A practice steeped in history: the origins of paddle boarding
Polynesians used large wooden planks to get around their lagoons and travel between islands. In the 1940s, having been inspired by this form of transport, champion swimmer Duke Kahanamoku and the famous Beach Boys of Waikiki began to use similar planks off the Hawaiian coast. By standing up they found they could more easily monitor swimmers and keep an eye on swells. Stand up paddle boarding, a precursor to surfing, was born. It re-emerged as a leisure activity in the 2000s and remains as popular as ever. With Club Med you'll find 30-odd Resorts where you can learn or perfect paddle boarding on a variety of lakes and seas across the world.