Premiere Standup Paddler Terri Plunkett makes The Orange County Register for her incredible 87 mile paddle in the desert. She recently paddled from Davis Dam to Parker Dam in 108 degree weather often times alone with just an ipod and a hydration pack. Being in the support boat we would let her go ahead of us for a while not realizing she’s as fast as she is it often took a while to find her. She is a very inspirational person and paddler and we are stoked she is a Premiere Paddler. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/river-310970-paddle-people.html?pic=1

We are truly stoked to have Terri as a Premiere Paddler. We had an incredible few days with 108 degree temperatures. Terri has “true heart” to endure the elements that she did. Duct tape covered hands and fingers keeping the blisters at bay she paddled stroke after stroke with out a single complaint. There were some gnarly headwinds at times pushing her around but she kept paddling. In watching Terri over the few days I noticed that she never complained, she never got discouraged she just kept paddling through the physical and emotional pain of losing her sister. Despite some of the issues that came up like shallow areas where the boat couldn’t go leaving her for 3 hours at a time to malfunctioning iPods and often times negative currents she kept paddling with a smile.

The only time I saw Terri discouraged was on the 2nd day when I had to pull her out of the water at 830pm. She wanted to hit the dam on the 2nd night but we ran out of daylight. We were about 6 miles out and 17 miles from base camp and the boat was running low on gas, it was dark and we didn’t know how to get to the dam without a visual. We needed another hour of light and she would have made it. The next morning Terri started up and completed the last 6 miles in 90 minutes.

It was a very surreal moment watching her reach Parker Dam. I was in the boat about 200 yards away and could see the emotion come-over her. I wanted to approach her but after following her in the boat for 75+ miles I grew to understand that she enjoyed and needed her space. She often sent me on my way up river so she could catch up an hour or two later sometimes paddling right by me in the boat. There were times were she was definitely in a zone.
An amazing accomplishment by an amazing athlete!

Great Paddling Terri!

Click her to donate to the Children’s Heart Foundation.

Today Terri set paddle on her 75 mile voyage from Davis dam in Laughlin Nevada to Parker Dam at the south end of Lake Havasu. It started as a beautiful desert morning around 88 degrees and quickly turned into a 109 degree day. We ended at Pirate Cove in Topock with a nice dinner at the restaurant. Tomorrow Terri will jump on board at Topock and finish the day at the London Bridge in Havasu. It promises to be another warm day tomorrow with a temp of 110. Terri will probably put away another few gallons of water tomorrow as she did today.

Its been fun to watch boats go by waving to her while wakeboarding and waterskiing. Some people in the restaurant at dinner even stopped and asked if she was the one they saw paddling all day.

She is an incredible athlete and this paddle she is doing is purely “Heart Driven”. Great job today T! We look forward to watching you on your awesome new Kings Stand up Paddle Race Board tomorrow.

We’ll be with you every stroke of the way.

Click her to donate to the Children’s Heart Foundation.

Premiere Paddler Terri Plunkett will be embarking on a 75 mile paddle through the middle of the desert. She will be paddling 75 miles from Davis Dam in Laughlin, NV to Parker Dam which is at the South end of Lake Havasu. The average temperature in the area is 110. Terri will attempt to complete the paddle within 3 days conditions permitting.

Terri decided to do a paddle a few months ago after her 37 year old sister died of heart disease. She will be raising money for the Children’s Heart Foundation. “I am deeply saddened that my sister is no longer here but her legacy lives on through her 11 year old son Jason”. I have been able show Jason the sport of Standup during his loss and he has really taken it on as his own sport”. He’s a great kid and I am very fortunate to be able to surf with him”.

Sean Cook owner of Premiere and I were talking over a lunch at Wahoos one day and he mentioned doing something crazy in SUP. We went over many different ideas and came up with the River. I have always enjoyed a great adventure and this is just my style. Thanks Premiere for the support boat and the team to be there with me every stroke of the way!

I appreciate everyone’s support and hope that I can make a difference in The Childrens Heart Foundation and the Sport of SUP. I look forward to the challenge.

Click here to make a donation.

PPS is happy to have Terri Plunkett as our latest and greatest. Terri is an all star paddler with top finishes and most importantly an awesome person. Stoked to have Terri on board!

Check out Taylor Standup Paddling on the Rogue River. Someone’s gotta SUP those rapids!

Check out Taylors latest video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF5gerEh8TI

We welcome Taylor Robertson to Team Premiere.  Taylor ranked 14^th in the World on the US Freestyle Kayak Team and 3rd in the US. He has traveled to over 22 Countries as a sponsored kayaker. In the last few years Taylor has taken to SUP in a big way. He mostly paddles the river rapids in Northern California, but has also competed in several races with some top finishes. If you havent seen his video of him paddling some crazy rapids check it out: http://vimeo.com/7064460. We are stoked to have Taylor “On Board” with us. He brings serious knowledge and expertise to Premiere.

Brian Haag Ripple Effect!

We are stoked to have Jayson “on board” with us. With his youth and strong finishes this summer he’s sure to have a promising future in SUP’ing.