Hi and greetings from Ireland. I come from a sailing background but have tried and became relatively competent in most non powered water sports. SUP changed my life. I first stood on a SUP board when things were very bad for me and I had an epiphany! I knew instantly that I would SUP with my family and that it was to become my life!

I knew then and even more so now, SUP will be the single biggest watersport in the history of Watersport, bar swimming/fishing! And, rightly so.

Anybody can SUP and they can SUP anywhere! I believe SUP has a social function to play in society. It unites families and communities.

www.facebook.com/SUPforall is what we do here in Ireland. We intend to make Ireland one of the most visited SUP locations in Europe. We look forward to many of you visiting us here and tasting our waterways and Ocean!

Dan is dead on. SUP is huge. Here are some numbers for you.

8% of all sup sales are now for whitewater use.
60% of sup users are WOMEN!!! Nice change from kayaking where its about 10%
80% of SUP users have a household income of over $80,000.yr. They can afford boards.
25% is surfing - starting to see a picture here...
25% is racing... picture getting clearer?
40%+ of SUP use is for recreation.

Sup has more than trippled in one year. It has grown almost 12x in three years. Kayaking conversely has a growth of under 1%.

And lastly... and this is the most important... it's just a whole lot of fun.

There is a reason so many great paddlers are doing it - Dan Gavere, Taylor Robinson, Woody Calloway, Shane Benedict, EJ and his Kids, Ken Hovie and on and on and on... and this is the whitewater greats who have embraced it. Never mind the tens of thousands of recreational kayakers who have jumped on and love it.

People who do not like sup: someone who's never tried it.

Corran

How times change.

What can you do with the paddle? What can't you do with the paddle?





It's more involving added the third dimension with a paddle. Frustrating sometimes because it takes away the purity of surfing with just a board, but feels more rewarding...especially on shorter Sup boards.

What to do with that darn paddle!

I posted this in whitewater but read this as well. Figured it may help understand why it is fun. I still take my kayak out 40 plus times a year on Class IV and V but when the rivers are lower the SUP makes it way more fun. This video gives an idea as to what it is like to run the river on a board.

I started to get it, when I bought a 14 feet cruising sup. After years sitting in a kayak it´s a relief to be standing up, especially for flatwater distance paddling.. so get up, stand up.

What I loved about SUP from the start (originally being a whitewater kayaker), is that the same river on a SUP is much more difficult than in a kayak. I've never liked big scary whitewater, so that means I wasn't learning anything anymore in my kayak. Now I can run the same easy whitewater and learn something new every day...