Seeking some adventure in your life? Learn more about our three unique board sports before you fall in love with them. Skimboarding, paddleboarding (also known as SUP), and windsurfing are available all summer long at Jericho Beach. Pick your next adventure and enjoy the best watersports in Vancouver!

Skimboarding

This is our most beginner friendly sport! Skimboarding originated in Southern California in the late 1920s. It is a water-based board-sport in which a thin, generally oval shaped board is used to glide on top of the water. Originally, riders would skim from the shore to meet breaking waves that were too small, and too close to the shore for conventional surfboards. This was known as ‘wave-riding’ skimboarding. Due to the lack of breaking waves and the abundance of beautiful beaches, the most common type of skimboarding available here in Vancouver is known as ‘flatland’ skimboarding.

Flatland skimboarding uses tidal pools, pools of water left after the shore has washed out, to skim on top off. A rider will run across the tidal pool as they throw the board flat on the water, jumping on the board while it skims across the top of the water. That’s the basics of skimming! From there, a rider can perform tricks such as ollies and shove-its.

The accessibility of tidal pools, the small size of the skimboard, and how quickly a beginner can learn to skim, makes this one of the best watersports in Vancouver, especially for youth! On a sunny day, you might just catch a pack of them in the wild roaming down to Spanish Banks on their bikes, carrying a skimboard under their arms, and excited looks on their faces.

Paddleboarding

This is by far our most popular sport! Paddleboarding, in some form or another, has existed for thousands of years in many cultures across the world. The sport at its core involves a person standing or kneeling on a long board (a SUP board) while using a long paddle for propulsion. The watersport traces its roots to native Hawaiians in the 18th century who would use their craft to paddle from island to island.

The sport as we know it today began in the 1940s and owes its inception to John Ah Choy, a local Hawaiian and avid surfer¹. As he got older, Choy began to use a paddle on a surfboard to reach waves as he found it difficult to get up and down on the board. His sons picked up the technique and upon seeing them, other surfers began to do the same. Thus, stand up paddleboarding, also known as SUP, in its modern form came into being.

SUP isn’t just popular here at Windsure Adventure Watersports. Over the past few years it seems everyone is jumping on a paddleboard, with paddleboarding being one of the fastest growing sports. In fact, it’s currently ranked the fastest growing watersport worldwide².

Paddleboarding from Jericho Beach, surrounded by soft currents and beautiful sights, is one of the best ways to experience Vancouver's shores. It is a great opportunity to see the beauty of the city and get a whole new perspective on a place you thought you knew.

Windsurfing

This is the most fast-paced sport we offer! Windsurfing originated by combining the joys of surfing and sailing to create a whole new and exciting way to traverse the water! This sport sees the rider on top of a board with a mast and sail affixed, by manipulating the mast, the rider uses the sail to steer and gain speed on the water.

Much like paddleboarding, there were different variations of wind-propelled standing boards on the water, but the design we see today came in the 1960s with a triangular sail attached to a surfboard, with a large daggerfin in the middle; conceptualized and designed by Jim Drake, a aeronautical engineer who was fond of both surfing and sailing in his free time.

In the 70s and early 80s, windsurfing became the fastest growing sport in the world and since then, has kept a consistent and dedicated community. In 1977, the first ever school in Western Canada dedicated to the sport was established right at Jericho Beach, Vancouver, by a passionate windsurfer and natural instructor, Bernard Labrosse.

Since founding Windsure 46 years ago and introducing the amazing sport of windsurfing to British Columbia (as well as expanding with other watersports in Vancouver), Bernard and his family have grown the company into what it is today; a place for people to learn, have fun, and experience adventures they never could have imagined.

Adventure is not something you stumble upon, it is something you seek. You have found Windsure, so you are definitely on the right track to an awesome season. But reading about our watersports doesn’t come close to the fun you’ll have trying them out. Come and discover your next favorite hobby, and find out why Windsure is the best place to be this spring and summer.

References:

¹Blue Planet Surf. (n.d.). Paddleboarding history. Blue Planet Surf Shop. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.blueplanetsurf.com/service/historyofpaddleboarding/

²Campbell, T. (2022, July 14). Surf or SUP - what is the fastest growing water sport? Talay Surf Phuket. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.talaysurf.com/surf-or-sup-what-is-the-fastest-growing-water-sport/