History

Written by Jon Popkiss

 (fellow paddler and waterman)

For many of you Stand Up Paddleboarding (hence forward we will call it SUP) will appear to be a very new sport, but the reality is very much the opposite!The origins of the sport are Hawaiian or Polynesian and most certainly can be traced back to the mid 1800′s, through paintings from that period, clearly depicting very noble looking men standing on huge wooden boards, using the wind/waves and a long pole with a flattened or “blade” shaped end for stability and propulsion. Whether this depicts the origin of the sport, we are unlikely to ever know, but legend has it, that only “Hawaiian Kings” were permitted to stand on a surfboard as they toured their kingdom or visited other islands, as it reinforced their divinity by giving the impression that they alone could “walk on water” while their more lowly subjects must always paddle laying down!???

Let’s face it, I bet the first time you saw a SUP you probably thought it looked like the person was stood on the water, so you can imagine the effect back in the days of Captain Cook! These early boards were solid wood, and although none of the “royal boards” depicted seem to still exist, from the smaller wood surfboards which do, it would seem likely that weights of 60 to 70kg would be likely, and maybe even 100kg! Try carrying that down the beach today!??

The next hundred years or so of development is unclear, but SUP certainly reappears in the 1940′s in Waikiki, Oahu with legendary surfers like Duke Kahanamoku an established exponent, and by the 60′s he and several other local surfers were SUPing regularly, with some even taking cameras out to take pictures of the tourists! Although much lighter than the originals, the boards were still wood (although a lot of it was then Balsa), so although the sport looked like it would become bigger then, ultimately these very expensive and heavy boards were self limiting. With the introduction of the shorter boards made from foam and glassfibre for surfing, meaning all but a very few turned their backs on SUP. So, we now skip forward another 20 years, to find with the whole interest in retro surfing kicking of in the mid to late 90′s, the sport received the sort of regeneration it really needed, with “Maui Watermen” like Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama doing it again for exercise, as they discovered it gave them an advantage to catch and ride little waves, and awesome training for their core body and legs which really helped them with tow-in-surfing. They also found when they progressed to SUPing in bigger waves, that the reality was, when they would have been surfing normally, they could utilize the paddle to help carve into turns which really helped the manoeuverability of the long boards they were using, thus opening up a whole new world of fun and adventure, with no need for the big waves they craved, as they now had a SUP which did not need them.

With it’s growing popularity it was added for the first time in 2004 as an event in the World recognised “Buffalo Big Board Contest”. The response was overwhelming with over 49 participants entering the division, which included many of the Hawaii’s elite waterman and past world champion surfers. Another great accomplishment in this sport was done during the 2004 Quicksilver Molokai to Oahu Surfboard race, as the first recorded (in modern times) Solo SUP crossing of the Molokai Channel was completed. In just 6 hours! With more and more interest from the watermen of Hawaii, it was not long before all the great names were SUPing and introducing their friends to the fun and exhilaration of a downwind ride along the North Shore of Maui. By 2006, the first commercially produced SUP’s started to appear around the world, with the sport exploding in places like California and Australia. And so, today is a bright new world for us all! With modern lightweight and relatively inexpensive materials, we can all enjoy the “royal”pleasure of walking on water! There has never been an easier way to get some great exercise and some wonderful views on the water, either by yourself, or with your friends, so enjoy all this great sport has to offer. Born in the waves of Hawaii, but just as applicable to a canal in Oxford, a lake in the midlands or a stretch of your favourite coast, SUP is back, and this time it’s going to stay.