It used to be you needed a touch of divinity to walk on water, but through the emerging sport of stand up paddleboarding (SUP), young and old people alike can experience a feeling bordering on the miraculous.
While the concept has been around for centuries in Hawaii—and was reintroduced there by surfer Thomas Blake in the early 1930s—paddleboarding has only recently caught on in Southern California over the past few years. It’s fast becoming popular in the lakes and rivers of the Midwest, and is beginning to make a splash here on the Central Coast.
On a foggy July 9 morning, Jason Lee, a paddleboarding instructor from California Kiteboarding in Pismo Beach, led a group of six women (and this reporter) onto the placid waters of San Luis Obispo Bay for an introductory course.
The wind was calm and the water was glassy, making for ideal conditions for the beginner’s session. After a few pointers on proper paddling techniques, we took to the waters. At the outset, the idea is to paddle out on your knees past the “one wave” breaking to the shoreline, and once you get out far enough and feel balanced, stand up.
The boards used in paddleboarding are wider, sturdier, and a bit pricier than conventional surfboards (from $1,000 to $3,000 on average) with good angled paddles running $200 and up. The concentration it requires to alternate paddling from the left to right sides of the board, while at the same time maintaining equilibrium, is the most difficult aspect to master, but the learning curve is fast. Within a matter of minutes, this group of beginners looked like seasoned pros.
Lee, our tour guide for the day, said he got hooked on the sport about three years ago after seeing it in Hawaii, and gradually transitioned over from kiteboarding, an extreme version of surfing he also teaches. For Lee, the draw of paddleboarding, a sport he described as a merger of kayaking and surfing, lies in its versatility.
“It’s good for everybody—everyone from someone just trying to have fun and cruise around with their family, to someone trying to look for an adrenaline rush,” Lee said. “You can go out and just cruise, you can go out on lakes and rivers, you can go fishing with it, and if you’re adventurous, you can ride waves.”
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One of the group members, Carter Hammett-McGarry, a recent transplant to San Luis Obispo from the East Coast, said she got into paddleboarding with the intention of improving her balance.
“I like that you need to focus on it,” she said. “For me, it’s like when I’m snorkeling and getting into the rhythm of my breathing and the sea, and so when I’m paddling, I get that same great feeling of oneness with creation.”
According to Lee, the possibilities of paddleboarding are limitless. It’s come to be seen as an alternative to surfing when there are no waves, and it promises enjoyment for all skill levels. Surfers can access waves they normally wouldn’t be able to reach without being towed.
“With surfing, you have to paddle hard to get in waves, but if you paddleboard, you’re already standing up, so you can get into a lot bigger waves a lot faster, too,” Lee explained. “Some guys are pulling into waves you can only pull in with a jet ski, but you can use a standup because you’ve already got that speed and momentum.”
Prior to setting out on the day’s journey, Lee said his goal was to get everyone to stand up on his or her boards, and each neophyte did so with little difficulty. I fell twice right off the bat, but once I had the rhythm down, it was easy to forget the board was even between my feet and the icy waters below.
Once accustomed to paddling and maintaining momentum, we explored areas of San Luis Obispo Bay few have seen without the aid of watercraft. We traversed underneath the Port San Luis Pier, and over forests of kelp to hidden beaches, the occasional sea lion emerging to bark a greeting as we passed.
After two hours on the water, with legs and arms weary, our group returned to shore. First time paddleboarder Michelle Cooke had been lured to the clinic by the possibility of being able to go out on the ocean without getting wet, and she didn’t fall once.
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“I had so much fun,” Cooke said. “I thought it was going to be more of your arms, but it was a whole body workout, a good abs and quad workout, too.”
Cooke, who had surfing experience prior to her first paddleboarding session, compared the two activities.
“This is more relaxed and chill, a chat with your friends kind of thing, while surfing is more individual, do your own thing,” she said.
Visiting the Central Coast from Orange County, one of paddleboarding’s hotspots, Meghan Boulware was also trying the sport for the first time.
“It was like a good workout, but relaxing at the same time,” Boulware said. “I think that’s why I really enjoyed it. We were just chatting it up out there, but I felt like I was getting a really good full-body workout.”
Boulware said she thought her background in surfing and kayaking enabled her to pick the sport up right away.
“I was worried about trying to stand up and fell over at first, but I felt like it was pretty easy once you’re out there and paddling through,” she said. “I think it’s all about remembering to keep your body in balance but relax at the same time.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas stays dry most of the time. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at JThomasSMS@twitter.com.
This article appears in Jul 14-21, 2011.
