I am writing about this in October having just found Traveljournals. The vacation started in July 2007 and ended in August. Well maybe it didn't end. You see I officially retired from my full time work on July 29, 2007 while on vacation on Maui. Sort of a fantasy lived out. I went on vacation and never returned.
Well back to the new obsession. While on Maui this year I took notice of a recently revived style of surfing that has not been seen for decades. It is called stand up paddle surfing (SUP). As the name would lead you to believe, the rider does not lie prone on the board but stands up with a long canoe-like paddle. The SUP boards are a bit larger than the standard long boards, ranging from 10 to 12 feet and as much as 30 inches wide.
You may ask why or what is the advantage, I am not sure I can answer that, but it sucked me in like a Hoover upright. I found a rental for a few days on the island and had a SUP board shipped to my home in California shortly after leaving Maui.
I am "totally stoked" with this new (old) surfing style and I now am planning a number of surfing safaris throughout the winter. An up side of the SUP story is that the extra few pounds that I was carrying from last winter is gone and may not return this year.
Check the Pictures section for a couple of early photos.
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