Stand Up Paddle Surfing Global Features

Anyone who surfs or stand up paddle surfs in the UK will have heard the name Chris "Guts" Griffiths. Chris is a legend who has been a well known face of surfing for over 40 years, he has won over a dozen Welsh titles, split between longboard and shortboard divisions, he won the Europe pro longboard tour in 1997 and 1999 and had a top five ranking in the ASP in 1996.

The Waterman's League Stand Up Paddle Surf Sunset Beach Pro was eventually won by Maui local Kai Lenny, and some excellent video footage has been surfacing from the event showing how, on day two, how hard and shifty the waves were.

With the amazing winter season in Hawaii starting to close it looked as if the Ku Ikaika Big Wave Challenge at Makaha Point might not get the swell it needed for the contest to go ahead, however big wave stand up paddle surfers are getting mentally prepared as the word is out that a big NNW swell in the 12-15 foot range is heading in making conditions look good for Monday.

Well the verdict is in and the tests are over, well for me and Claire they are anyway. Simon and Jock are yet to be tested. As part of the build up to the stand up paddle across the English Channel John Kelly from the University of Chichester put myself and Claire through a couple of tests to get a verdict on our current level of fitness and in turn that gave us a good idea of how much work we need to do over the coming months.

Corran Addison, the owner of Imagine Eco stand up paddle boards, is currently in Oahu, Hawaii. While most of us spent valentines day in a more sedate fashion, Corran decided to tackle Waimea, stand up paddle surfing. He tells us all about it.

As well as being a contributor to this website and a fanatical stand up paddle surfer (often seen out on the Hayling/Wittering/Bracklesham coast of the UK) Tez is a talented surf artist. We found out about this and asked Tez if he would tell us his story.

Ivan van Vuuren takes us through the new Coreban Fusion 9ft Stand Up Paddle board. It looks like a nice board and I hear a rumour that there will be a UK distributor of this South African/Hawaiian based brand. The board is 9ft x 29 1/2 wide x 4 1/2 thick. It has a volume of 148 L.

The kick off of the Waterman League's Stand Up Paddle World Tour had an anxious build-up, as athletes from around the world would come together to mingle, compete, and inevitably judge and be judged by their respected peers, and the North Shore would be host to yet another event close to others by date, yet distanced by medium... SUP. The Sunset Beach Pro, set to be the most groundbreaking event for this incredibly versatile sport exploding in every direction bears the significance of holding the first event of the Tour in Hawaii at one of its most celebrated breaks. Greeted by 8 - 10 ft perfect Sunset and 32 of Hawaii's most promising talents, the Hulakai Trials has set the standard for World Tour qualification.