Origins/History
History
Historically, Africans and indeed many other river based and coastal cultures, have stood up within their canoes and upon rafts and paddled standing for thousands of years. Conceptually therefore, the idea of standing and paddling using an extended canoe paddle is far from being a new concept.
From a contemporary standpoint and as a sport, stand up paddle surfing really began taking off after 2005.[2]
Some historians point to this YouTube video of Duke Kahanamoku riding an Australian surf ski as one of the Genesis points of standup paddling. The video was shot in 1939 and Duke is riding a surf ski. According to Australian surf historian Nick Carroll: "What you're seeing is an Australian surf ski. This craft was invented by a bloke in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, around 1912, after he'd become intrigued by the idea of riding waves and discovered his uncle's open canoe wasn't too good at it. (In bumpy Australian sandbar waves, canoes fill with water.) The surf ski was a hollow, wood-constructed craft which was paddled with a twin blade paddle from a sitting position, but a lot of ski riders got into standing up on 'em while riding waves… Duke was given one by a touring Aussie surf team in 1939."
Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama developed paddle surfing for the modern water sports world. The first "modern" surfer to bring Stand Up Paddle Surfing out of Hawaii and to the mainland United States was Vietnam veteran Rick Thomas.[3] Custom surf shaper Jimmy Lewis,[4] created one of the first modern production boards, the All Around. Traditional style surfers have converted to stand up paddling because of the versatility of the new sport. Stand up paddle boarding offers surfers the ability to catch more waves in a set, as well as offering a better view of incoming sets (ocean waves they may want to ride that are approaching from the sea).
Deb and Warren Thomas, owners of Standup Paddle Sports and SurfingSports.com of Santa Barbara, California, pioneered and helped establish the sport and industry of standup paddling in California. Deb Thomas was also the first female standup paddler in North America in 2005. They brought the first production SUPs to market with Maui shaper Sean Ordonez in 2006, and theirs was the first company to open a dedicated SUP store in North America, in 2007.[5]
The first magazine devoted to the sport, Standup Journal, was founded in June 2007, with its first issue published March the following year. The publication is headquartered in the state of Maine by Clay Feeter and Joyce Bilodeau.[6] The acclaimed SUP 'Bible' technical and historical publication, at over 500 pages, is written by world-renowned outrigger canoeing expert and author, Steve West (Nominated for Paddle Sports Media Ambassador 2014) entitled, 'Stand Up Paddle - A Paddlers Guide' [7]
On August 8, 2007, on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City, California, the first stand up paddle board race was held. 34 male and female competitors competed in a seven-mile race. This was the beginning of the Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival.[8]