We finished translating (with John Harris) Patrice Guenole text about his new experiment, that tries to have a board that can be both SUPed and prone surfed. I copy it below, and you can read it at www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=70521

Some discussions (mostly in French) + some vids & pics can be found in the original thread at www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4458

a vid: www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/movies/article1441/

pics: www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/news/interview-l-ours-et-le-paddlesurf/ www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/news/how-to-stand-up-on-low-volumes/

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And I can testify that it can be done by an not-so-young-and-slim guy like me on a windy day (and quite a lot of people have already SUPed with their prone longboards in the past)


??? but the master was killing it on the same board in this same session www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/news/photos-in-the-wind-4262/ www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/news/movie-25-on-line/ lateral stability is tricky with a lot of chop, but the narrow width makes the board knife through the chop, giving an insane paddling speed and an ultra smooth ride.



Here is the English version of the original post (in French) www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4458 by Patrice "Ours" Guenole, Gong owner & shaper:

Hello,

Now is the time to talk about what I call "Paddlesurfing"

I have been working on reuniting surfing and Stand Up Paddle Surfing for years. Today many of us are able to SUP on very small volume boards of all sizes .

In 2008 / 2009 I designed and developed the paddleclip. This is a plastic clip that is worn on a belt or simply sewn to one???s boardshorts. (See www.jpaction.com/ ).

This clip can hold the paddle shaft, just under the handle. . It helps in freeing the hands from the paddle, so you can swim with the paddle (in case of broken leash for example) and you can prone paddle on the board unbothered by the paddle (going out through whitewater for instance).

Being able to prone paddle while bring the paddle with me, allowed me to test "true" surfing with a paddle : the true "Paddlesurfing".

Immediately it become apparent that it was not difficult to prone paddle with this paddleclip. It takes some time to get used to it, to turtle dive, avoid going backwards in the foam, etc ...

But the main problem was not there.

The main concern was: what to do now with a surfboard and a paddle?

Remember that at the time, not many people SUPed, the manoeuvers were fun but not really radical and the boards were huge, and the paddles extremely long.

Today, years have passed. I introduced the shortSUP to surfers 3 years ago. shaped the first 5 ' SUPs and I surfed them. We refined shapes, worked out details. Turns became sharper and therefore paddles shortened.

At the time, I mainly "Paddlesurfed" my longboards and modern mini-mals .

and totally loved the efficiency gain that the paddle provided for leverage in maneuvers. For example, to hit a closing lip must be done gingerly on a paddle-less surfboard, whereas while paddlesurfing one can hit hard and balance with the paddle if necessary. Now, this was awesome!

But the paddles were large and the trajectories were limited by these paddles too big for these tight-turning surfboards. This was the issue.

Then SUP boards became more and more radical, while surfboards grew more comfortable. So much so that both began to meet with volumes similar or even the same on some models.

The last step remaining was just to stand on a surfboard with a paddle.

With our modern super short and light paddles, with our more radical view of trajectories with a paddle in hand, Paddlesurfing imposed itself: obvious, essential, and possible

All the lights went green when SUP-paddling the existing ???Incredible Ten Bamby??? 10 ' GONG surfboard 120L x 64cm (25??? 3/16). The harmony between the paddle and this surfboard became obvious.

We certainly made progress in Stand Up technique. It is clear that we are now ten times better (or less bad ) than in 2008 /2009. And things that seemed impossible become possible:

for instance, SUPing standing up on a board with not enough volume to float us.

Be reminded that the formula for calculating the flotation in liters is :

= absolute value of the volume of the rider weight + absolute value of the weight of the board + paddle + wetsuit, in kilograms.

The last step that remained for me, was to Stand Up Paddle surf on a board unable to carry my weight at rest, a board with a negative flotation.

So I took a production 9'2 Ten Blues GONG Bamby 78L x 61cm (24???).

The computation gives:

78 liters vs a 90kg "Bear" (my nickname) + 8kg board & gear. I am 20 liters short.

I thus only had to have enough balance to not fall on a 24??? wide board that sinks.

In practice:

I climb on it. It sinks . I stand up quickly and I begin to paddle. It rises to the surface . I paddle to get into a wave. I surf the wave. I turn around. I return to the peak. I stop paddling . The board sinks. It sinks enough to immerse 20 liters about my body. I go where it is deep enough to be calm. I dig my paddle to gain balance. I stand, water up to my trunks . When the series comes, I go back to the surface by some "Indian paddling" (moving the paddle underwater). I build up speed. The board surfaces. And I proceed to catch my next wave.

The circle is complete . The "negative volume " is doable. And it is possible with a significant lack of volume, not just one or two liters.

And now:

Add to these experiments the paddleclip (see photos in this French article)and you'll see that surfing with a paddle on very small volume surfboards is playable. Better: it's fabulous.

We can paddle standing or lying prone depending on the situation.

We can take off standing with the paddle or prone, grabbing the paddle after takeoff.

We can enjoy the power and mastery provided by a paddle while having a surfboards speed and radicalness

We enjoy in our hands and at our feet some super light and nimble gear.

It is ultra sexy.

Tomorrow:

Surfing is fabulous. We draw from its roots always more fun in infinite ways, from Alex Knost to Kelly Slater and including all my friends, beginners or casuals. We must knit and unravel this fusional art form with the wave medium.

SUPing is an infinite enrichment of surfing. It provides an extension in all areas where surfing is limited. SUP allows surfing flat water, noseriding to the extremes, speeding in gutless waves, multiplying moves on spots seldom blessed with beautiful conditions, making the discovery of surfing open to thousands of people who otherwise would have had a hard time learning prone surfing, etc ...

But SUP is now at a turning point in its evolution because it is becoming more radical. Just as surfing has been radicalized in the seventies and eighties and then relaxed in the nineties, SUP will undergo these phenomena of contraction / relaxation. Between the committed hardcore tribe and the general public willing to commit, power struggles are eternal.

Today SUP displays its performance side, as if suffering from a lack of recognition as an extreme sport. Is it extreme ? Should it be? It already has so many innate qualities.

Everyone will do what he wants with his SUP.

But let's face it: a SUP (Stand Up) world event with contestants who prone paddle and wait lying on their boards because the judges reward radical moves, the ones that require the smallest volumes, this world championship can be confusing! You always want less volume to always hit the lip harder , forgetting completely the ???gliding dimension??? of SUP, forgetting the noble art of what I call the ???SUP surfing gentleman???.

Without wishing to be pedantic on the meaning of words, there is an ethical practice of SUP that requires always standing up. Otherwise, SUPing is not SUPing. It becomes paddlesurfing.

The "Paddlesurf" is the perfect union of radical surfing with paddle use, the connection between the Surfing and SUPing worlds via their radical aspects.

Incidentally, note that the connection between Surfing and SUPing via their stylish and noseriding aspects is totally self-evident, at the other end of the spectrum of historical performance.

So, what to do with this "Paddlesurf" ?

We must promote it. I'm probably not alone now in the world exploring this path. But we can be thousands tomorrow.

The Paddlesurf must free SUPing from difficulty requirements it suffers at the expense of its ethics and its DNA. Just like a longboard is at least 9 ', a SUP must be ALWAYS paddled STANDING UP. This is not debatable because it is the essence of its existence. Again, its DNA.

Everyone does what he wants. I wanted to do that .

Who 's coming with me ?

Thank you .

Patrice Guenole

(Translation by Colas Nahaboo, John Harris)