Now SUP has been around for awhile, and it has gained quite a following. Before I start attacking the institution, it is important to point out some of its good points. For instance, you can build up your upper body to Laird Hamilton proportions. You can also see approaching sets miles out to sea. And above all, if a shark swims by, the only thing he can nibble on is your paddle and not your feet.
However, my fault with stand up paddling is not with the sport, but with its followers. SUP has become very popular, so much so, that people with little surf experience are picking it up. In other words, individuals who have little understanding of surf etiquette, the ocean, or surfing as a whole are picking up a sport that allows them to dominate a line up; they can see farther out, take off earlier and paddle faster than any non-SUP. All in all, it just isn't fair for anybody else.
Yet I was hit with a sudden realization on the nature of SUP when I first witnessed the bizarre sight of a skateboarder using a paddle to coast along a sidewalk. That's right, a paddle. Just like Huck Finn. Except there was no raft, no mighty Mississippi, or even... (bad word) Jim.
Mark Twain aside, the land paddler pointed out a very important attribute of mankind, and that was that we as a society love to make our lives easy. We invented a remote for the T.V. so we didn't have to get up from the couch to change the channel. We invented the microwave so we could make our meals quicker. Hell, we even invented peanut butter and jelly in the same container. Hopefully though, that latter invention will go the way of other misguided inventions like the helicopter ejection seat or the Snuggie for dogs and just disappear.
The paddle is just another gimmicky invention designed to make surfing, and now skateboarding, easier. What is important to remember with SUP, and now SUS too, is that the rider should be willing to participate in the sport sans paddle. If they are able to do so, it shows that said rider has a passion for the sport itself, and doesn't need any sort of new fad to keep them skating or surfing. If the rider can't part with the paddle, then he or she must go the way of the dodo, and get hunted down by Europeans and giant rats, because that is what they honestly deserve.
Yet I was hit with a sudden realization on the nature of SUP when I first witnessed the bizarre sight of a skateboarder using a paddle to coast along a sidewalk. That's right, a paddle. Just like Huck Finn. Except there was no raft, no mighty Mississippi, or even... (bad word) Jim.
Mark Twain aside, the land paddler pointed out a very important attribute of mankind, and that was that we as a society love to make our lives easy. We invented a remote for the T.V. so we didn't have to get up from the couch to change the channel. We invented the microwave so we could make our meals quicker. Hell, we even invented peanut butter and jelly in the same container. Hopefully though, that latter invention will go the way of other misguided inventions like the helicopter ejection seat or the Snuggie for dogs and just disappear.
The paddle is just another gimmicky invention designed to make surfing, and now skateboarding, easier. What is important to remember with SUP, and now SUS too, is that the rider should be willing to participate in the sport sans paddle. If they are able to do so, it shows that said rider has a passion for the sport itself, and doesn't need any sort of new fad to keep them skating or surfing. If the rider can't part with the paddle, then he or she must go the way of the dodo, and get hunted down by Europeans and giant rats, because that is what they honestly deserve.
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