New SUP surf gear on Long Caye Break, Belize

A Slickrock guide rides the Long Caye surf break on a Naish Mana

Slickrock’s paddleboard program has taken off in the past few seasons, and in addition to our standard paddleboards we have added a fleet of cruiser boards which we use for long distance paddle tours from island to island. We’re also adding new SUP surf gear.

We have always taken our SUP boards out into our surf break, where they make surfing much easier to learn than on standard surf boards. This has always been a popular, but more difficult, paddle board activity.

Our wave break is perfect for paddleboards since it is a smaller, less steep break more typical of the Caribbean than a big, open ocean wave, but the longer paddleboards are tough to control on a wave.

New SUP Surf Gear

Last season we tried out a paddle board specifically designed for surfing, the Mana by Naish. It is a shorter board with greater rocker for quick turns. But its biggest break-through feature for beginners is its extra width, which makes it much more stable than most paddleboards.

It was an instant hit, and we had guests lining up to try it out. The biggest problem was that once people tried it out, they wouldn’t come back in to let others have a shot at it. So the board was in constant use.

This season we are adding two more Manas to our collection, and we expect even more action out on our wave as more first time surfers discover the thrills of riding on our new SUP surf gear.

For more reading about new SUP surf gear:

Waterman high performance boards

Surfari – New England’s SUP HQ