Paddle with Purpose

Wow, so much has happened in the short time since I created this blog! 

On Feb 25, the Bark prone crew came to town for Paddle with Purpose, a 24 mile channel crossing---on prone boards!! This was an incredible challenge for me and I was super nervous leading up to the event until Chris Aguilar, who is an absolute inspiration and a great friend, talked me into tag-teaming it with him, so I could be included despite the fact that I'm not at all an experienced prone paddler.

And I am so happy he did!! It was a challenge for sure, but the conditions were fantastic and I had a great time, making 16 out of the 24 miles and helping on the boat in between. Prone is definitely something I'd like to pursue in the future. Luckily, Joe decided to leave the board I used in the crossing here with me, so I have a beautiful, fast, carbon-fiber Bark to train on!! Even so, with out motivation of Chris, Gemma, Joe, Marc, Morgan, Eric, and the other incredible athletes on the paddle, I never would have made it through. 

Of course there's always another paddling event around the corner, and this past weekend I took my PaddleFit training course from John Denney. It was a great class and I'm always glad to have another certification on my resumee. I met a lot of nice people from all over the US who are spreading paddling in non-ocean areas, which is great for the sport. The overall appeal of standup is huge and in order for the industry to grow, it's important that it remains accessible and fun to everyone while still having the more athletic and extreme sport side with surfing and racing. 

While I was taking the PaddleFit class, my mom was putting on another one of her famous events, this time a swap meet in conjunction with a bake sale for Quickblade's Suzanne Yeo!! I got to stop by at lunchtime to say hi and check out all of the people buying boards and eating cookies :) It looked fantastic and I was so proud of my mom as she pulled off another world-class event using just her wits, drive, and charity to the people around her. 

As always I am so grateful for the support of my friends and sponsors; Bark, Quickblade, Sweet Waterwear, Suncoast Surf Shop, Maui Jim, and Larry Allison Race Fins. But I always say my biggest sponsor is my mom :)

But I definitely have to thank my awesome Coach, Michael Metzger. He has helped me so much from the very beginning, setting me up with great training and essential race advice. I am so excited for this upcoming race season with all of his help!! His enthusiasm and dedication is unmatched. He and his wife Tania always support me and I am so thankful for their time and energy. Couldn't have travelled this far this fast without them!!

Hopefully getting some surf this week and preparing for Mexico!! Stoked!!

Adios!

Bailey :)

Hello 2013!!

My first blog post!!

2013 is well underway and I am so excited for new prospects and experiences! Last year was so awesome. I raced a lot, learned a lot, and had a ton of fun!! Hope this coming year will be just as good if not better, and with so many new races and events I am very optimistic about my new opportunities :)

January Surf Expo and the Orange Bowl were sooo awesome. It was great to spend time with some of my friends from all over the world, hang out at the excellent Maui Jim booth, and even go in the SUP pool! I always meet the coolest people at Expo. At the Surftech party, I even got to talk with real legends like Robert August!!! He is even coming to Suncoast for a special showing of the Endless Summer!!

The next thing up for me is the Paddle with Purpose crossing of Tampa Bay this February. This is a prone event, so I'm not sure if I'm going to be paddling or just taking pictures and helping from the boat, but either way I am so stoked that so many awesome paddlers are coming right to my backyard!! I'll get to hang out with Joe and Jack Bark, Morgan Hoesterey, Allison Riddle, and of course my local buddies like Marc Shen and Eric Shamus. It will be so cool to have the Bark team here, especially after having Jimmy Terrell of Quickblade Paddles just a couple weeks ago, as well as Sean and Judy Sweet of Sweet Waterwear!!

After that, it's off to the Punta Sayulita Classic!! I am incredibly excited about this race and I was STOKED to get my invite last minute :) I'll be able to race and surf, plus I hear that this is one of the funnest events of the year with a ton of the best paddlers in the world. I'm sure it will be one of the highlights of my year. Can't wait!!

As always, balancing paddling with school is tough. But my grades were good this past semester and I was just inducted into the National Junior Honor Society!! Starting to seriously think about colleges, and I hope to be able to go somewhere in SoCal to pursue SUP further. 

I'm also excited about launching my website, www.baileyrosen.com :) I spent a lot of time making it mine and I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

That's all for now!! Looking forward to posting more on my blog as the year progresses, my calender is stacked and I'm loving every minute of it!!

Until next time!!

Bailey xx