Organization Trying To Regulate SUP Surfing In Hawaii

Jenny Lee, enjoying the waves on Oahu's South Shore.

OAHU, Hawaii - Safesurfhawaii.com, a website dedicated to safe and fair sharing of Hawaii’s surf zone resources, has launched an effort to regulate the use of SUPs in certain lineups in Hawaii.

Safe Surf Hawaii is proposing a safe surf zones pilot project that would prohibit the use of SUPs in the surf zones located between Ala Moana Harbor and Kewalo Basin Harbor during three time periods each week, for example, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3pm to 9pm.

The Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is inviting the public to attend and comment on proposals to regulate the use of standup paddle boards in surf zones. If you are in the area, the meeting takes place tonight, August 27 at 5:30 pm at:

THOMAS JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
342 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

If you can’t make the meeting but would like to voice your opinion, send an email to the DLNR telling them your thoughts. 

My thoughts:

Keeping the line ups safe and fair is a very important issue, but is alienating a certain watersport from participating in what should be a right to everyone really the answer? Standup paddling gets a lot of heat when it comes to surfing and some people tend to think that standup paddling doesn’t follow the rules of the water.

The thing is, it doesn’t matter what type of board you surf on. Whether it’s a longboard, shortboard, boogie board or SUP, some are either going to follow the rules and courtesies of the line ups and others won’t. Some know the dangers and safeties of the ocean and others are clueless. Please don’t tell me that only standup paddlers have ever come out to the line up and hogged all of the waves or are the only board type to have caused dangerous situations. There are countless times where a certain short boarder or long boarder has been a wave hog from time to time just like there are tons of times where you have been run over from a short board and have been hurt.

So, it’s not what craft you ride, its the actual person riding the craft that ultimately decides whether or not they will be courteous and safe towards others. I think it is wrong to generalize that all standup paddlers are wave hogs and are unsafe out in the line up, just as it is wrong to generalize that all surfers are stoners and boneheads. 

What are your thoughts on this situation? Should Standup paddling be regulated to certain areas and times of the day? Comment below.

UPDATE:

After hundreds showed up to the DLNR meeting to discuss the proposed ban on SUPs, they were surprised to find that the motion had been withdrawn. The meeting was still held and locals were able to speak on the matter. For details of the meeting, click here. 

We're stoked to hear that this proposal has been dropped and no one will be alienated in the line up. One good thing to come out of this, is the awareness that it has created and hopefully those who aren't as courteous in the water as they should be, might think twice about their actions in the water.