Have The Last Word

Stand up paddle surfing, or SUP is taking the board sports world by storm.  An emerging sport which is said to have Hawaiian heritage involves a very long, buoyant board which you stand on and propel yourself with the use of a paddle.

The first time I came across a stand up paddle surf board it was being carried by a 50-something year old man with the most excited look on his face, as he restrained himself from running to the water to try it.  The man was my former boss and great friend who is well known in the surfing industry and being one of the first in South Africa to try this type of surfing, you can just imagine how he must have been fighting the urge to unleash the inner child and just gallop down to the water.

There was no turning back after that and today he spends his lunch hour slowly making his way up the canals in the V&A Waterfront, getting his ‘workout’.  Of course I made fun of him when he called this exercise however I was smartly put in my place when he pointed out that a large number of sports people have taken up this sport to strengthen their core muscles and improve on balance.  SUP is also very relaxing and can be enjoyed by people of most ages and fitness levels.

If this sounds interesting but you still want to see what this entails then make your way to the Corbean SUP series which is in Cape Town from the 16th to the 19th of December.  The series covers SUP racing, wave riding, downwind and endurance events which should give you a full understanding of the sport.

To date I haven’t tried but I’ll check back when I have.