At this risk of bringing more surfers into the SUP community, what are your thoughts on the concepts in this article?
www.seabreeze.com.au/Articles/Stand%20Up%20Paddle/From-Shortboard-to-Stand-Up-Paddle_4230649.aspx
Hi Laurie ,
Good article and agree it's individuals who create a bad image for the whole sport.
Rich
Spot on Laurie, well said. This is where it is at.
We are at a turning point in the history of SUP.
There will always be knockers (it's an Aussie tradition),
but the amount of 'hardcore surfer' converts over the
last year has proven that this is a wave that everyone
can and probably will, enjoy.
I have recently been converted to sup from Shortboarding
Good challenge and good fun
I personally think there will always be anamosity between different types of surf craft in the lineup
Doesnt matter if its a shortboard, Londboard ,Sup, Boogie board etc
I think people should just see surfing for what it is
Fun
A lot of people seem to take their sport way too seriously
Not sure if thats a reflection on how sport is marketed in the mainstream media these days (life or death)
Lighten up a bit in the ocean and you might find you enjoy it more
I'm no saint but i try to work on it
Just wanna make a coupla comments:
1 - The article makes it sound like shortboarders own the waves and everyone else has to kiss their ass and fit in ? Ignorant and/or unskilled sup surfers are a problem around all surfers, both shortboarders and longboarders and need to work in with both disciplines. More often than not the sup surfer is surfing in your typical longboard waves because they are generally smaller and easier conditions and it would be fair to say that longboarders dislike sups way more than the average shortboarder because the sup is rarely out in bigger/suckier/heavier shortboard conditions.
2 - Yes, newbie sup surfers can be ignorant of the way a lineup works or simply not have enough skill to be in many lineups BUT the worst cases of ignorance and blatant beligerence that I have seen has been by skilled sup surfers who intentionally use their board size and wave catching ability to intimidate other surfers in a lineup and it is them who have given the sport a bad name, moreso than the newby.
3. And it wasnt so much surf schools sending unskilled sup paddlers out into the surf to cause havoc in the beginning - it was surf shops ! from my experience the surf schools have on the whole been very responsible in teaching a very new sport and trying to educate their students in all aspects of board handling/technique and manners but because sup is so easy to learn and do in flatwater, most students don't continue on with more than one lesson and end up out in the surf getting themselves into strife. Maybe we have made it too easy for the newby to get out into the surf by making super stable, wide boards that pretty much anyone can paddle out into the waves on. Unlike a shortboard or even a longboard, a beginner on a sup in the surf takes up a big area and both the sup rider and the other surfers need to be aware of that.
Things I don't like about SUP:
- I like to be able to turn. And I mean properly turn, not pivot a flat board about a pivot point. That's a deal-breaker for me.
- I'm yet to see a SUP person who can surf.
- people with no surf background who are suddenly "surfers".
- people with aircraft carriers attached to their roof semi-permanently, like a status symbol. Unfortunately I live in what's likely to become ground zero for SUP (from what I've observed) so I see a lot of posers like this.
- the forehand cutback/paddle lean.
- the paddle in general, for people who use it as a device to compensate for their inability to balance.
- the stereotypical middle aged, overweight, low ability level SUP surfer. They're just unnecessary flotsam and it was better when they weren't cluttering up the water.
- kooks jumping up the pecking order without paying their dues.
Things I like:
- wave count. But 100 waves on a board that doesn't turn doesn't == 100 x better than 1 wave on a board that does turn. For me, anyway.
Things that make me throw up in my mouth a little bit:
- "celebrities" on them.
- "yoga" on them. Seriously?
- some article linked on here that said it's the "summer sport of the Hamptons".
- street SUP. I thought it was a joke, but no, apparently not.
Things you want to watch out for:
- all this encouragement to others (esp. competent shortboarders) to take up the sport could very easily backfire. The core demographic of this forum will drop straight back down to the bottom of the ladder if the average local ripper takes up SUP. Enjoy your freedom while it lasts.
Great article Laurie.
I thought most good surfers were riding SUP sometimes nowadays anyway.
To me it honestly only seems like kooks on Mals or whatever really care. Good shortboarders have already worked out how to out manouvre the take off zone and they seem to be differentiating the wallys from the people that can ride them.
Legion is just a stirrer, I love it.
Girls doing yoga in bikini == good
Girls doing SUP in bikini == no problem
Girls doing yoga on a SUP (bikini or not) == vomit at their try-hardedness
It's a case of two rights making a very, very wrong.
More examples:
SUP == OK, I can see you all like it, whatever
Skateboarding == cool
Street SUP == stab my eyes out with a pencil
Benchpress == legitimate strength building exercise
Swiss ball == great balance tool
Benchpress on Swiss ball instead of rigid bench == Wallies looking for an injury and failing to maximise the benefits of either exercise
Or the rare triple-combo:
Yoga == great
Pilates == fine
Tai chi == no worries
Yogalates chi == chop my nuts off with a meat cleaver
really!! i'm surprised you guys would even notice them doing yoga!!! But maybe thats what happens as you get older? I see chicks bending over with hardly anything on and you guys see Yoga
great article laurie
i ride an 8 .6 sup and a 6.4 shorty
and ride which ever suits the conditions
since supping it has not only improved my surfing , fitness , sanity!
but as goaty said it makes sh_t waves super fun!!!!!!
i think most surfers will give respect when shown respect no mater what you ride
enjoy the ocean
later bournda
