"Once out at sea my instructions were to 'stand up and paddle' which I did, and fell off immediately"

We get the low down from stand up paddling beginner, Jan Sleigh.

I think it was about three years ago that I first saw Stand Up Paddle Boarding. I was visiting Maui and was lucky enough to be there during the Naish Importer conference. One of the days of the conference is devoted to surfing with a trip to the South Shore of Maui for a surfing session. During the session, Michi Schweiger (Naish Windsurfing Product & Team Manager) was using a very long surf board and he was standing up and paddling. It looked very odd but he was catching heaps of waves and riding them with style.

I asked Michi about the Origins of Stand Up Paddle Boarding:

Michi: Maui has always been a melting pot for many new watersport developments to be tried and discarded or taken further and nurtured. Some of them, such as kiteboarding, have grown into much bigger and popular sports while others have just occupied a niche. Whether each new activity is taken to the extreme or not, all of these watersports have one thing in common and that is that they are fun!

In the past years, especially in summer time, you saw people paddling down the coast on oversized longboards. This new activity or sport was mostly driven by Laird Hamilton and some of his friends combining traditional Hawaiian canoe paddling with long board surfing.

It didn’t take long to gain momentum on Maui and Oahu, as a great opportunity to get away from crowded surf spots but also as a great workout when doing downwinders along Maui's prestige north shore stretch while surfing all the spots from Ho’okipa all the way down to Kanaha.

So how did things develop for Naish since that importer conference when you were trying out the boards?

Michi: As a core brand connected to windsurfing as well as surfing, we started experimenting with boards and paddles about four years ago, monitoring where the sport was heading. Before long we decided to launch a board and paddle program that suited the roots of this newly revived ancient form of surfing. With master longboard shaper Harold Iggy, it was only a question of time to find the right balance between longboard performance and ease of access even for first timers.

My First Time

Fast forward to present day and Stand Up Paddle Boarding, as a sport, has definitely taken off. During my recent trip to Maui this summer, not a moment went by at any beach I was windsurfing that a Stand Up Paddle Board didn't pass by on a long downwinder.

Michi, his wife Julia and friends often end a day by doing a downwinder and they asked me if I'd like to have a go at Stand Up Paddle Boarding one evening. I figured to myself it would be a great opportunity to give it a go, and get some lesson's close in to the beach.

We headed for a beach a little down wind of Ho’okipa and Lanes and it was then I realized I was really going to have to get the hang of the sport pretty quick as I was joining them to cruise down the coast to Sprecks which was going to take about an hour an a half!

Andy Church (also from Naish) paddled out first and then under careful instruction, I paddled through the narrow channel through the boulders out into the main bay. Once out at sea my instructions were to "stand up and paddle" which I did, and fell off immediately. Refusing to be beaten and getting a glimpse of what I needed to do I got to my feet again and started to paddle. I was off, if a little bit on the shaky side.

As a complete novice the weirdest thing to get used to was to stand on a board with my feet parallel much like as if one was skiing, instead of in windsurfing or surfing. The coastline from where we launched down to Sprecks kind of curves in so within minutes of paddling down wind you are actually out at sea and the distance offshore suddenly goes from a short distance to a long way! The guys stuck pretty close by me giving me tips all the way and if the distance between us widened a bit too much they stopped and waited or paddled back up wind so as not to leave me behind.

At one point on our journey down wind Michi shouted "Hey Jan, look at the island!” I'd kind of forgotten what I was doing and where I was - I'd just been focusing on staying on the board and paddling. I looked up and saw the rugged and beautiful coast of Maui with Mt.Haleakala towering into the sky. Suddenly I relaxed and really took in what I could see. Sometimes when I windsurf I forget to look at the land as I am focused on what I am doing and the waves I am riding. Here on the paddle board I had time to look at the coastline and reflect that this was actually very cool - I was offshore from a tiny island chain in the middle of the Pacific ocean . Experiences don't come more intense than that. And I also thought to myself it would be cool to do the same thing back home in the UK where we have such varied beaches, coastlines and geography.

Right, back to the technique! During our coastal run the guys gave me tips on two crucial elements of Stand Up Paddle Boarding technique:

Paddling: The easiest way to paddle properly is to keep attention on your top arm and maintain it in a straight position. If you bend your upper arm you will use too much power and will have to work harder than necessary. You can apply longer more powerful strokes when gliding along or shorter higher frequency strokes to catch waves or connect glides. 

Stance: When paddling in a straight line it helps to stand 90 degrees to the board or standing with your feet shoulder width apart facing forwards. Also keeping your knees slightly bent aids your balance and allows you to react quickly to side chop or swells from behind. I found that this forward facing stance required constant movement and balance much like a wobbly board or indo board. However, once you catch a glide or a wave, change into the surfing position.

 So, after one go in Maui I was hooked! It was great fun, good to do with friends, good to go and explore, a great work out and an excellent alternative to windsurfing and surfing if there are no conditions to be had.

"It’s an excellent alternative to windsurfing and surfing if there are no conditions to be had."

"I must admit though, during the day a light breeze kept threatening to blow and each time it stopped me in my tracks – I was eager to get a sail"

My First Competition

There is nothing like a competition to focus the mind and after a few days of being back home in the UK the “September Sessions” were announced – the UK ’s first ever Stand Up Paddle Boarding event -so having got myself a board I decided to enter. Time, however, was not on my side and I only managed to sneak a second go on a board for one afternoon before the event.

The September Sessions, sponsored by Starboard, had attracted a huge amount of interest. Initial expectations were for maybe 10 or 15 entrants, however it ended up being fully subscribed with a waiting list! This just demonstrated the speed at which the sport is growing.

I arrived at Watergate Bay in Cornwall early Saturday morning greeted by enthusiastic fellow competitors and perfect conditions; not a breath of wind and some beautiful, fair sized green waves caressing the coast. It suddenly occurred to me I was going to have to paddle out through these waves!

The event was organized into two disciplines, a surf contest and a long distance race.

Brian Talma from Barbados was clearly enjoying himself despite the different climate and he rode with style and advanced up through the ranks to take third place from Adam Zervas who was pulling some killer cut backs. There were great performances from windsurfers John Hibbard and Timo Mullen taking fifth and sixth places respectively. It was however two times European longboard champion, Elliott Dudley, who took the title narrowly from Lewis Timson as Elliot’s nose rides stole the show. What’s more the event also had a small ladies fleet and saw Lucy Howell win ahead of Theresa Thomson in second and Marie Buchanan in third and the competition’s youngest contestant Charlotte Emsden in fourth place.

The atmosphere was relaxed, mellow and friendly with the ability levels widely spread from complete novice to some very experienced riders. My own heat progressed pretty much as I expected in that I had to first focus on paddling out through waves before I even had a chance to turn round and catch them, however all the competitors were really helpful with more experienced riders giving out tips and encouragement. I surprised myself by getting out and getting onto a couple of waves – which boosted my confidence but didn’t result in any advancement in the competition!