Stand Up Paddling is becoming more popular by the day. Improved boards are constantly arriving here on the Big Island. I see 16 foot boards for racing, 9 foot boards for surfing, 10 foot boards for petite folks and 12 foot boards for the rest of us. This is one ocean sport that is easy to learn, strengthens core muscle groups and is a blast. What more could we want?
I discovered this sport while whale watching in Maui. The SUP (Stand Up Paddle) boarders were paddling around the dive boats as the whales breached within a dozen yards. I knew instantly that I would be paddle boarding with the whales on their next migration.
Synchronicity was in play when I got back to the Big Island. After canoe practice a couple days later, a friend’s husband walked by with a Stand Up Paddle board on his head. He gave me lessons that morning and I bought my board that very week.
I have been paddle boarding for just over a year. A little group has formed and we go out as often as possible. Being out on the ocean on a board instead of sitting in a boat is a unique feeling. You are much closer to the water, sometimes falling in and cooling off or sitting, dangling your feet while chatting with a friend.
Last spring there were tiger sharks patrolling our side of the Big Island. No one knows what brought them here and no one was injured but beaches were closed intermittently for a few weeks. One gorgeous day we were playing around in Waialea Bay and stopped to sit on our boards for a bit. Holding the boards close to each other with our feet, we drifted lazily. Just then a dark shadow approached us. A 12 foot Tiger shark cruised silently by within inches of our paddle boards and headed toward a group of snorkelers. Not wanting to cause the snorkelers to panic we paddled between them and the shark. He veered off toward open water. In hindsight that might not have been smart. Exciting though.
Sometimes we park a truck downwind at one bay and put in at another to paddle one way with the wind at our backs. The kayakers cannot keep up. I find this exhilarating. On occasion pods of dolphins allow us to paddle among them. They cruise around and under us, surfacing and blowing air, as they play with each other, completely unafraid. Other days we have paddled above Manta Rays and giant schools of Yellow Tangs. When the water is as clear as glass we jump in and snorkel with our boards leashed to our ankles.
This winter I did get my chance to paddle board near the whales. Just outside of Anaeho’omalu Bay several pods of whales have been breaching and surfacing regularly. One morning we paddled out to the top of the bay and watched in awe as whale after whale broke the surface of the water, spun around and came down with a mighty splash. Another morning a mother and baby humpback surfaced only feet from our canoe. I cannot even begin to describe what that felt like. I have been out there watching them often since that first day and the thrill never fades.
Surfing on SUP boards is gaining popularity. While I have barely mastered surfing swells, I love to watch experienced surfers using their paddles to help maneuver as they surf on the waves. This is a great sport for people of all ages but for those of us over thirty – it is perfect. The learning curve is short, risk of injury is low, gear is minimal, benefits to health are optimal and best of all it is unbelievably fun.
I have two tips for those starting out. First, let yourself fall a lot in the beginning and second, use the longest board you can find to learn on. You can rent boards all over the islands and You Tube has loads of instructional videos. Plus there are lots of folks willing to teach you the basics and will tell you where to begin. Why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose.
Copyright © Johanna Kim
