The next wave

MALIBU, five years ago: The sun is edging toward the cliffs at sleepy Paradise Cove as a cluster of surfers sit idly on their boards, rising and falling with the swells, scanning the endless blue. Off in the distance a lone surfer drifts toward them. They exchange glances. The surfer is standing -- \o7standing \f7-- on an oversized board, using a long, outrigger-style paddle to snake through the water like a gondolier.

Some of the surfers wince. Put the clown in a red-striped wet suit and he might start belting out an Italian love song.

As the figure slowly comes into view, they do a double take. The clown is the brawny alpha dog of surfing, Laird Hamilton. Dipping his paddle into the swells, Hamilton maneuvers along the breakers, occasionally riding them in -- but without ever lying or sitting on his board.

Once in full view, "it looked like the most natural thing in the world," recounts Ray Sheehan, a 56-year-old retired sales executive.

Since then, a small but perceptible shift has occurred in the Southern California surfing community. Seasoned surfers and neophytes alike are now grabbing paddles and taking to the water from a stand-up position. On any given weekend, stand-up paddle surfers can be seen scattered along the coast, particularly at Point Dume and in protected harbors and coves.

Because paddle surfing requires an especially large -- preferably well-engineered -- board, the sport has even fueled a demand for custom paddle surfboards. Renowned surfboard shaper Ron House estimates that of the nearly 200 boards he will shape this year, about 70 will be stand-up style.

Steve Boehne, owner of Infinity Surf Shop in Dana Point, makes about six stand-up boards a week and is selling them faster than he can carve them. "It's definitely the fastest-growing segment of surfing that there is."

Adds House: "I was thinking that this summer would be the summer that it breaks loose.... And that's happening. I think this is just the beginning."

Through the ages, many cultures have practiced the art of standing and paddling, including Polynesians and Peruvians.

But lacking proper boards and paddles -- and not driven to catch fish from them -- California surfers have mainly stayed on their bellies.

Although no one is certain how the style gained ground in Southern California, the person most likely responsible is Hamilton, the big-wave legend known for popularizing countless innovations, including tow-in surfing and foilboarding.