The Imagine Rapid Fire in Veracruz Mexico

This past month we decided to hit the 3rd annual Alseseca Race in Veracruz (www.alseseca.com) and then grab our knee pads and do some SUP first descents. Our board of choice right now is the Rapid Fire by Imagine Eco. It's a roto molded, tough as nails, extremely stable Stand Up Paddle Board. Veracruz has hundreds of rivers everything from steep basalt waterfalls to sandy bottom rivers that end in the ocean. We chose the class 3+ Rio Filo Bobos, class 3 Rio Actopan and the class 3-4 Rio Pescados. Over 100 rapids in all three rivers combined, we only portaged 2 rapids total! The Rapid Fire is a board that LOVES whitewater. There are some big differences between this board and inflatables. You don't have to kneel down as much on the Rapidfire. When punching holes you simply let the Rapidfire hit the hole and then you reach your paddle over the foam pile, hold on and let the board do the work. The removable skeg was a huge benefit on the shallow rock bottom rivers we were running. The Rapid Fire will put the brakes on when hitting rocks, but not nearly as much as a 4 inch skeg would. The board weighs a bit more that a big creek boat so carrying it can be hard. We have been working on a shoulder harness that makes it a lot more manageable. I have found that dragging the board short distances has not damaged the plastic, a bonus is the T-grip of the Werner Advantage fits under the stern grab handle making the board easy to pull with your paddle. The Rapidfires even got to taste some salt water on this trip. The knee high waves of the Emerald Coast were perfect for this SUP. If you're looking into the sport of whitewater SUP I can't think of a better board to get you out on the river. If you want to get away from the cold and try some warm whitewater contact me at. aaron@kayakhuasteca.com for reservations and trip schedules. Aaron's site is also worth checking out:http://www.kayakhuasteca.com/