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SUP is all the rage these days. There are at least two magazines on it out there, on everyday newstands.
Stand-up Paddle surfing makes sense here in the Great Lakes area. We have a lot of water, and lots of waves, but no really big waves. SUP lets you surf small water. It’s also a dandy workout.
We’re up north these days, near the coast, and we see paddle-boards and long paddles for sale or rent whenever we see a sport shop near the water.
…And we see SUPers out there doing their thing. Well, I’ve seen a few beginners, anyway.
But I’ve been doing it out of my canoes for years now. Yet if you google “SUP” and “canoe” you’ll come up empty.
…Until now. I saw a recent issue of Canada’s “Canoeroots” magazine — and it had a short article on SUP in canoes. Finally! Its author did a multiday tour standing up. And the story mentions some guys who won a whitewater race doing tandem SUP in a canoe.
Makes sense to me!
Heck, in a canoe you can haul stuff…and people.
So what to call this new sport? I suppose it’s SUC, right? 🙂 Actually, you could do it in a stable kayak with a big cockpit, making it SUC&K… !!! Ha, I make myself laugh.
In case you haven’t read my other reports on this standing in canoes stuff, I do it because it feels so good. All body boat action is dyno. It’s a bit like snowboarding, or surfing — duh! It makes sitting down seem awful boring. But that’s not all: you SEE INTO THE WATER so much better when standing. You see your surroundings better, too. Good all around!
I did finally get to try SUP on a real board the other day, with pal Michael Gray. He’s into it. We went out at sunset and cruised a quiet bay, trading back and forth between his board and my canoe.
The board seemed a bit skittish but I didn’t fall in. I spose it’s something you could get used to. I kinda liked my canoe. I understand that a boat would get blown around a lot more in any kind of breeze out on open water.
But the world is also full of mellow rivers. I’d say that folks should feel free to SUP in canoes. Go for it! Give it a try!
I want to put up some YouTube vid’s asap but I haven’t found anyone to run a camera yet while I SUP in a canoe.
A carbon paddle sure makes SUP nice. I made mine from 2 kevlar shafts. It should be kinda stiff. It isn’t. Well, it has a huge blade. I think I’ll cut it down. (That Verlen Kruger liked big blades for awhile there. It’s made from an old Kruger paddle and shaft.)
Canoe SUP on the lovely (but crowded) Platte, with “Group of Seven” white pine.
Ouch. Bad face. Well, can’t complain. I’m lucky I was able to talk Martha into clicking the shutter even once for the SUP cause!
