SUP Surfing: My New Stand Up Surf Paddleboard
Hope you all had a great weekend. On Friday I had mentioned that I might be picking up my new stand up surf paddleboard. I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a stand up surf paddleboard – also known as a “SUP”.
Stand-up surf paddleboarding (SUPs) has been gaining quite a lot of traction here in Southern California (and in the South Bay, Westside, Santa Monica, and Venice areas) over the past year or two. I have seen people out on SUP’s in the lineup at surf breaks and I have to admit it really used to annoy me. That’s because most people out on the SUP boards are on big boards with no control. But for flat days when the surf is small or there’s no surf, there’s nothing like paddling out on a stand up board and enjoying the water and getting a workout in. This is what made me decide to get a SUP.
I ordered my SUP board back in October from the Surf Divas. For those of you who are not familiar with the Surf Divas, they are the Original All Women Surf School based in San Diego Ca (La Jolla). I worked at Surf Diva while I was in college at UC San Diego and it was the best job ever. Now I am considered an OG Diva and I stay in touch with Izzy and Coco, the founders. I even did my bachelorette party with them this past August!
When I drove to SD, the Surf Divas took me upstairs to where the boards were. They haven’t even begun selling them yet and I got to take mine home first. I felt very special.
I wanted to take my board out for a spin so I went for a quick paddle while the Surf Divas got some work done. I took it out at the boat launch dock and paddled down to Scripps and back. It took around 20-30 minutes and it was hard to get the rhythm going but I know it’s going to take some effort.
After I finished paddling I needed to figure out how I was going to get my board from San Diego to Los Angeles in the car and feel comfortable driving. I have a surf rack on my car but Stand up paddleboards are A LOT bigger. The divas recommended that I get some FCS Premium Tie Downs. Okay, where have these things been all my life? They held my board down perfectly with NO NOISE or MOVEMENT the entire drive home. I strapped them on in addition to my surf racks and they were great. They are so strong they can even hold a kayak down safely to the roof of your car. Awesome.
The next day it was really choppy out but I took Pinky (the name for my stand up paddleboard) out anyway. I’ve been feeling under the weather for the past few days so I’ve been watching SUP instructional videos on YouTube to see how this new sport all works. Here’s an example of a video I found:
That’s pretty much it for now. I did the math and I need to take Pinkie out on the water about 30 times to break even. I plan to post about her adventures as much as I can. Stay tuned!
What about you? Have you ever tried Stand Up Paddleboarding or Stand Up Surf Paddleboarding? What are your thoughts on SUPs? Post in the comments and let me know!
It looks like so much fun (and a great workout). Something I’d definitely like to try!
It is really fun and a GREAT core workout. Come out to So Cal and we’ll go for a paddle!
Every weekend that it is pretty in Austin people are on Ladybird Lake with those! They even have SUP Paddle Yoga
Nice! I want to try and do yoga on my paddleboard.