28
Escarpment Magazine Summer 2013
I know
that paddling as a sport has arrived when Yoga Journal magazine has a professional paddler
on the cover, an article on SUP (Stand Up Paddling) in the magazine, and an ad with an Outrigger
canoe. Finally! This is my world of paddling and Yoga fitness.
SUP can be seen as a version of surfing, (using a paddle, to assist in surfing the waves) or a paddle
sport in its own right, done on flat water. Other variations include flat & white water racing, wave riding,
long or short distance racing, (2 – 30 km), social paddling, fitness training, Pilates, Yoga or core work.
There are as many board styles and manufacturers, as there are uses and users of boards - length, shape,
compositions, as well as men’s, women’s and children’s boards. There are even tandem boards, inflat-
able boards, and ones that have tent and kayak like abilities and storage!
One difference between surfing and SUP is that SUP doesn’t need waves - however plenty of people
want to ride them. Take a lesson – it’s incredibly fun and empowering! You can paddle on any body of
water, and because you are standing and looking over the water, you can see both deeper into the
water and further across the water, permitting better sightlines (of friends, children, marine life, or the in-
coming swells of the Bay) that you can’t access when sitting flat on the water.
The background of the sport is documented and multi- cultural; the history indicates it is more than just a
passing trend… we know that for 3000 years Peruvian fishermen have used a small reed woven craft
propelled with a long bamboo shaft shaped like a kayak paddle. In Africa, warriors stood on dugout
like canoes to approach enemy positions, and used their spears as paddles. In 1777, Captain James
Cook saw Hawaiian’s surfing; natives of the islands regularly paddled out into the waves. In 1886,
photographer Peter Henry Emerson
(British, born Cuba, 1856–1936)
captured a photo of a man stand-up
paddling through the marshes of England’s East Anglia. Possibly the first photograph ever taken of the
sport, the image is called
“
Quanting the Marsh Hay
”.
SUP
is the world’s fastest growing
watersport, and can be found on lakes,
ponds, rivers and waterways around
the world, including Georgian Bay.
It’s likely that you’ve seen someone
out on a board, or perhaps you’ve
tried out a friend’s, or you’ve been
hooked by the craze and have
simply gone ahead and bought one,
just for the pure fun of it.
KU HOE HE’E NALU:
to stand, to paddle,
to surf a wave…
summer
STORY | ANNE BAKER
