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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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SUP Fun

Everybody’s doing it.

Stand-up paddleboarding is booming in Orange County, where an industry that supplies gear, clothing and lessons has sprung up around the water sport, informally known as SUP.

Stand-up paddlers ride boards that are longer, wider and thicker than a surfboard. They propel themselves through the water using a long paddle. It’s a cross between surfing and canoeing—and it has reached a tipping point as one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.

Its rising popularity owes in part to the spread of specially designed stand-up paddleboards.

It also helps that it’s a snap to learn, and can be done on any body of water.

Proponents cite another reason that’s even more basic.

“It grew only because everyone was having fun,” said Jay “Sparky” Longley, chief executive of San Clemente-based Rainbow Sandals Inc.

Longley recalls when he first got into stand-up paddling. He and his friend, surfing pioneer Gerry Lopez, were standing on the beach watching another friend having a blast in the water on a day unsuited for surfing.

“The waves were mushy and horrible, and this guy was stand-up paddling and having fun,” Longley said.

That was around 2003, about the time stand-up paddleboarding started to take off here.

“Everybody that I know who’s a surfer does it,” Longley said.

Paddleboarding might have grown out of surfing, but non-surfers have accounted for its widespread popularity. Much of its appeal is that it’s a water sport that almost anyone of any size, shape or age can do.

“It has a relatively short learning curve,” said Tim Brown, founder of Newport Beach-based IntelliSkin LLC, which designs and makes athletic clothing that is worn to cue better posture.

More Stable

Stand-up paddleboards are more stable than surfboards. That means someone can learn stand-up paddling in a few hours at the most.

“You can get a three–year–old and a grandma out there,” Brown said.

He can vouch for the fun of it, too.

Brown said he likes to go out with a group of friends and paddle beyond the waves to the kelp beds, where they hang out with the dolphins.

“You see stuff you don’t normally see in the surf breaks,” he said. “When you come in for the rest of your day, it makes you feel like you’ve gotten away with something.”

Some people pack fishing or skin-diving gear on their boards, he said.

“You get a great workout coming in and out, but you also may be able to bring dinner home with you, too,” Brown said.

Stand-up paddleboarding also differs from surfing’s territorial nature. Its inclusive, family friendly, and there are more places to do it.

Newport Harbor, Newport Aquatic Center and Baby Beach in Dana Point are among popular spots in Orange County.

The sport is developing a competitive streak, with prizes and money up for grabs.

The annual NAC Hovie SUP Festival, held at the Newport Aquatic Center, offers a day of stand-up paddleboard racing.

One of the biggest competitive stand-up paddleboard events anywhere is the annual Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle, which will be held from Sept. 29 to 30 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.

The event is in its fifth year and draws about 10,000 people, including 1,000 people who compete in races. It’s a fundraiser for various charities.

Rainbow Sandals makes Battle of the Paddle sandals to donate as swag for the event. The sponsors and vendors are geared toward families.

“We’re trying to keep it wholesome,” Longley said.

The event raised about $300,000 last year.

Pricier

Many surfboard designers are now making stand-up paddleboards, which are pricier than surfboards. Typical paddleboards, about 12 feet long, cost from $1,000 to $1,500, with some going for much more.

Brian Hovnanian shaped surfboards for 35 years. He started to work on stand-up paddleboards five years ago, and now spends nearly all his time on them.

His Newport Beach-based company, HovieSUP LLC, sold 1,000 boards last year and expects a 50% increase in sales this year. It has a new racing board called the Comet.

HovieSUP boards are made at factories in Anaheim, Costa Mesa and overseas. The company now has 50 dealers that sell its boards to stores across the U.S., mostly outside of California, and also sells boards online.

Field Grows

There were about eight board makers when Hovnanian began making stand-up paddleboards, he said.

Now there are hundreds.

Longtime shaper Ron House also designs stand-up paddleboards in OC.

Costa Mesa-based Quickblade Inc., founded by Olympic canoeist Jim Terrell, makes paddles for the sport, and sells them worldwide. Quickblade paddles are considered high-end, selling for about $400.

Several stores in OC sell and rent paddleboards and give lessons, including Paddle Surf Warehouse in Costa Mesa and Dana Point, and Stand Up Paddle Co. in Laguna Beach.

Pirate Coast Paddle Co. was started last year by firefighter Mark Oehlman, youth pastor Tim Lukei and elementary school teacher Terrence Ngo. They started by offering lessons at the Newport Aquatic Center, but now rent boards at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina, where it leases space.

“It was a flawed business plan, because we always had to be on the water with our clients,” Ngo said.

Stand-up paddleboarding also has become a fitness trend.

SUPCore Academy in Newport Beach, Paddle Board Bliss in Laguna Beach, and the SUP Spot in Seal Beach offer stand-up paddleboarding boot camps, as well as SUP yoga, which is done on the boards in the water.

Small stand-up paddleboard companies are designing and making clothing and accessories geared to the sport, while big surf apparel companies have launched similar lines.

Functional Fashion

Such apparel is functional and fashionable. Many people make the mistake of wearing a bathing suit or a wetsuit when they start stand-up paddling, said Jaime Donnelly, director of marketing for Stand Up Paddle Co. in Laguna Beach, which sells clothing, boards and accessories and offers lessons and rentals.

“You don’t want to paddle in a wetsuit,” Donnelly said.

That’s because stand-up paddleboarding takes some effort, and it gets hot in a wetsuit.

Bathing suits, on the other hand, don’t offer much protection from the sun.

Stand-up paddlers tend to wear lightweight long-sleeve tops for additional protection from the sun.

Stand Up Paddle Co., which also sells sport-inspired casual wear, is a family business opened two years ago. It makes and sells boards and plans soon to launch a line of performance-based clothing through the Sport Chalet sporting-goods chain.

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