Stand Up Paddle Surfing

Probably the worst thing about surfing in Southern California is the crowds. Everyone surfs here, or tries, and finding a spot to yourself is truly unheard of. About a year ago I tried Stand Up Paddle Surfing and I have been hooked ever since. The thing about S.U.P. is that with the paddle you can travel much greater distances with ease than you can while lying prone. Every surfer has had the experience of seeing a wave in the distance that looks perfect, but it too far to paddle to......this is not the case with Stand Up.

A Morning Session without anyone in Sight!

I walk down to the beach near 1st St in Manhattan Beach most mornings and paddle up past the pier and then up to El Porto and back (about 3 miles) and surf completely alone. This is all beach break, so there are many available peaks of which I surf up and down the coast. There are surfers that I pass, but I don't want to take their waves so I just get one past them. Most mornings from the Hermosa Pier to the Manhattan Pier I am the only one in the water.

Up before the sun:

Another amazing thing to me about Southern California is how much wildlife there is! Coming from Hawaii I always thought that California water was just brown, polluted and lifeless. Almost every morning I see Dolphins. Often times I see large pods of Dolphins. They do the same thing I do, cruise up and down the coast surfing and playing.

A Dolphin right under my board:

There are also all kinds of sea birds, fish, sharks, reys and seals that I see on a regular basis. Standing above the water really lets you see everything that you miss lying down on a prone surfboard.

For those of you wondering about these pictures; they were taken with a GoPro Camera that I have attached to my paddle. The only problem with the GoPro is that it takes a picture every 2 seconds for an hour, so you never know when it is going to take a picture! The GoPro is made to be placed on the front of your surf board, but it is so much more versatile attached to the paddle. I think it gives a better view of what I am seeing rather than just stuck on the board. I follow a great blog out of San Diego about SUP where John Ashley explains how to do this to your paddle: http://www.paddlesurf.net/2009/02/making-go-pro-paddle-cam-easy-way.html

Here is a picture of my "Paddle Cam":