Training to paddle over a hundred miles has to get intense, and in this video, Morgan shows the various methods of training in use to get her across all of the channels

In this first of the Destination 3 Degrees videos, Morgan visits Joe Bark where construction on her D3 board gets underway…

One of the highlights of my 2009. Darrick Doerner’s SEA (Surfers Environmental Alliance) puts on this incredibly well coordinated event benefiting multiple Autism charities . The scenery is just incredible but more incredible was the chance to send a camera up to Ventura to see the actual results of the the tough work the paddlers did – an event put on by the Best Day Foundation, one of the charities that benefited from the paddle.

Got to spend a couple of late summer/early fall days with none other then, Chuck Patterson. Not only a gifted racer, but one heck of a surfer. It actually supposed to be a tow shoot, but instead we scored some nice, mellow waves along the  Ventura coast and a incredible sunrise paddle at Dana Point. If you ever wondered if Chuck is a nice a guy as they all say he is- I can tell you “yes”. Most defiantly.

We drove from Break to Break looking for a new wave to surf, each one was a bit different and with the swell dropping off, time was a bit critical.

Some of these breaks are a bit famous for being less then friendly to cameras- and at C Street – a place where the parking lot is full, you can see it breaking from the freeway – one guy came up to me and said “great day for shooting” -

“yes” I replied”really nice day”

“Great, be sure to burn it when you are done shooting” he said back with a smile.

Could not believe it – was he under the delusion that no one knew where or how to get to C Street. There were five other photogs on the beach, one with a surfer magazine shirt on.

Chuck and I’s next shoot was his idea. Meet at dawn and shoot at the Dana Point harbor. Dana Point is a solid hour away from me. So I woke up at four, showered and headed to Dana Point to meet Chuck. He was right. Another dry, Santa Ana morning, the sun peeking over the mountains and we scored some of the most amazing sunrise footage I have ever shot.

The struggle on the shooting part was the voice in my head saying “don’t screw this up” and the large amounts of coffee in me struggling to keep the camera still for each pass Chuck did. The air was about 45 degrees outside and Chuck was cruising around in trunks and a rash guard.

These two shoots were really powerful to me. Here is this icon in the stand up paddle world, and in both shoots we capture something really simple. Just Chuck paddling and surfing with the sun creating the most amazing lighting ever. Nothing was really planned, all of it unfolded in the moment. In all honesty, we hoped on both shoots for big surf to really capture Chuck just charging it – and in both instances the big waves never really showed. But what did show up were really beautiful, simple moments. People make a big deal about how fit and powerful Chuck is, and let me tell you – he is. But in this session video, we capture a whole other side of Chuck that comes out in the simple act of him paddling across the glassy surface of Dana Point Harbor creating a solo wake. It is smooth, graceful, and powerful all at the same time. Anyways, I cannot wait to get this video out on the site. I think you all are going to really dig it (especially as storms move into So Cal and we all honker down for winter).

In watching back the video I am reminded of how emotional that whole day was. It was really moving. I realized, I guess the potential of paddling events to be fundraisers for great causes. plus, I had never seen New York in that manner and it was awe inspiring.

The people of SEA are just amazing and everyone was so appreciative of our presence. The cool part is that even if there were no cameras or coverage, they would be doing it anyways. The people who paddled believed in what they were doing.

The final video is encoding right now. Look for it in the next day or so to be on line.

I know what you are thinking, they are going to sell me a bunch of stuff. No so, we are not going to tie you to your data. With our utility – Survey Gizmo, we have set up ways to not match you with your data. We just need the data. Not that we do not care about you, but I just want to assure you that we are not out to sell your data to anyone. We just need to present an honest profile of the stand up community to our broadcast partners and other media outlets. To thank you, we are giving away Stand Up Project memberships for completed surveys. For 5 minutes of your time; you get a year’s worth of access to our content. Not a bad deal!

TAKE THE SURVEY
Happy new years everyone, and thanks for making the Stand Up Project a success.

If there is one thing that our sport can do it is bring people together. At the first battle of the paddle, I interviewed Mickey Munoz who said “it is like a tribe, a brotherhood. Like when we first started surfing”. And I can tell you, that for me this is so true. Prior to my niece passing, I did a shoot with Chuck Patterson. It was the first time I had met him and we spent two days shooting some central coast surf stuff. A month later sitting in Children’s Hospital Orange County, I got a call from Chuck just sending his condolences. That meant a lot to me. He was not the only one. My phone, email and facebook were blowing up with messages from friends in our community. Nate Burgoyne, Morgan Hoesterey, Eric Akiskalian and others were checking up on me regularly, and I just appreciate the time and ministration of these new friends to me and my family during such an awful time. As a friend once told me, “I am not strong, just well supported”. Thank you stand up paddle friends, for supporting not just me, but my family during that time.

In 2010, there is going to be a lot of activity at Stand Up Project. First thing to come out in about two weeks will be the NY SEA Paddle video. There will be three versions – one for the site, one trailer and a long form for the DVD release in March. Following that – a GORGEOUS session video with Chuck Patterson in Ventura on the last day of summer. It is really an amazing set of footage. Also with Chuck, we took a tour of the Hobie factory – see some works in progress with the Hobie guys. Then by month end, Kainoa McGee + Pipeline – enough said. It is awesome. Kainoa is one of those all around watermen, super nice guy, really amazing story and really an inspiration to me. March will bring us the Molokai Challenge with Morgan, Battle of the Paddle 2009 (over 12 hours of footage to turn into 10 minutes!), plus some new profiles that we are shooting now.

The other thing coming in 2010 (and why the site has been dormant the past 60 days) is The Stand Up Project DVD series. First edition will be out mid January. Soul Surf also just released Jack Gillen’s Wave Chi DVD and we jumped into pre-production on another SUP fitness DVD. Soul Surf has been REALLY busy so being a one man show, I have been slacking up posting new behind the scenes content here.

2010 will also see Soul Surf go on it’s first all out SUP expedition for a documentary shoot. The people and location are in tight secrecy now. But in the coming months, there will be some press about it. It is a historic undertaking and will be seriously epic.

We are ALWAYS looking for people to profile, so if you want to have your “SUP Story” told, drop me a note. chris@soulsurfmedia.com.

Thanks for your support this year and I look forward to a happy and productive 2010

Chris Aguilar
Executive producer, The Stand Up Project

Everpaddle’s Kevin Seid’s SUP STORY is about community, fitness, fun and ..dentistry? An amazing individual and someone that I was so, so, so honored to spend the day with. It was a rainy north shore day followed by an amazing show of rainbows during an early evening paddle.
Check out his company at http://www.everpaddle.com

SUP STORIES: Kevin Seid – Offical Stand Up Project Trailer from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.