Paddle Surf's Up, Dude!

Who needs waves when you're got stick-powered surfing?

By Jeff Schnaufer
CTW Features

Surf tall and carry a big stick. The latest craze in cruising the ocean, lakes and rivers is powered by a paddle, which enables surfers to stand on their boards and enjoy the water from a different perspective. Stick-powered surfing is even making its way onto the streets, where some skateboarders are using them to get to work, school and to just have fun.

Even celebrities are getting into the act.

"Matthew McConaughey seems pretty amped on it," Michael Brooke, editor and publisher of Concrete Wave magazine, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, says of stand up paddle skating. "It's longboarding with a stick to help you push and stop you. You can use any type of skateboard, but a longboard works the best, (having a) larger deck, more turnable trucks and softer wheels."

What kind of workout is it? "I know that it gives your arms a work out and it definitely helps your stomach muscles," Brooke says.

Kahuna Creations is the trailblazer for the streetwise sport, manufacturing a Hawaiian-inspired 5-foot-long wooden Big Stick with a handle on top and wheels on the bottom (which starts at $89) and is available at a variety of retail outlets throughout the U.S. But skateboarders have found other ways to stick it to the streets.

"It's something anyone can do at all ages and it's lots of fun," says Noah Hill, age 8, Venice, Calif., who uses a broomstick to paddle skate with his Arbor Pocket Rocket skateboard.

When he isn't carving up the asphalt, Noah is slicing through the waves with his dad, Blake Hill, 44. The two enjoy stand up paddle surfing (or SUP) on the ocean.

"It's a bonding experience that word's can't describe," says Blake, who has paddle surfed in California and Hawaii. It's also a great workout, he says. "Distance paddling creates a great environment for cardio plus the low impact workout which strengthens the core of the body."

Gina Bradley, East Hampton, N.Y., agrees. She has been training women in SUP and started her own company, Paddle Diva, designing stand up paddleboards for women.

"SUP just along the lakes and bays or on a calm ocean day is going to be the fastest growing core body strengthening sport on the East Coast," Bradley says. "Your core needs to constantly adjust and keep the board level, while you are stroking on the left and right side with your paddle. The committed paddlers, me being one of them, will not only get six-pack abs, but the gluteus maximus, the arms, the back, the calves all join in and get very toned."

SUP offers a variety of paddles and boards for the experienced to the beginner. Blake suggests first timers rent their gear.

"You want to choose a paddle that is 6-8 inches longer than your height," Blake says. "Choosing a board will depend on your weight and ability. If you're a light person, pick a board that's 10-11 feet in length and 28-30 inches wide. If you're on the heavy side of life, choose a board that's 10-12 feet long and 31-33 inches wide. Keep in mind that if you practice fairly often, your progression will move at a rapid pace. So when you go to purchase a board, purchase one that you can grow into, not out of."

Once you get out on the water, you'll immediately begin to notice some of SUP's differences between traditional surfing. Especially when riding the waves.

"The advantage over traditional surfing is vision," Blake says. "You are perched on the board gazing out to the horizon, watching the sets build. This creates a tremendous advantage. My ability to spot waves is far greater and I can get into the wave sooner than a regular surfer."

The icing on the cake, Blake says, is being in the ocean communing with nature, recalling the time he "paddled into a pod of dolphins and watched a baby dolphin leap over the tip of my board. I've paddled with stingrays, turtles, sharks, seals and once had a whale breach about 25 yards from me."

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