Erik Antonson spent five years in a deep dive into standup paddle surfing. He hosted the Paddlewoo Podcast, produced The Progression Project and Coversessions SUP movies, founded Blue Zone SUP camp in Costa Rica and designed and shaped Portal SUP boards. He is now doing a similar dive into foil surfing and flow on the Progression Project Podcast.

The sport of stand up surfing was born in Hawaii as a way to train in the off season for big wave surfing. Small waves and big boards. It took off commercially because of the easy access to all bodies of water for all people, but a small group of surfers started pushing the limits going much smaller on boards and getting radical in the pocket. The Standup World Tour was founded and the limits of board volume (going smaller and smaller) equated to more radical shortboard style surfing, but at the cost of the ease of use. The market shrunk along with the tour.

A select, small group of these high level surfers found a balance between the easy paddling of bigger boards and the radical lines the performance side had normalized. This group started bringing high performance longboard SUP shapes into the lineup. Others noticed. It’s the best of both worlds, and now performance longboard SUPs are the best selling surf shapes on the market.

To better understand the merits of the longboard shapes we interviewed three of the best, the founders of longboard style SUP surfing, together to discuss it. Dave Kalama is a lifelong waterman, pioneering big wave tow surfing, stand up surfing and now foiling. Today, Dave only rides longboard SUPs when he paddles. He is also a renowned shaper with a niche on the longboard SUP market and an outstanding coach. Colin McPhillips is a multiple time Longboard World Champion and surfed on the Standup World Tour for many years as a face of the sport. Fisher Grant, humble and vastly talented, is a US amateur Longboard champ who has also finished in the top four for shortboarding at the US championships. Fisher is a top five Standup World Tour surfer and now a contented Hawaiian Lifeguard. And finally, Zane Kekoa Schweitzer, 2X winner of the Ultimate Waterman competition and ISA World SUP Surfing champion, adds his vast experience on knowledge and technique to the conversation. Quite a lineup.

Here’s why they all prefer the longboard SUP when they paddle surf ...

Interview #1: FISHER GRANT

What percentage of your water time are you spending on SUP these days? Of that, how much on longboard SUPs?

I’m currently in the water seven days a week as a lifeguard here in Waikiki. Lately with the small surf we’ve had on the south shore, I’ve been surfing an old 12’ rescue board. Most of the time I’ll surf it prone or tandem, but occasionally I’ll break out the paddle.

What do you feel is the draw to the longboard SUP?

It’s that effortless glide into the wave. Plain and simple.

Describe the lines and feelings of longboard SUP? Compared to performance SUP or prone surfing, what do you gain?

I like the feeling of setting up on a wave before it breaks and drawing a long fade and hook into the pocket, then I’ll sit there and enjoy the ride. Longboard SUP to me isn’t about throwing it on rail and getting radical, I leave that for the shorter board. It’s all about finding a flow and getting speed with the least amount of effort.

What’s your ideal day to take out the longboard SUP? When do you avoid it?

It would probably be a clean waist to chest high morning, rights and lefts to myself and a couple of friends. If it involves sitting in a wave hungry pack, I’ll just go paddle to another spot, which is probably the best thing about them. You’re so mobile on the things.

What do you look for in a LBS shape? What volume? Does that volume differ from your performance SUP boards? Why?

I look for the balance of glide, hold, trim, and maneuverability. I can’t tell you a specific number, but I know I don’t want to cork around on extra volume and I also don’t want to be pushing water like I do on my performance boards. I’ve paddle surfed my 9’6 longboard, which has about the same volume as my performance SUP, but it just doesn’t have the same feeling as surfing a longboard SUP. I gained the hold in steep sections but I lost the glide. That being said, I still haven’t found a longboard SUP that doesn’t want to slide out when riding the nose through the whitewash.

What’s your magic board? What’s your favorite fin setup?

I think my magic board would be on the heavier side for added momentum and glide. Anywhere from 9’6” to a 10’2”. I also like a nice, sleek outline with a slightly pulled in nose. It includes a wide point towards the tail, square tail for speed and trim. I like to keep it simple with one fin in the 10-11” range, pivot or Greenough style.

Is there a stylistic or technical difference in surfing a LBS vs. shorter more performance boards? Does the LBS teach you anything?

For sure, when I want to bottom turn on my performance SUP, I keep the paddle out in front which allows me to dig in and draw up into the lip. With longboard SUP, a good feeling bottom turn comes with the blade set further back on the face, just skimming the surface. I tend to use the paddle like a broom rather than a shovel. Longboard SUP has taught me to slow down and find the sweet spot on my board and on the wave. You have all this volume so there’s no need to overpower the wave.

If someone wanted to study LBS surfing, what would you watch? Who would you model?

If I wanted to become better at LBS surfing, I’d go back to the 60’s era before the shortboard revolution when style was the main focus. I love how Phil Edwards approached a wave, often trimming in a bowlegged stance and performing improvisational moves with total control

Interview #2: DAVE KALAMA

What percentage of water time are you spending on SUPs these days and how much of that is on Longboard SUPs?

10-15% of my water time is on SUPs these days and of that 100% of my time is on longboard style SUPs.

What’s the draw to the longboard SUP?

It really suits my style. I’ve always been into longboarding. I like that style of turn. I like the versatility of being aggressive on the tail if you want to or riding the nose or having the extra glide when you start moving up into the longer SUPs like 11-footers. I don’t really consider a 10-footer long. 11’ and 12’ are long and they have a very noticeable increase in glide which means you can catch waves further out, you’re more mobile in the lineup and it takes more patience and technique to really properly turn a board that big. You can’t wiggle it, you can’t kinda fake it. You’ve got to have really strong fundamentals to turn a board that big with any sort of aggressive style. I love that aspect of it.

My 11-footer is my most honest board in a way because it lets me know if I’m surfing well or not. It won’t lie to me (laughs). If I’m turning my 11-footer well, I’m surfing well. If I’m not, then I know I need to work on some technique stuff. It really teaches me to be patient because when you give a command, it doesn’t just happen instantly. You’ve got to have that patience to let the rail engage. Then you can kind of lean into it, and even when you start to lean into it you’ve got to be really smooth and patient. So it really is not only fun but the longboard SUP really polishes my technique and my surfing in general.

You said that you loved the style of turning a longboard SUP. Can you describe that style, the turning you mentioned and why it’s different?

For me, a 9-foot SUP is my version of a shortboard and I can get away with throwing it around. That’s always been my achilles heel in my surfing, that I’m too aggressive. On a 9-footer, I can get away with ‘punching’ the turn. But what happens when you punch the turn too aggressively at the beginning, you kill a lot of your speed. My wanting to turn hard and my wanting to attack leads me to punching too hard at the beginning of my turn which kills my speed. When I do it right and have the patience, then I’m able to roll in with a softer entry into my turn. Then I maintain my speed which allows me to create more G’s if I do tighten up the arc to get more projection. It enables me to have more options in the timing of how to approach the turn in the lip. There are just so many variable benefits. When you do it right, it just feels like every option is on the table. You’re surfing really fast but it’s all predicated on being patient on a longboard SUP which is sort of an oxymoron.

In shortboarding, you’re throwing your tail and pushing with your leg and using your upper body to turn so much more. With longboard style SUP, it’s much more difficult and has much more of a negative effect and so I really like when you do get it right on a stand up longboard. The projection and speed and glide through the turn comes with it.

What is your ideal day to take out a longboard SUP and under what conditions do you avoid it?

I like it to be pretty glassy so if it’s bumpy or windy, I probably won’t go out on my stand up. So, glassy conditions are nice but anything from two feet to 20-foot faces or 10-foot Hawaiian is all really fun stand up size to me. Obviously, when it gets to be up around 20-foot faces, I might go from a more versatile all-around longboard style SUP to something more progressive with probably a little less nose, but still in that 9 ½ to 10 ½ foot range.

When you are shaping stand up longboards for yourself, what are you looking for in design? What type of volumes do you like?

I really don’t know my number. That’s always been such a surfing thing to me. I just go off of length, width and thickness. And then within that you can modify a little bit. For me personally, I like to try and get the nose fairly foiled out. It doesn't have to be crazy thin. I definitely like a fairly thin-ish tail especially the last eight inches to a foot. And then, I’m not afraid of a little more volume under my feet.

With my production brand, I did a line of stand up longboards that I ride. Literally, every one of them is modeled after my personal boards because I want to be able to get boards quick and easy (laughs). So, I did a 9-foot, 10-foot and an 11-foot. All of them are 28 inches wide. All of them are 3 ¾ in thickness. My width is 27 ¾ inches to 28”.

Is there a stylistic difference between surfing stand up longboards versus more performance shortboards?

The stylistic difference between a shortboard SUP and a longboard SUP for me (and this is a very personal perspective), is that I tend to not like shortboard stand up. I know that might rub some people the wrong way and I’m totally fine with that, but I’ll explain why. It’s not that I don’t like progressive surfing on a stand up. It’s that whenever you get on a short stand up board, you are now going to be compared to shortboard surfing, at least in my mind. It’s such a personal thing and surfing is a personal thing so I’m sorry if anyone doesn’t like my opinion but it is my opinion. But, when you open yourself to being compared to shortboarding, it comes up short because we don’t have the pool of talent that shortboard surfing does currently. It’s been around for much longer, it’s more developed so there’s people around that I think are more talented and more progressive in their shortboard surfing.

Now, that’s not to say that we don’t have guys that are crazy good! Some of the Brazilian guys, Kai, Keahi, Zane, they rip the snot out of it, you know? But it’s compared to what it is in progressive shortboarding and I feel bad for them because they rip in their own right. I just think philosophically that longboard SUP lends itself to being compared less to other progressive styles of surfing which allows it to stand on its own and be more stylistic. That’s my own personal take on it.

What’s your magic board and talk about fin set up a little bit?

Fin setup first: I pretty much roll quad all the way across the board no matter what I’m using which almost hurts me to say that because I was such a thruster guy. Every time I used to try a twin-fin or quad, I thought it felt weird and there was this weird lag and delay in rolling it to the new rail and having it actually engage.

I remember Kai Lenny and I had lunch one day at Whole Foods and he just rambled on for half an hour about how great quads were. I was writing him off the whole time. I was like, “No, they’re not.” He kept going on about it so by the end of lunch, I decided that maybe I should try it again (laughs). And so I did and I didn’t like it initially but I decided to give it a fair shot before I wrote it off again. I decided to figure it out, get to know it and if I still didn’t like it, then I’d know.

So, I added a little nubster in the middle so it was technically a 5-fin. It was sort of my training wheel or my crutch to bridge the gap between a thruster and a quad set up. I started to figure it out and eventually I got rid of the little nubster and went pure quad. Then, to get it a little back closer to my thrusters, I took the trailers and moved them in about an inch or inch and a half towards each other and that brought back a little bit more of the consistency and predictability of a thruster. So now it had what I felt were a lot of the advantages of a quad. I did finally settle into riding quads in the last 10 years or something like that.

As for the magic board, I did have one. I had this 9’7 x 28” x 3 ¾ . It had the versatility and length to be mobile and glide. It could ride small waves really well but I made it fairly light so it was easy to throw around if I wanted to get really progressive and bang the lips a little more and complete my round-house turns. For a long time that was the board I considered was the best board I ever made for myself that checked all the boxes of what I like to do on a SUP. But now with my 9’, 10’ and 11’ options in my production boards, I literally like them all the same. It just depends on what my mood is or what the size of the surf is. I’ll probably use my 11’ from ankle high to head high and then I’ll start moving into the smaller boards as the surf gets bigger.

If someone wanted to study longboard stand up, who would you model and what would you watch?

I have always really admired Bonga Perkins’ style of surfing. He is a world champion longboard and he did do some stand up. I don’t ever think it’s become his primary style of surfing but he did get very proficient at it and he brought a lot of his longboard style into his stand up. Even before stand up, I really admired Bonga’s style. He could be super aggressive, hitting the lip and in his turns, but he always had the smoothness and patience and really beautiful lines to his surfing. I like that approach where you use technique as the basis for your turning and your style, not too much the paddle and upper body rotation. If you start flinging your shoulders back and forth and cranking your paddle too much, you lose a lot of speed and you lose a lot of flow.

What are your favorite moments on longboard SUPs?

I would probably say I have two. On my 9-foot stand up, it’s when I can get that thing to truly twelve o’clock. I love a straight up, vertical hit.

The other one I really like is when I’m on my 11-footer and I’ve got enough speed to crank a full roundhouse and bank off the whitewater again. Boy, does that feel good. It’s difficult to get a full roundhouse on an 11-footer but if you get it right, the speed it holds and the bank of the white water is like the cherry on top.

Interview #3: COLLIN MCPHILLIPS

What percentage of your water-time are you spending on SUP these days? Of that, how much on longboard SUPs?

My percentage of water time on SUPs is definitely lower these days than in the past. I’ve really gravitated back to traditional surfing, and am really enjoying it! But when I am on my SUP, its 100% a longboard SUP. I’ve been strictly riding a 9’0, 9’6, 10’0 longboard SUP for the past 5 years.

What do you feel is the draw to the longboard SUP?

My draw to the longboard SUP takes me back to the beginning. When I first got hooked on SUP I started out on big boards; that's all there were. My first paddleboard was 11’0. Then I took the jump down to 8’11 and everyone thought I was crazy. They all said ‘Wow! You look like you're on a big surfboard.’ Then the craze hit and all paddlers started riding smaller boards.

Watching guys paddle their 7’4 paddle surf boards out on their stomachs and only standing up to paddle to catch the wave was just lame. From there I made myself some 9’0 longboard style SUPs. I kept them thin, narrow around 27”, and light! They worked insane. Longboard SUPs are easy to paddle, turn great, and allow the rider to use the entire board. With this new design, I was super stoked again whether I was on my 7’6 (the smallest board I ever rode) or my 9’0. So,that's when my appreciation for my 9’0 really took off. I was able to ride it like a traditional longboard, get easy speed, feel that rail engage in the wave face and sling-shot around! I hit everything I was looking for in SUP surfing and haven’t turned back!!

Describe the lines and feelings of longboard SUP? Compared to performance SUP or prone surfing, what do you gain, what do you miss?

The feeling I get from riding my longboard SUP is pure enjoyment. Speed, rail turns, and nose riding are the highlighted benefits! They are three of the best feelings in surfing and a longboard style SUP allows for all those to happen. When you use your paddle properly, the 9’0 just gains more speed and turns even better!

What’s your ideal day to take out the longboard SUP? When do you avoid it?

The best waves for me personally to take my longboard SUP out is anything from ankle high to head high, or a point break. Waves like this give you unlimited speed and glide. I always said a 1-2 foot day at a point break on my longboard SUP makes me feel like I just surfed J-Bay!

What do you look for in a longboard SUP shape? What volume? Does that volume differ from your performance SUP boards? Why?

My all around ideal SUP is 9’0 x 27 x 3 3/4 V100 This gives me all the performance I am looking for, but also keeps it easy to paddle and have fun no matter what the conditions. I always said, if you can’t SUP in the winter wearing trunks because you're falling in too much, you need more foam under your feet!

If someone wanted to study LBS surfing, what would you watch? Who would you model?

My favorite moments on my SUP take me back to filming with Dave Kalama and Dave Bohne in Costa Rica. In a week of surfing waves by ourselves, riding longboard SUPs was amazing. Three old guys who started out on longboard style SUP coming back to our roots and discovering how much better they worked! Also every year I surf in Fiji with Dave Kalama. We both have the exact same mindset on longboard SUPs so it's awesome to share a lineup with him and watch his lines and approach!

Interview #4: ZANE KEKOA SCHWEITZER

What percentage of your water-time are you spending on SUP these days? Of that, how much on longboard SUPs?

I’d say most of my time spent on SUP currently is spent on a longboard style SUP, specifically on my 9’0 or 10’0 Starboard Longboard. Aside from my training, I also am also coaching and teaching almost every day of the week. During this time, I definitely prefer to ride a longboard SUP to be more mobile, spend more time on the water comfortably and have fun with some stylish paddle enhanced surfing and footwork.

What do you feel is the draw to the longboard SUP?

Longboarding, in general, has always been a favorite category of mine for both surfing and paddle surfing. On any given day, you can always have fun on a longboard SUP, whether it’s flat to 1ft or even if it’s solid overhead surf. The lines drawn on my longboard will always feel timeless and never forced. It’s all about flow and grace, and there are so many ways and opportunities to achieve this on a longboard style SUP. I feel if there is one board I would choose to ride for the rest of my life it would be my Starboard longboard.

Describe the lines and feelings of longboard SUP? Compared to performance SUP or prone surfing, what do you gain, what do you miss?

As mentioned above, with longboard SUP surfing, it’s all about grace and style. With the paddle you can utilize paddle maneuvers using that same grace and style to control the sharpness of turns and changes of direction with a slight shift of weight and engagement of paddle. A good longboard SUP surfer can achieve their desired reaction with little to no effort with full control of their board and paddle along with fancy footwork

What’s your ideal day to take out the LBS? When do you avoid it?

Almost any day is good to take out a longboard SUP. I live in Lahaina above Launiupoko beach park and all the waves in this area are perfect for my Starboard SUP longboard. Whether I’m out with the family sharing party waves, going for time on the nose with friends at one of the many waves here in Lahaina or even in the back of the truck ready to rock for any occasion that presents itself, such as paddling, fishing line out during night camping, charging a session in between errands in town or even sneaking into some bombs on the north shore, the board can handle it ALL!

What do you look for in a LBS shape? What volume? Does that volume differ from your performance SUP boards?

The SUP longboards I like to ride have dimensions of 9’x28”x3.3”x101Li and 10’x29”x3.3”x123Li. This is most definitely more volume than my 6’8”x24”x76Li, but that’s the point. I can surf with comfort, glide, and all around ease. These are boards I can ride all day everyday, no matter the conditions and no matter my health.

Is there a stylistic or technical difference in surfing a LBS vs. shorter more performance boards? Does the LBS teach you anything?

Of course! A longboard surfer will achieve their desired reactions with little to no effort, or at least it seems that way. I like utilizing a defined sense of a pivot point with graceful footwork in sync with the paddle that seems to act as a third leg for stability and a rudder for complete control. A high-performance shortboard SUP rider, on the other hand, will put in that extra needed power, strength and full body movement into each rail turn to make each transition happen and to achieve speed, power and flow. Even though longboarding requires a much bigger board, an experienced longboarder will go about their session with less strain and exertion to achieve their desired reactions. It’s a win win in the category of longevity.

What’s your magic board? What’s your favorite fin setup?

9’0x28”x3.3x101Li Starboard SUP Longboard with my pro model 7.5” longboard fin by AK Durable Supply Co. (7.5”x6.06” 2+1 comparable)

If someone wanted to study LBS surfing, what would you watch? Who would you model?

I’ve always looked up to the older guys in the lineup that are out there everyday having fun, rain or shine.. We have a bunch of watermen and waterwomen here in Hawai’i who have had a lifetime of experience on the ocean, and still they are out and stoked on surfing. They ride with grace and ease, minimal impact and maximum style and control. Guys that I can think of that inspired me early on are people like uncle Dave Kalama, Ekolu Kalama and Bonga Perkins!

Describe your favorite moments on LBS.

My favorite moments on a longboard SUP are those times spent laughing with just a few friends lapping the lineup going for time on the nose.

Aloha and Mahalo,

Zane Kekoa Schweitzer

www.zaneschweitzer.com

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SEAPaddleNYC interviews

GERRY LOPEZ;

A Tour around Manhattan by Water

I got a call from my good friend, Darrick Doerner about going to New York city to paddle a SUP board around Manhattan Island. He explained that it was a charity event aimed at drawing awareness to the rising incidence of autism in children. Andrew Mencinsky of the Surfer’s Environmental Alliance and a friend of Darrick’s from New Jersey, was organizing the paddle and DD said it would be worthy and fun. My father was a New Yorker, born and raised in Mamaroneck but he left around 1940 for Honolulu where he met my mother attending the University of Hawaii. They married, produced myself, my sister and brothers and there we all lived. I had been to NYC once very briefly in 1980 as a guest on the David Letterman show. Only there overnight and warned by the hotel staff to not go out at night, I saw nothing of the city.

This time, it was much different. My wife, Toni and I travelled with Sparky Longley from Rainbow Sandals and stayed at the Waldorf. Rainbow just opened a new store so we walked there in the morning and did a little in-store promo for the sandals. The next day was the paddle and I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. Darrick had arranged with Blane Chambers on Oahu to have two boards sent to the waterfront for us in NY and they were beautiful. I had done a bit of stand up paddling on the rivers and lakes around Bend, Oregon and in the surf at San Onofre in San Clemente, California, but at that time, was still pretty new to the sport. As we got ready to go, I asked someone how far it was around Manhattan and was informed it was about 28 miles. Well, that was quite a distance! It came as somewhat of a shock.

Andrew had planned the timing of the whole event with the tides in our favor. So, the river currents flowed in the direction we were going. It was a pleasant - if long - paddle. Conversation on a SUP board is easy especially so at our leisurely pace and along the way, various local fellow paddlers would explain all the points of interest.

The bridges of Manhattan were fascinatingly plentiful. The famous boroughs of NYC were all pointed out often along with a story or two. Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx on one side and the sights of Manhattan on the other, it was an amazing way to see this great city from the perspective of the water. Equally amazing was how quickly and easily the miles slipped by with so much of interest to look at.

When we finally turned out onto the Hudson River for the final, long, last leg, now with New Jersey on our right side, it was almost sad that the tour was coming to an end. Cruising by the docks and piers along Chelsea and the Village, there ahead was the Statue of Liberty taking in all the sights. And before I knew it, even if about 8 hours had gone by, dodging the ferries around Battery Park, we made the final turn into the North Cove Marina.

It was a long paddle and I was feeling it in my shoulders and mostly my feet from standing so long. Like one of those 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles, that paddle around Manhattan was a jumble of sights, sensations, thoughts and impressions. There were almost too many to process but it was already safely if maybe deeply stored in my memory banks. Yes, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Keep Paddling!

DARIAN BOYLE

Daughter of the Captain

SEAPaddleNYC has evolved into a very special event for me and my family. The date is locked in early on our summer calendar and it has been a fixture, equally immutable as the 4th of July. The SEAPaddleNYC was originally hosted at my father’s marina in Jersey City, NJ where he contributed his water taxi, our Typhoon as a chase boat. The Captain, my father Bruce Boyle, quickly became a part of the fabric and the magic of SEAPaddleNYC.

I initially participated in the SEAPaddleNYC as a prone paddler as I had never paddled a stand up paddleboard. However, a challenge from Darrick Doerner after that initial race hooked me on SUP. The gift of stand up paddling has been life changing. I have raced, toured and surfed from Hawaii to Sicily to Montauk. Each year, I look forward to going back to SEAPaddleNYC for the rugged physical and mental SUP challenge that is fraught with danger. I even refused to miss the 2014 event following the birth of my daughter and jumped into the Elite race to finish third for the woman.

The Paddle became a gravitational pull for my friends from around the globe to reunite for several days, see Manhattan from a different point of view, have some laughs and just catch up while giving back to Autism and the environment.

One year, Hells Gate looked more like a Class Five river mixed with a double overhead break. There is never a shortage of tankers who can’t see us very well and even if they did see the paddlers, it takes them 2 miles to stop their vessel. A particularly sporty year had me racing a tanker to” Hells Gate “as I was looking for the fastest line and current. I remember narrowly escaping with a "kiss" from a massive barge as I saw the whites of the dock hands’ eyes on the stern of the vessel.

The Paddle itself, despite its challenges, was always safe because it was in the Captain’s hands. My father, Bruce Boyle, made sure not only that I was safe, but that the field was safe, hydrated, fed and comforted. If you needed something, the chase boat was there led by my father who watched me, and those tanker captains, like a hawk. He became an integral part of the paddle and the award he won, Friend of the Paddle, later became the Bruce Boyle award which is given to those who, like him, value the watermen and women who participate, the support teams that volunteer their time and the causes that the SEAPaddleNYC and SEA have tirelessly supported from the event’s inception.

I was given SUP as a lifelong passion by this incredible paddle around Manhattan. The family affair it has become means so much to me, as has the summer tradition of getting on the water with close friends and family at the annual SEAPaddleNYC "Reunion" which, like the ripping tides on the East River, cannot be stopped!