A recent surfing holiday saw me posted up at a destination where Stand Up Paddleboarders were close to the top of the food chain. It was a world-class wave and the SUPs shared the lineup with everyone from wizened legends on big guns to young rippers determined to ride the biggest possible wave on the smallest possible board. Although the wave could deliver 300 metres of down the line bliss it was a little hard to catch and offered a nice wide channel to paddle out in, which made it ideal for the SUPS.
For an Australian surfer who was accustom to a culture where SUPS are still not an entirely sanctioned species it was perplexing to see them have the run of the lineup – particularly given it was such a high quality wave. Often the best sets would go to SUPs and this seemed like an accepted feature of the local hierarchy.
Many of the SUP riders had the kind of deeply creased faces that implied the better part of their lives had been spent squinting towards the sun, waiting for waves on their regular shortboards or mals. For these old guys riding a SUP at this majestic reef seemed like the well-deserved superannuation payout for a life invested in surfing. Most of them surfed well despite the tinny look to some of their joints and it was hard to feel anything but a certain respect for some sixty-plus guy who was coming hard off the bottom on eight-footer, even if he had a paddle in his hand.
Then there were the middle-aged guys who surfed competently but not great. Although this lineup tolerated and even embraced their presence it was hard not to feel like this was just a little bit of a cop out – particularly if they got greedy. It was just an extension of the guy who reaches a certain level of competency and then decides they are getting a mal and becoming a wave pig. This sort of SUP rider seemed like the cricketer who was playing with an oversize bat, by reducing the level of difficulty it seemed they had also reduced the challenge, the aesthetic merit and the intrinsic value of the act. Surely it was just too easy to be satisfying and on top of that no one really enjoyed watching them take off and go straight down the line. A good surfer may take the best waves but there is arguably some collective benefit in the fact that they are a pleasure to watch. Witnessing a sub-par SUPPER gobble up the best waves feels like handing the microphone to Phil Collins when Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin are begging to sing – a spoilt opportunity.
Hawaiian Kai Lenny obviously falls into the category of SUPS who rip. Photo: TAG HeuerThen of course there are the guys on the SUPS who rip – paddle leveraged full rail turns, top to bottom snaps and barrel rides. There seems to be something universally appealing about someone who is good on any kind of craft. Even goatboats, the most maligned of wave vehicles, can look impressive if steered by a skilled rider.
At the previously referenced wave there were a couple of standout SUPS and there was no denying they were a joy to watch if they didn’t abuse their ability and the natural advantage the SUPS gave them – or push it too hard and take unnecessary risks. Given the size and girth of the average SUP if they are coming towards you it can feel a little bit like being charged by an elephant. A good Supper can put the board right in the pocket but it’s still tricky to manoeuvre around a surfer caught inside or paddling out. There’s no doubt that they add another dimension of danger to the lineup whether they are in the hands of a highly skilled or highly inexperienced rider.
So where does this all leave the Supper’s standing? Much of surfing’s appeal and mystique is associated with the fact that lineups function on a tacitly understood set of rules. Every location has its own nuances and every session its own mutually understood boundaries – push them too far and there might be chaos or consequences. As a fairly new evolution in surfing anthropology the SUPS definitely offer a new challenge to the commonly understood order of things. Given the informal and fluid nature of lineup rules it might be overly litigious of me to suggest a few guidelines for SUP harmony but this much at least seems sensible.
If you are novice/learner SUP find an isolated stretch or go out on onshore days when no one is around. If you don’t you will become a danger to yourself and others. Inflatable boards are also advisable to minimise the chance of injury for all parties. A learner SUP in a crowded lineup is like a kid with a loaded a gun who has been told they can shoot at anything.
If you are an intermediate SUP focus on big, isolated open ocean waves, burgery bombies and fat points you can share but not monopolise. These are the sorts of waves where riding a SUP has its obvious advantages and offers a type of fun a shortboard might not. If you are an average Supper and you paddle out at the local hot spot and start taking all the good ones you will likely become a loathed creature and a social outcast. People may say hello but secretly they are just thinking, ‘I wish you’d just fuck off.’ Super small days are an exception because the SUP makes sense but even then it’s important not to be greedy because when it’s small other boards work too.
As for the expert SUPPERS. Again utilising the skills in waves that regular shortboarders will find it hard to access or less interesting to ride seems like a worthy suggestion. That said, these guys and girls absolutely rip and will often rightfully want to be a part of the best line-ups. In the best waves on the best days, the best surfers generally get the waves irrespective of what they are riding. It’s only a healthy sense of proportion that really helps to keep the balance in the lineup. SUPPERS have the advantage of constant elevation and can see sets coming a long time before seated short-boarders. Rather than covet this knowledge they can win friends by tipping off the pack when a set is approaching – particularly if it’s big and scary or if they can let a shortboarder know to paddle deep or wide to be in position. Alternatively if SUPS are surfing a long wave it’s often better for the collective sense of lineup harmony if they get a wave up the point, then in the middle and then way down the end before returning to the optimal take-off zone. Once again it’s always worth being mindful that a big SUP is potentially more dangerous than a regular board – if you want to drive a truck on the road they make you get a different license.
If embraced with mindfulness SUPPING certainly offers another valid means through which to enjoy riding waves, but we definitely shouldn’t pretend that it doesn’t present an entirely new set of potential problems for lineups where most of like to take our challenges lying down before we get up.
