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SUP, Bro?

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ROM A DISTANCE, it looks easy: stand up straight, power forward with the paddle, check out the scenery, don’t fall off. But having spent every previous experience involving a surfboard in various stages of wipeout and exhaustion, I know that looks can be deceiving. So as I step on the massive stand-up paddle board, face my toes forward and drag the oar through the water, it’s a surreal experience that I’m not toppling embarrassingly into the surf. Yet Scott Ruble, my instructor for the day, doesn’t seem that surprised. “I told you it was easy,� says Ruble, who, along with his wife, Leslie, just opened Covewater, Santa Cruz’s first SUP-only surf shop (though most surf shops and even Kayak Connection rent the boards, and it’s easy to find lessons). “Just try to keep straight up and dip your paddle perpendicular into the water and push forward. That’s it!� The Rubles opened their shop in April in an effort to get the corner on the market of a sport that’s quickly making gains on traditional surfing as the best way to ride the waves. Nothing more than a longer, wider and more buoyant surfboard that comes with a paddle, SUP surfing combines the leisurely transportation benefits of a kayak with the wave-catching abilities of a surfboard. The boards themselves are huge: usually between 9 and 13 feet long and at least 4 inches thick. For my first lesson, I’m given a large and stable board—the 12-foot-1-inch Laird Hamilton Series, along with a carbon fiber Surftech paddle. New, the gear would cost $1,600. Gliding through the water is both easy and efficient, and when a light breeze picks up, my upright body serves as a makeshift sail, propelling me quickly across the surface. Around the harbor, curious sea lions peek above the lapping waves and sea otters doze lazily on their backs. After and hour or so, Ruble says I’ve mastered the basics. The next lesson involves leaving the harbor and braving the waves that have bedeviled me as a surfer. Somehow, armed with my big board and paddle, I think I’ll do better this time. “Anyone can do this sport,� Ruble says confidently. “Not like surfing, where you’ll spend months getting beat up and still won’t get it. This is just about having fun.� Curtis Cartier

June 25

June 26

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LddY^Zh dc i]Z L]Vg[ A celebration of the surf spirit and classic surf wagons. Music, T-shirts, memorabilia and prize drawings. Santa Cruz Wharf, 10am–4pm. www.santacruzwoodies.com.

Beach audience. 6:30 and 8:30pm.

June 25–27 '*i] 6ccjVa BdciZgZn 7Vn 7ajZh ;Zhi^kVa Three days of the best of the blues, in all imaginable styles, in continual performance on three separate stages. Monterey Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey. Schedule, tickets and info: www.monterey blues.com.

June 25–July 18 Hl^c\ Cabrillo Stage musical production celebrates the remarkable art form. Thu–Sat and some Sun. Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos. www.cabrillostage.com.

June 27 7^`Zh dc i]Z 7Vn Vintage motorcycle show with hundreds of pre-1985 American, British, European and Japanese motorcycles and scooters. Vendors offer bike accessories, clothing, parts and services, swap and parts meet, entertainment, food and awards. Free. In the Capitola Mall parking lot off 41st Avenue. www.bikes onthebay.com.

June 30 ĂˆAdhi 7dnhÉ DjiYddgh Bdk^Z HXgZZc^c\ L^i] 8dgZn

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