Paddleboarding gives water enthusiasts new outlet for adventure

In a place where water sports are king, SUP Montana is helping to add one more to everyone's habit — stand-up paddleboarding.

The activity is pretty self explanatory in that a participant literally just stands on a board similar to a surfboard and moves his or herself with a paddle.

Two weeks ago Erick Gelbke, who co-owns SUP Montana with Jay Dobbins, brought his boards and paddles to Woods Bay to show how easy and fun paddleboarding is with a demo day he hosted. Although the weather wasn't too cooperative participants seemed to enjoy themselves.

"That is so fun," said first time paddler Patrice Lynn, who was visiting the area from Spokane, as she came off of the water. "It's not near as difficult as I thought it would be. You have to get everybody to try this."

Gelbke and Dobbins started their business last month and have been sharing their passion for the sport ever since through demo events and rentals.

"We just want to spread the news and get some people on some boards," Gelbke said.

Gelbke, a Wisconsin native who now lives in Whitefish, started paddleboarding four years ago.

"It was the best way to scratch my surfing and paddling itch in the Rocky Mountains," Gelbke said.

Although in its simplest form stand up paddleboarding is a laid-back activity, the sport is evolving into much more. Enthusiasts use paddleboarding for touring, racing, fishing, traversing whitewater, fitness and a variety of other collaborative activities.

"It's a brand new sport with really no rules, so people are just coming up with new things all the time," Gelbke said.

One thing that helps paddleboarding be such a versatile activity is the boards themselves. They are just like a surfboard except they are thicker and have more volume so a person can stand on it even when he or she is not being moved by big waves. This makes it so paddleboarding can be done anywhere there is water, whether it be a river, pond or lake.

"Paddleboarding is something that literally everybody can do," Gelbke said. "All ages and all ability levels."

Paddleboarding was first tried in the 1950s in Hawaii by photographers who were going out on tandem surfboards to take photographs of tourists learning to surf. Today, it is not only used recreationally, but professional surfers have traded in tow surfing and other spin-offs to paddleboard.

It is SUP Montana's hope that residents and visitors will get bitten by the bug as well, and then add their own spin.

"We're hoping to really push the sport in new directions for new people and experienced people," Gelbke said.

SUP Montana has rentals available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Arrangements can be made by calling 261-1591 to have boards delivered or to pick them up. The cost is $15 for the first rental hour and $10 for each additional hour, or $75 for a full day. Patrons may also keep the boards overnight for an additional $40 if they want to go for a stand-up paddleboard sunset cruise.