Kaenon Polarized

We just caught wind of these ridiculous images of our friend Jared Lane from Fast Lane Sailing Center down in San Diego. Wearing Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses style, Burny Black G12, Jared caught a 100 lb thresher shark from a stand up paddleboard, actually pulling the shark up in his lap. Yep, you read that right.

Just another day in sunny Southern California…?

“There was some talk about fishing on a stand up paddle board going around our shop, and the idea to tow surf behind a shark came up. Is it possible? I thought it would be more than possible and was so confident I set the whole attack mission up. I had the whole thing planned out except for one minor detail… What do I do when it’s right beneath my feet?” – Jared Lane

Read the full story and see more pics and video on the Fast Lane blog.

SUP – MAUI, HI

Kaenon Polarized proudly participated in the STAND UP for Women’s Health & Fitness held at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, January 9, 2010. This was an incredible event put on by Suzie Cooney & Tommy Callan on the spectacular island of Maui. The goal of this FREE event was to raise awareness for concerns covering womens health and the need to continually be vigilant with breast cancer. Please visit www.standuppaddlingfitness.com if you would like to donate money to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

STAND UP PADDLE

Shakira Westdorp wearing Jetty Black, G12 lens on the water and Calais Tortoise, C12 lens on land and her team partner Mick DiBetta Hard Kore and Lewi, finished 2nd in the long course relay at the Australian SUP Championships in Coffs Harbour, Australia.  The long course was a 25km paddle from Woolgoolga to Coffs with a change over boat halfway.

Shakira also finished 1st in the women’s short course solo 12km and 2nd in the men’s 12′6 division 12km. Way to go Shakira!

EVENTS

Just days before the 2009 Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle, Kaenon Polarized teamed up with the Patagonia store in Cardiff, California to host legendary waterman and Kaenon athlete, Jamie Mitchell. As the sun set upon the Pacific Ocean gracing the store with rays of yellow, pink and orange, attendees began to filter though and settle in for an up close and personal experience with none other than Jamie Mitchell.

Jamie Mitchell Interview
Interview by Emily of West Coast Divas of Jamie Mitchell during the Jamie Mitchell Experience.
Humbly retelling his memories, as the audience listened in amazement as the vast diversity of Jamie’s adventures and athletic skills unfolded, slide by slide. Guests were privileged to see video clips of this ultimate waterman plunge down 40+ foot waves across the world from his secret spot in Australia to legendary breaks like Mavericks, Todos Santos, Waimea and other more pristine locations such as Alaska and Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Sharing his memories, (the good, the bad and the ugly), Jamie and guests shared laughs and winced in unison while watching footage of some epic wipe outs and impressive footage of super clean sessions.


And while Jamie can certainly handle his own in the world of big wave surfing, his forte and passion lies within the world of paddleboarding. Coming off his incredible eighth consecutive win in the most prestigious paddleboarding race in the world, Jamie discussed his training regimen as well as the physical and mental strength that is needed to endure and dominate in a race of this magnitude.


When Jamie is not traveling the world in search of big waves or crossing miles of giant seas with nothing more than the tools of the trade, strength and his own endurance, he embraces the ocean and its inhabitants in all forms. From free diving with sting rays to paddleboarding with humpback whales, The Jamie Mitchell Experience goes well beyond one evening of storytelling, it is one of a true waterman to the core.

VIDEO: JAMIE MITCHELL EXPERIENCE

VIDEO: JAMIE MITCHELL INTERVIEW by West Coast Divas

SUP
Discover the islands of the South Pacific with Moehau Goold and Uranui while they SUP the beautiful lagoon of Bora Bora. Moehau wears Gauge G12

WATER
Kaenon Polarized Waterman Jamie Mitchell – takes on and conquers Mavericks, Todos, The Battle of the Paddle among many other big waves and big races this year. Nice work Jamie.

STAND UP PADDLE

The Kaenon team was out in full force at The Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez’s Battle of the Paddle. Jamie Mitchell won the Men’s SUP Elite race with a final time of 01:07:45. Shakira Westdorp took first in the Women’s SUP Elite race with a final time of 01:16:00, a total of 4 minutes ahead of her next closest competitor. In the video above, you’ll even notice Shakira passing up many of the men who had a two minute lead ahead of the women. In addition, Team La Hui Kai which consisted of Jamie Mitchell, Shakira Westdorp, Danny Sheard and Billy took first place in the SUP Relay.

Thousands came out to participate and spectate at one of the greatest events in SUP.

Other Kaenon athletes at the event included Jenny Kalmbach who won last years Elite Women’s event, Mick Di Betta,
Thibert Lussiaa one of Kaenon’s top Paddlers from Hawaii, was taken out at the start and blew out his knee. Eric Abbott, and Talia Gangini competed and representing in style.

This video recap by Surf Soul Media beautifully captures the event, the culture and the sport of stand up paddle.

VIDEO INVITE

PADDLE
Jamie Mitchell and fellow Aussies, Shakira Westdorp, Mick Di Betta, Danny Sheard, Sue Sheard, Joss Kempe and Billy Watson all competed in the Hennessy’s Paddleboard Race in San Francisco September 26th. Jamie Mitchell took first in the Unlimited Paddleboard 30 – 39 division with a time of 1:31:52.

In his words, Jamie shares highlights from the race…“The race started at 8:30am and we all started in waves. Sort of like a Triathlon. The Stock boards went 1st then us Unlimited paddleboards,then the Unlimited SUP and finally the SUP Stock which raced a shorted course. We all started 2 min apart. After nearly missing the start, Mick, Sean and I headed off for the 10 mile paddle(16km) and Joss, Shaq and Billy were close behind in the Stock SUP race. Danny and Sue Sheard from The Sunshine Coast, Australia also raced in the Stock SUP. The race was awesome and beautiful with a scenic paddle around Angel Island and then back around Alcatraz, back to Fisherman’s Wharf. Pretty cool to be paddling around these famous landmarks (not to mention the Golden Gate Bridge that we could see the whole time). As always us Aussies put in a 100% and all did very well. I was lucky to come away with a win and Sean finished 3rd and Mick 4th. Shakira and Joss finished 2nd and 6th and Billy Finished 3rd. Everyone pretty happy with how we went and how good the weather was. After the race it was pretty interesting to see all the different SUP Boards and different designs. I think we are just at the beginning of what we can and will be paddling in the future. I think there is a long way to go when it comes to design.”

PADDLE
Jamie Mitchell has the world buzzing again, but this time it’s due to his amazing run in with a pod of humpback whales. Eight time world paddleboarding champion Jamie Mitchell told news.com.au he was out filming a pilot for his coming documentary, Living in Liquid, when a pod of up to five humpbacks surfaced, and started following him off Tweed Heads at about 7.30am (AEST).

Get the story straight from Jamie….”How do I start… Well I pretty much had one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in the ocean yesterday… I was out doing some filming off the Gold Coast/Tweed Border paddling on my Stand Up when a pod of whales decided to come play with me… I won’t say too much but lets just say it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’ll remember it till the day I die.”

“We were just out on the water paddling around and all of a sudden, boom, a whale breached about 100m away from me,” Mitchell said. “I thought that was pretty cool and then all of a sudden another whale came up right in front of me. “At the start it was sort of scary, I got goosebumps and the adrenalin started flowing.

“But then I realized that they were just playing. They swam right underneath my board and I thought I’d be in strife if they came up but they had a good sense of where I was.” Read the full story and see more pictures here.

Check out this interview on ABC news, where Jamie retells the experience.

PADDLING / OUTRIGGER – Dana Point, CA

The paddling Club, Team IMUA won the 9 man outrigger race in Dana Point, California and finished 7th out of 45 teams the following weekend on Oahu for the 2009 Hawaii Paddleboard Championships aka Duke’s Race where none of the Hawaiian teams expected them to be anywhere near the top 10. The team paddles in an assortment of Hard Kore and Kore with G12 and some C12 lenses.

“We battled hard with the local teams, at times within the top 5 spots. Local knowledge on the Makapu’u Point and through Hawaii Kai, allowed the local teams to out surf us in the swells. We pulled in more teams going into Waikiki finishing 7th overall.” – Ruben Ruiz

In outrigger canoe racing there are three seasons; first the IRONMAN season, long distance race of about 12 miles. The IRONMAN races have the same six paddlers for the duration of the race. The sprint season where teams race less than 2-miles or about 2000 meters. This race is the first race of the 9MAN races. Where at all times there will be six paddlers in the racing canoe, and three paddlers on a fallowing power boat. Racers will change in and out of the canoe from the water while the canoe is moving. Fresh paddlers will do a pull-up, from the water into the racing canoe while at the same time, the paddlers preparing to rest will jump out of the canoe. Changes take place on intervals of no less than 5 min and no more than 30. Racing canoes will lose valuable time making frequent changes, but could stand the risk of running tired in a race that is 2-6 hrs long.

In this race Team IMUA, the winner battled with team California for more than half the race before opening to a lead of three minutes. Lanakila, Dana Point, and Hui Waa battled for third place for three fourths of the course. This was the first time IMUA has won a nine man race in 20 years! The team from Hui waa traveled 500 miles to compete with So Cal’s finest and came in Third overall second in their division! Check out this video to get a glimpse of this amazing experience of endurance.

WATER – Maui, Hawaii

Whether it is surfing, Stand up Paddling, Outrigger Canoe, or Paddle Boarding, Talia Gangini has it covered. At only the age of 16, Talia completely charges in every aspect including competing in the Molokai Chanel Crossing (32 miles) and finishing 1st in the women’s team division with the original Kaenon water woman Lauren Bartlett in 2008. Talia wears Leila Black G12, Zaza Tortoise C12 and Georgia – on and off the water.

VIDEO REVIEW

Outside’s Justin Nyberg reviews the Kaenon Hard Kore Polarized Sunglasses, best for sailors and paddlers.

Here is a great 5:30 minute video that shows the treacherous Molokai channel crossing of last week when fellow Aussie, Jamie Mitchell won the 32 mile padddleboarding race. Mick wears Gauge Black G12.

PADDLEBOARD
Rainbow Sandals Moloka’i to O’ahu Presented by Honolua Surf Co – July 26, 2009 – Jamie Mitchell and Kaenon Polarized Team Dominate!

Hard Kore Domination – There’s no other way to state it. Kaenon waterman, Jamie Mitchell wearing Hard Kore G12 during the race, paddled his way to win his 8th consecutive title of the world paddleboarding championships. Where competitors in this most grueling of events – cross the famed Kaiwi Channel on paddleboards in giant seas and trade winds, Jamie Mitchell set the pace, finishing more than 20 minutes and the distance of a mile and half ahead of the next runner up. The Moloka’i Crossing is one of the most prestigious paddling events, running from the Hawaiian Island of Moloka’i to O’ahu. Jamie’s time this year was 4 hours 58 minutes to cross the 32 mile channel. This kind of consistent domination from Jamie puts him in the class of Kelly Slater, Lance Armstrong and Michael Jordan – where they dominated for years – winning consecutive titles. In addition to dominating paddleboarding and stand up paddling, Jamie Mitchell is known for surfing big waves all over the world, demonstrating the diversity of his athletic abilities.

“I definitely like to get a lead and see if the guys want to come with me,” said Mitchell, 32. “After a while, you sort of just forget about everyone and it’s sort of survival on your own.”
Read the full story in the Honolulu Advertiser online.

This year’s race conditions were great for the first 2 hours of the event, where it looked possible that records may be broken, but soon after the conditions got rough with waves building up from every direction. Kai Bartlett and his partner did the team challenge in the Stand Up Paddle division and won. In the Stand Up Paddle solo division, Guy Pere finished 2nd. Jamie wears Gauge Abalone G12 and Hard Kore Tobacco G12, Kai wears Lewi Black G12 and Guy wears Jetty Black G12. In catching up with Jamie after the event, he said “there were a lot of blood shot red eyes at the end of the event, but my eyes are fine and feel great.” Jamie wears Hard Kore Tobacco G12 on the water while racing.

INSHORE FISHING – SAN DIEGO, CA
Michelle Woo Bowman, wife of Conway Bowman, has been putting her time in fly fishing and conventional fishing off of her Stand Up Paddle (SUP) board, in the kelp beds off La Jolla, California. Also known as SUP Fishing, the art of blending surf and fishing is catching the attention of fishing and water enthusiasts alike. While the fish have been getting bigger and bigger, nothing she’s caught before compares to the prize white seabass Michelle hooked up late June during an early morning session.

Michelle with the big one- wearing Hard Kore Tobacco Y35 and Kaenon hat

To see how SUP Fishing goes down, check out Michelle in action.

WATER – by Wyms

Few of us have the privilege to lay eyes upon uncharted waters that boast thick, heavy water. Jamie Mitchell who wears Kaenon’s Gauge Abalone G12 and a few Aussie Slab Hunters leveraged a recent storm that battered Australia’s Eastern Coast and set out in search for something new, something challenging and something exciting. Tackling these slabs and beastly waves, one could say, mission accomplished. Read the full article on Surfline and get a glimpse of the insane slabs of Oz.


Meanwhile, while most people accomplish a decent amount in a 10 day span of time, Jamie Mitchell is definitely not most of us. Coming off his slab hunting adventures, the Australian paddling star stormed to victory in the Honolua Ocean Paddle Race on the Gold Coast of Australia. Below, Jamie at the start paddling away from the field in Hard Kore Black G12.

31-year-old Mitchell, a key face of the Kaenon Polarized brand and the 8x-running Paddleboard World Champion, wiped out of last year’s event after the rudder on his paddleboard snapped just as he made his way out to the offshore start line. This year Jamie made sure history did not repeat and completed the eight kilometer open ocean race from Snapper Rocks to Currumbin unscathed, crossing the line in a in a time of 51 minutes and 48 seconds, causing many to wonder if Jamie is truly the greatest waterman alive. Jamie Mitchell wears Hard Kore Black G12 on the water and Gauge Abalone off.

Is Jamie Mitchell the greatest waterman alive? Tell us what you think!