I was able to pry this board out of Jeff Warners hands (a friend and Boardworks team rider), at first look you think you are holding a military-grade weapon. Perhaps something a seal team would use. Any seal team SUPers out there?

The board is really light, and at first feeling, really delicate. But its an all-carbon board. So while it might feel light and delicate, it is as durable as its epoxy cousin.

My test was at the Carlsbad Lagoon on a flat, but slightly windy day. No boats on the water. The board was really stable. Not quite as stable as my 14′ Fanatic racer, but it shouldn’t be. My Fanatic has a straight square bottom, it is heavier and wider. The M&M has a slightly bowed middle. But still, for how much the board is meant for speed and racing, it is a lot more stable than I expected.

I took it out for a 2 mile sprint. I was blown away. It had very little nose wake (which can slow you down) and felt like it was gliding above the water. On my Fanatic, my top sustained speed (in still wind and no current) is about 5.8 mph. On this, I hit 5.9 mph which is impressive since the board is smaller. And since I am a bigger rider, I would have thought it would have been considerably slower.

The only issue I had with it is that it did not stay as straight as I would have liked it to. After taking it out a few more times, I was able to adjust to it. If you have an issue with that like I did, you can opt for a thicker race fin and make sure to place it as far back as possible.

Overall Summary – absolutely love this board. I would recommend it for the following people:
1. beginner racers (but with SUP experience) up to 160 pounds
2. intermediate racers up to 210 pounds
3. Advanced racers up to 220 pounds

Description from the manufacturer:

The next generation in SUP race board design. The hull shape is optimized for speed. Featuring a unique bow design that penetrates through waves allowing the board to drive and accelerate without pitching the bow and losing forward energy. The peaked deck design functions to shed water for smooth recovery. The tail is designed to minimize wetted surface area and drag, release water cleanly and to perform well while riding waves. Available in sizes 12’6 and 14’0.

US Made Custom Carbon: 1.5 lb. stringerless EPS core, all carbon laminations. Machine shaped, hand finished.

The nose: The nose is a development based on our work with racing catamarans. We call it a wave-piercing bow. The idea is to cut cleanly through the chop without adding a lot of drag. Essentially less water is pushed around as the bow penetrates through he wave and less of your paddling energy is used to propel the board forward.

Tail: The tail is designed to minimize wetted surface and drag, release water cleanly, and to perform well when riding waves. We went for a wider tail than the zoom model so that the board surfs better and has more dynamic stability for open-ocean and surfing conditions like those encountered at the Battle of the Paddle.

Rocker: The rocker line is a result of integrating the various shape details that make up the three dimensional shape of the board. We start out with certain shape parameters that are defined in order to maximize speed while maintaining the stability that is desired. We don’t start out with a particular rocker line in mind but let it evolve as we optimize the shape. All that said, the rocker line is a fairly smooth organic curve with maximum depth just behind the mid point of the board.

Deck: The forward part of the deck is designed to shed water and is an extension of the wave piercing style nose. The standing area is fairly flat to allow excellent mobility while paddling and surfing waves. The standing area is recessed a bit to lower the paddler’s center of gravity.

Specifications of the board:
Height: 12’6″
Width: 28.75″
Thickness: 5.5″
Fins: Single Box, 9″ Box Fin
Liters: 197
Weight: 14 pounds

You can get more information on the Morrelli & Melvin Carbon Race SUP at LegendsSUP.com

1. I am 6’2″ and weigh about 205 pounds. If you are a lot lighter than me, the board can perform vastly different.
2. This is the Boardworks version of the subvector, which C4 Waterman recently left, so their new design could be different.

The Review:
Let me first start off with what this board is not. It is not something you want as a flat water cruiser. I tested my average speed using my GPS and was in the 3.8-3.9 mph range. Compare that to my 10’6″ C4 cruiser of 4.4 and my 14′ Fanatic at 5.5mph. This board is 100% setup and created to ride surf. The one other use for this board is it could be a good started board for someone under 150lbs.

So when I first used this was at Cardiff reef on a very small, weak day. I was having a little more issue getting into waves than on my 10’6″, but that is to be expected at a full foot shorter. Again, the waves were also very flat.

When I finally popped up on a wave, the board was solid. It was a lot looser than any other SUP I have ridden on waves, seemed to bottom turn well, but to me it is not only just made for surf, but probably best for surf greater than 3′ if it is a flat reef-style wave. (at least for an equally sized rider).

I then took the board immediately to a beach break in Oceanside to feel how it did with the same sized wave with a little juice behind them. This is where I starting to love this board. When the waves were a little more powerful, this thing flew down the line. In some respects, I felt like I was on an oversized fish. Takes a second to get it going, but once you do, it will fly. I was able to get little pops off the tops, and it handled floaters very well.

It also did quite well in paddling out in the lineup and getting over small-barreled white wash, that was a nice plus.

Specs / Details from the manufacturer:

Dimensions: 9’6″ x 28 3/4″ x 3 11/16″
Fins: 2 + 1 or Quad
Description: This finely-tuned stand-up jet-sled is loaded with high-performance features: A progressive Island rocker, crisp edges, concaved deck, recessed foot-wells, and a turbo vee panels, all blended into a balanced plan-shape that fits into tighter places on the wave, yet is still fun and easy to paddle. Available in 9’3″, 9’6″, and 10’0″.

Summary of best use:
1.) 180 – 210lbs surfer – great for 1′ + on a nice sturdy beach break or 3′+ on a flatter reef break.
2.) Great learning board for someone up to 160 pounds.

If you want to see pricing, they might have some in one of these stores:
Legends – C4 Waterman Boards
C4 Waterman (new design probably)

As I mentioned on our Facebook site, I was lucky enough to attend a Performance Paddling clinic lead by Candice Appleby and Anthony Vela. Both elite, champion paddle boarders. Candice has won battle of the paddle 4 times and Anthony has a string of wins under his belt. They are among the best and fastest in the world, and they are now offering an elite paddlers clinic.

Now, a lot of what they do really has to be seen in person, but I will do my best to try and break it down in text. Here is what I took from it. If you can, get to one of their events, you can sign up here: performancepaddling.com

Overall, a proper paddle is broken down into 4 stages (Catch, Power, Exit, Recovery) All of them are equally important to one another. Here is my description on how you do each:

1. Catch – you need to reach as far as you can without having to release fingers from your paddle, and grab as much water in front of you as you can. A proper catch puts the full blade into the water.

2. Power – Once you properly catch the water in the paddle, it is time for the power stroke. Here, you are not pulling the paddle to you. Your arms are to remain stiff. The top arm is doing all of the work and “pushing you down onto your paddle” Your bottom arm is only a guide (this is where I was really messing up!). Basically, you are falling and laying all of your weight onto your paddle. You are not pulling the paddle to you at all.

3. Exit – you should be thinking about your exit when the paddle is at your toes, the paddle should be out of the water by the time it is on the back of your foot. They do a little twist of the paddle (utilizing your top arm of course) so that the blade is parallel with your board.

4. Recovery – recovery from exit to your next “Catch” should be really quick. Most importantly, you should not go way out and around your board. Try to keep it as close to your body as possible.

A couple of other great tips:
1. They don’t use a whole lot of twist. Your body will naturally twist a little bit, but you don’t need to try to twist any more than that.
2. If you see any splash on the catch or exit, you are doing something wrong.
3. Make sure you paddle is straight up and down during your stroke. if it is at an angle in the water, you lose power and you will turn a lot more, which is not good.

I will have more tips from my session coming soon!

There is still time to enter if you want to take the challenge. Here is the link to register:
http://www.hanohano.org/OceanChallenge/Home.html

1. Pushing – Pushing the top of the paddle with your top arm (involves lots of tricep work)
2. Twisting – Twisting your torso during the stoke (lots of core movement)
3. Leaning – leaning forward / Down into the water.

Of course, you need to keep your bottom arm straight. Do not pull, it is the least effective technique and you will tire out way to quickly.

Here is the video, he explains it in-depth and shows you how to do it:

(Robert is sort of an ambassador to the sport of SUP and a Boardworks distributor who lives in Hawaii. Basically, you should listen to his advice!)

So far, the mens US team is looking pretty insane:
Colin McPhillips
Sean Poynter
Danny Ching
Matt Becker
Rob Rojas
Shane Skoggins
Emmy Merrill
Brandi Baksic
Gillian Gibree

For more information on the event, or if you have a great team (and serious chops) you can register here:
http://www.isasurf.org/Events_WSUPPC12.php

http://www.outdoorindustry.org/events.inspirationawards.html

Here is a video of him at the event. Congrats Zane!

I bought the board because I was looking for something faster than my C4 12’6″ switchblade. I read online that this is the fastest board around, I had to give it a shot.

I took it out on Carlsbad Lagoon, figured to go flat water before taking it into the ocean. It was very fast. It shaved about 1 minute off of my best mile that I ever did on the switchblade.

But where it really excelled was in the Ocean. It has the stability you need and speed to get through the chop. The front 12 inches of the nose stays out of the water, it really seems like it is there to spear through chop and waves. I managed to catch a couple of bumps (nothing too major) and this thing just flew down the line with ease.

My overall assessment is that I absolutely loved it. I do think that it is probably overkill if you are going all flat water though. Like I said above, it shaved a minute off of my flat water time, but I am not sure that would hold up over a 4-5 mile pace due to the extra weight this bigger board carries. If you are going to be in the ocean for the most part, I couldn’t think of a better board to own.

Information from the manufacturer:

In the booming SUP racing scene, a 14´0’’ Race board is the ultimate weapon for glory. Fanatic introduced a completely new design in the 14´0’’ Class to achieve that goal. A long stretched outline combined with a new bow design that cuts and recovers with ease through both choppy seas or flat water. A subtle curved scoop rocker line delivers free glide and clean flow, balancing ease of use with top performance in one package. Adapting itself to the conditions, the new 14’0” is made to win! Available in exclusive Carbon Sandwich and Wood Sandwich technology.

Features:

• Stretched Outline with stabilizing square tail
• Long waterline
• Smooth overall rocker for clean water release in paddle motion and allowing for some
• Domed nose with slight reverse bow, for quick nose recovery and water dispersal
• Flat angled deck shape for secured stance and water release
• Sharp water-cutting Bow, transforming into a slight rounded V towards the tail.
• CAD analyzed surfaces and curve flow.

Measurements:

• Volume: 320l
• Width: 28” / 71,1cm
• Length: 14´0”/426,7cm

It was a 1/3 mile test, flat water, half the way was downwind half the way was up wind. They used 6 riders of equal weight and experience.

They Used 6 Boards for the test (All stock models):
Fanatic Fly Race Carbon 27” – 12kg
Fanatic Fly Race Carbon 30” – 13kg
Naish Glide Carbon 30” – 14kg
Naish Javelin Carbon 28” – 13kg
Coreban Alpha Race Carbon 29” – 10kg
Starboard Race Carbon 27.5” – 12kg
Starboard Race AST 31.5” – 17kg
Starboard New/Ace AST 25.5” – 16kg

Here is the results (in order of fastest)
Fanatic 27
Naish Javelin 28
SB/Race 27
Fanatic 30
Naish 30
Starboard 25 (AST)
Starboard Race 31 (AST)
Coreban 29

What I thought was really interesting is that in many cases, there was a 20 second difference in boards for a rider. That would shave off a full minute per mile, on a 4+ mile race, that is a world of difference.

I have heard an awful lot that “Its the rider not the board” and while peak physical performance is key, a quicker board is what could make the difference.