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 -- standing -- 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

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.