Stand Up Paddle Surfing Starting To Make More Waves

June 15, 2008

First there was surfing. Then there was windsurfing. Now there is a another spin off of traditional surfing called Stand-Up Paddleboarding or SUP.

Once again this new trend is moving from the west coast to the east coast. Though paddleboarding has been around for a long time in Hawaii, it’s only during the past few years that it’s made its way to California.

The main difference between traditional surfing and stand-up paddleboarding is that the stand-up surfer on the paddeleboard is on a longer, wider, fatter board, which he or she stands on and uses a long paddle to move through the water.

While looking slightly awkward, the paddleboarders can still catch waves like a longboard. One of the selling points of stand-up paddleboarding is that during days of bad waves, paddleboarders can still go out to get some exercise while the regular surfers are sitting on the beach.

Even on the west coast where trends and fads are adopted faster than you can change a pair of shoes, stand-up paddleboarding has been slow to catch on with traditional west coast surfers.
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Written by Mark Bransfield · Filed Under Beaches, Recreation, Surfing | 1 Comment

Surfing Cape Ann to Southern Maine

June 12, 2008

While many of us may not associate surfing with New England, the sport of surfing in New England has been steadily increasing in popularity.

There is a growing and dedicated base of local surfers in the Greater Newburyport region with easy access to surf shops and beaches ranging from Cape Ann and Nahant to our south to the beaches of southern Maine to our north.

Evidence of a surfing niche can be found in Newburyport if you are observant. You will notice more cars than you realize with surfboards on their roof racks driving through downtown and on High Street. If you want a surfing magazine, you can find one at Fowle’s on State Street.

You can surf and/or watch local surfers at the beaches of Plum Island and Salisbury and Seabrook. Good Harbor Beach on Cape Ann is a good beach for surfing. Nahant Beach in Lynn/Nahant also attracts many surfers.

New Hampshire’s North Beach, just north of Hampton Beach, is a very popular year round surfing beach, even during winter weekends. If you go a little further north to southern Maine, you can access some great surfing beaches in York, Ogunquit, Wells and Kennebunk.

If you are a beginner surfer or have an interest in taking up surfing, read the article by Laura Dolce on Seacostonline.com. Her article provides surfing tips and identifies the basics of surfing that you need to know to enjoy surfing in this part of New England.

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