Laird Hamilton
The greatest surfer alive today, laid the foundations for the rediscovery and definitive success of the SUP. Laird was inspired, observing some Hawaiian surf instructors who preferred to support them on longboards to better follow the students during the courses, remaining upright and paddling with an oar.
The success
The reasons for the enthusiasm that is surrounding the Stand Up Paddling are many:
the first and most unsuspected, especially for practitioners of sports certainly more dynamic such as windsurfing or Kiteboarding, is fun.
Just paddling on a SUP board, cruising along the coast, that is, pleasure boating, is quite fun and rewarding, also considering the fact that from the point of view of fitness it is an excellent workout.
The second is that unlike a classic surf longboard there is the possibility of surfing waves not only smaller, but also in advance, since the SUP boards are larger. The surfing technique is then basically the same with the added advantage of being able to use the paddle not only to improve your balance, but also to perform very radical maneuvers by immersing the blade during surfing and thus making it act as a mobile fin. Being standing upright on the board even before surfing it is also easier to select the best waves of the sets.
The third advantage, especially for Windurfers and Kitesurfers who attend little windy spots, consists in the fact of being able to go into the water and train continuously. It should also be mentioned a further added value of this sport deriving from the fact that with a SUP board it is possible to go out in any body of water, even a small one.
This is why stand up paddling, as a “crossover” sport, is able to attract the attention of fans of other water sports activities.
