Uh oh. Amsterdam PD in pursuit.
Despite its firm roots in surf and the ocean, the sport of stand up paddleboarding has now entered a period of growth unparalleled by any other activity practiced in the ocean. According to SUP the Mag, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association recently found a 120 percent increase in practitioners of the sport. That’s precisely because stand up paddleboarding need not actual waves to be enjoyed, and has much lower barriers to entry than surfing, for example, for baseline competency. Think an hour or two to figure out how to balance, and most anyone could paddle around in placid waters.
The popularity of traditional SUPing has led certain inventive types to develop derivations of the board and paddle – some with a motor, some with a hydrofoil, and some with both.
In the video above, Don Montague, developer of an electronic SUP hydrofoil he calls the Jetfoiler, takes his craft through the canals of Amsterdam. Apparently, while quite liberal about public consumption of cannabis, the city of Amsterdam is much less tolerant of people screaming through the canals on motorized surfboards hovering above the water. Go figure.
