Stand up paddle boarding (SUP) is a fun sport that also provides many health benefits.
Despite its ancient roots, the passion for SUP has exploded in popularity only in recent years!
Whether you're a paddleboarding fan or just starting out, here are some fun facts you probably didn't know about it...
1) Stand up paddleboarding is also called “lazy man’s surfing”!
I disagree. SUP can be extremely demanding, and this observation doesn't stop the sport from growing in popularity. In fact, after padel, it has become the most popular emerging sport. It's certainly the fastest-growing in the United States for quite some time. Furthermore, there are approximately thirty thousand Italians who practice this water sport more or less consistently. It seems there's no stopping SUP's growing popularity.
The confirmation of this trend is confirmed by the sales data of Stand Up paddle boards! The sites and companies that offer the best inflatable SUP boards they have multiplied lately.
2) If you think that paddle boarding reminds you of some other sport, you are not completely wrong. SUP is a cross between surfing and canoeing, only you use a paddle board or a surfboard instead of a canoe or kayaking.
3) SUP is not as recent a sport as you might think; in fact, paddle surfing traces its origins to the practices of ancient Egyptian fishermen. About 600 years ago, Hawaiian surfers rode on boards that measured up to four meters in length, and needed oars or paddles for propulsion. Fishing was one of the reasons for building these primordial SUP boards.
4) However, the modern version of paddleboarding we know today began in Hawaii in the 40s, when instructors like Duke Kanahamoku would stand on boards to get a better view of incoming waves and other surfers.
The sport was exclusive to Hawaii for many decades until a man named Rick Thomas brought paddleboarding to California in the early 2000s... and the rest is history. They also contributed to the expansion of SUP as a sport. Laird Hamilton other famous American beach boys.
5) What are the differences between a paddle surfboard and a surfboard? At first glance, they may seem the same. But if you investigate further into the properties of the two boards, you can notice that the stand-up paddleboard has more volume than a surfboard, making the former more buoyant.
6) In 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard classified the standup paddleboard as a “boat,” similar to canoes and kayaks. This may have been another reason for the rise in popularity of the standup paddleboard.
7) Stand up paddle boarders (suppers) under 12 are required to wear a life jacket or life jacket. In Italy, this is always the case if you are more than 300 meters from the coast.
8) Standup paddle boarding is possible during a hurricane. Popular daredevil surfer Laird Hamilton rode the huge, treacherous swells off the coast of California during a powerful hurricane in the US in 2014, something few would dare to do.
Despite his "heroism", it's not something we recommend you do!
9) The late stand-up paddleboarding pioneer John Zapotocky is considered the father of modern SUP. He surfed and paddleboarded for over 55 years. Even though he was well into his 90s, he continued to actively surf and paddleboard, making him the oldest standup paddleboarder ever.
10) The Stand up paddle flatwater SUP was only recently introduced in 2007. There are paddleboards specifically designed for flatwater SUP and touring.
These SUP boards are very fast, and their shape and material are designed to carry additional equipment. If you want to practice SUP in a more relaxed way while still connecting with nature, this type of water sport is the ideal option.
Photo credit https://www.cheapsurfgear.com/collections/sup-paddle-boards-for-sale
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