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What’s SUP?One of the things I love about the human race is ourconstant inventiveness – particularly when it comesto ways we can have more fun.Words Irena BrooksOver recent years, the Stand UpPaddleboard – or SUP – has beenrediscovered and improved, withmodern materials and new-foundtechnologies.New Plymouth residents will haveseen people paddling them at NgamotuBeach, East End and Fitzroy, up theMokau River and at Lake Rotorangi.During the longer warmer springevenings, it has actually looked like areally good idea as I’ve watched peoplepaddling peacefully up the coast.Usually people are choosingserene days to take their Stand UpPaddleboards out, but a few havemastered the art of catching waveswith them too. This is ideal for theaging surfers amongst us who getknackered paddling out the back ona traditional surfboard and whoserusty knees and dodgy backs make itincreasingly hard for them to do thewhole swift manoeuvre of lying downto standing up. With an SUP, you’realready standing, so it’s just a matter ofusing your paddle to catch the wave.If you’ve never been a surfer, youcan easily learn on an SUP. Localretailer, Kevin Hosking of ShorebreakPaddleboards, recommends the gentlebreaking waves at Waitara Beach.“But a lot of people just use themfor flat water cruising,” says Kevin. “Itgives you a way to explore places andexperience them in a way we haven’tbeen able to before.”To get the hang of stand uppaddleboarding, Ngamotu Beach is agreat place to start. You can either goround to Breakwater Bay, or paddleout from the beach.We chose a glorious spring day formy first go.The boards are large, long and stable,weighing from 5 kilos to maybe 10 or12, depending on if you get a fiberglassone or an inflatable. For our lesson,I was on a 10’8” inflatable.I didn’t have a problem getting upand fell off just the once, when we hita cross swell as we paddled out of theshelter of the breakwater. Dressed inmy wetsuit and booties, I didn’t getthe expected heart-stopping, breathgaspingdunk into freezing water I wasexpecting – it was actually pretty niceand refreshing. It also gave me a greatchance to experience getting back onthe board from the water and it was noproblem.Even in the somewhat murky watersof Ngamotu Beach you could clearlysee rocks and seaweed below. Kevinsays in clearer waters you can easilysee fish swimming below you and inreally pristine waters you can see thewhole sea bed or river bottom.Stand Up Paddleboards are designedfor various functions – flat watercruising, surfing and racing.“Women are often as fast, or fasterthan men,” says Kevin. “It’s all abouttechnique and power to weight ratio.”Most people don’t fall off either, soit’s the kind of exercise you could do inyour lunch hour and then head back towork.Speaking of exercise, it is a terrific allover workout, but particularly good foryour core muscles and balance.With so many waterways in Taranaki,and coastline along about 65% of theTaranaki border, paddleboarders haveplenty of options to explore. Plus theyare a great option to take with you onholidays – especially the inflatablesas they fold up easily into a backpack.Imagine paddling out on one of theSouth Island lakes, or the golden sandfringed azure bays of the Far North.Starting in late November, Kevinis planning on having evenings atNgamotu Beach for people to comeand have a go as well as race thepaddleboards.With summer coming up andChristmas rapidly approaching, aStand Up Paddleboard may be justthe thing to put on your wish list.SHOREBREAKPADDLEBOARDSSALES I TOURS I HIREFind us on Facebook: Shore Break Paddleboardsemail: shore.break@farmside.co.nz phone: 021 651 8702 I LIVE MAGAZINE I AUG SPRING / SEPT 2013 2013