The Stand Up Paddle Industry Association Board of Directors has been profoundly aware and deeply saddened by the disappearance and passing of Florida local Andres Pombo while on a downwind training run in Hood River, OR.
Many of the board members had the pleasure and distinct joy of meeting Andres and his warmth and openness have been spoken about constantly both in our team and on the social media feeds of so many paddlers in the community.
Our thoughts, prayers and hopes are with Andres beautiful wife Luz, his family and his friends – we are desperately sorry that this happened.
As an the industry association, we are committed to the safety of the participants and the businesses in this industry. This tragic accident and the memories of the times that we trusted our skills, strengths and experience and didn’t use our safety equipment are all to easy to recall and we are left with it could have been any of us missing on the river.
Our promise to the paddling community is to continue to develop guidelines and practices to support the industry and its participants. Over the next 6 months you will see a number of partnerships created to bring experience, legal support and safety precedents to SUPIA and the community as a whole. Our request is as a community that we be the stand for safety, always and all times.
Finally what we want the community to be left with is Andres, his love of life, his family on and off the water, his commitment to our sport, his skill as a paddler, his community and that smile and laugh.
Lights always on for Andres.
The Board of Directors & Staff of SUPIA
