, and Byron Kurt ran a flaw less race finishing over a minute ahead of the 2nd place team.
 

Elite Start

Chuck Patterson - 3rd Place Elite

Colin McPhillips and Mitch Kahn

Emmy Merrill - 1st palce womens 3 mIle Technical Bouy

Hobie Relay Team

Hobie Relay Team- team anchor Byron Kurt bring home the prize

Team Hobie - Mitch Kahn, Emmy Merrill, Byron Kurt, Colin McPhillips

Join Hobie Stand Up Paddleboards on Face Book -

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Emmy Merrill nominated as Orange County Female Surfer of the Year

7. July 2010

Hobie Team rider Emmy Merrill of San Clemente, CA has been nominated as Orange County Female shortboard surfer of the year.

The 3rd annual Orange County Surfer of the Year Awards – presented by the U.S. Open of Surfing - salutes the best of the best. The online poll pits the stars of the “Dream Tour” of the Association of Surfing Professionals against surfers who hope to move up to the World Tour.

Check out Emmy's surfer profile and be sure to give her your vote - Emmy Merrill

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Rojas, Patterson, Baksic, and Ching dominate 2010 Hobie/Hennessey's Waterman's Challenge

9. June 2010

Dana Point California, June 5th 2010 - Doheny State Beach once again paid host to the this years Hobie / Hennessey’s Waterman’s Challenge. This year’s Challenge marked the 5th year of the event, and just like the previous four years, the level of competition was high, and the conditions made for a race that challenged racer’s physical stamina, mental tenacity, and board riding skills.
 
The event format consisted of a 4 mile Fun race, and a 6 – 8 mile Pro course that had some of the best paddlers vying for a piece of the $4000 prize purse. 
 
Conditions were favorable for the course with a moderate south wind, but the small chest to waist high south swell at low tide made for some spectacular finishes. In the end the fastest prevailed
 
 
Rob Rojas - 1st Place Unlimited SUP – 8 Miles
 
Chuck Patterson – 1st Place 14’ SUP – 6 Miles
 
Danny Ching – 1st Place Stock SUP – 6 Miles
Brand Baksic – 1st Place Women’s SUP – 6 Miles
Shane Scoggins – 1st Place Stock Paddleboard – 8 Miles
Adam Buckley – 1st Place Unlimited Paddleboard – 8 Miles
 
 
Keeping true to 15 years of Hennessey’s race style, the racing quickly shifted up the street to Hennessey's Tavern Dana Point where racers were welcomed to a huge outdoor BBQ and a monster raffle with prizes from race sponsors
 
 
Race Information and Results: http://www.hobie.com/race

Join Hobie Stand Up Paddleboards on Face Book -

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Team rider Colin McPhillips runner up at the Stand Up Paddle World Tour in Anglet, France

18. May 2010

Hobie team paddler and 3x longboard world champion Colin McPhillips worked his way through a challenging field of some of the worlds best stand up paddle surfers to finish second behind France's Antoine Delpero at the second stop of the Stand Up Paddle World Tour in Anglet, France.

Check out the video highlight of the final heat

Join Hobie Stand Up Paddleboards on Face Book -

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Team Hobie top Paddle for Humanity fundraising team

10. May 2010

7 May, 2010 : - - Orange County, California -- A week has passed, the dust has settled, and the totals are in. Team Hobie is the clear team fundraising winner bringing in just under $5000USD; team member Mark Carlisle is the top individual fundraiser with $2450USD.

That wasn’t enough for Carlisle who actioned off his prize, a one week Indonesian surf trip, in an act of pure selflessness to raise an additional $1850USD. A total of $28,556USD was raised in support of SurfAid International.

"Team Hobie was stoked to have been a part of Paddle for Humanity and even more stoked to take home the team title." Said Hobie’s Sean Douglas. "We approached this with the outlook that if you believe in the cause and paddle a Hobie you were part of our team, Elite racer or not, you were simply a welcome part of our team and the rest is history"

For a humble Mark Carlisle it was all about the people involved, "Everyone I talked to was thrilled with the event. Hats off to the volunteers, for without them the Paddle For Humanity would not be possible." SurfAid’s Javier Guerrero had this to say, " (Carlisle’s) donation of the trip auctioned is hard to express in words - a truly amazing act of generosity." The top fundraising prize was made possible through a generous donation by World Safaris and Rapture Surf Camps.

www.watermansappliedscience.com
www.surfaidinternational.org/paddle2010

 

Join Hobie Stand Up Paddleboards on Face Book - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Hobie-Stand-Up-Paddleboards/44977062854?ref=nf

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