It has led to two young surfers, Jai Bates and Forrest Ladkin, traveling to Hawaii recently.

One of the men behind this new surfing craze is Mick Morgan, who first started SUP or ‘stand up paddleboarding’ in 2007.

“I first started SUP in March 2007 when I attended the Noosa festival of surfing,” Morgan said.

“It was like when I first tried snowboarding back in 1992, because it looked so fun, I just had to try it out for myself.

“I remember my first session well, as Tom Carroll had been doing it for about a year and was buzzing around the points at Noosa, having an absolute ball.

“It was also great to paddle past my childhood hero, the great Mark Richards, and be better than him, even if it was only for a day.

“At the end of the day, I was totally wrecked but totally hooked on a new challenge, which gave me a new lease of my surfing life.”

Morgan believes there are many reasons behind the growth of the sport in recent times.

“The main reasons for me personally getting involved  were getting in for waves on days when you couldn't catch waves on your short board.

"It is great fitness, especially for your core strength and probably the fact that in the early stages, it took me back to the days of learning to surf, which were so much fun,” he said.

“I also believe its a lot easier to learn to surf on a SUP than a normal surfboard for a lot of people, so that gives those that may have struggled with short board surfing a great chance to enjoy a great sport.

“Stand up paddling is not just about surf though.

 “It can be a leisurely paddle to a new found creek, a fishing expedition, a downwind paddle in a strong wind or even a paddle down a fast flowing rapid.

“All these things make it attractive to a wide variety of people from all ages.

“When I started in March 2007, there would have been lucky to be a dozen regular SUP riders south of Sydney.

“Noosa and northern NSW were just starting to gain momentum.

“Locally, people like myself, John M, Marco, Phil, Jason and Mel were just beginning to get the bug and trying smaller boards as we got better in the surf.

“Between 2007 and now there has been a definite increase in numbers of SUPs, to many regular surfers' horror, throughout the whole South Coast of NSW.

“Where you would have been lucky to have someone to SUP with in 2007 at a particular local break, it is not uncommon to paddle past 50 SUP riders on a nice small summer morning.

“To me the sport is here to stay, it offers so much for such a wide spectrum of the community, young/old/in-between, surf/non surf and pretty much all year round.”

Two of the surfers to pick up the sport quicker than their counterparts are 19-year-old Kay Bates and 21-year-old Forrest Ladkin.

The pair have just been in Hawaii for the Men’s League World Stand Up Paddleboard Tour.

“Kai just finished competing in the first round of the 2015 Men’s League World Stand Up Paddleboard Tour, while Forrest just missed his heat due to late flight,” Morgan said.

“The trials and first round was held in 20-foot plus wave faces at Sunset Beach in Hawaii.

“It was a big ask of the boys who in their words said we were a little outgunned in the board equipment area.

“In other words, the boys admitted they needed bigger boards for the big waves and should have listened to me and organised to take them. 

“Despite that, Kai just missed out by a point on going through to the next round.”

Both Bates and Ladkin have been involved in the sport for about seven years in one way or another.

“This is Kai's second year on the tour, after finishing 14th overall last year,” Morgan said.

“Kai is super keen to do well for his sponsors Natural Necessity, ION and Fanatic, is more focused of the two when it comes to SUP.

“Forrest is not chasing the tour but goes along and enters the occasional competition and travels along taking videos, pictures and lending a helping hand in the serious and not so quite serious aspects of the sport.

“Both are good surfers, sailboarders and general all-round waterman, which just love the ocean.”

Both boys are also employees at Natural Necessity Surf Shop, with Ladkin having the extra reasonability for everything media as the e-commerce director.

Morgan also works at Natural Necessity in Gerrigong and had done since 2013.

“In May 2013, I came to work at Natural Necessity in Gerringong to help in the SUP section of the shop,” he said.

“Having such a great range of SUP's and accessories made my job easy when it came to finding the right SUP for anyone, from the flat water or surf first timer, to the intermediate plus progressional surf/SUP rider.

“Part of my job is also to encourage respect and surf knowledge for those that are new to the world of surfing.

“Through the shop we have a great range of demo SUPs, so we can find the right board for you before you actually pay for it.

“We also run lessons and hire in conjunction with SUP Downunder, which is a newly formed relationship, which is going to take Natural Necessity's level of service to all SUP riders to another level.”

With the sport continuing to grow and the support of local businesses Morgan knows the sport is only going to become more popular.

“As a group we just want to grow with the sport,” Morgan said.

“Kai would obviously love a world title, while Forrest is keen to get his SUP movie project finished and continue to travel the world.

“On a personal note, I'm just stoked to be involved in a great industry that lets me surf most days before and after work, while also watching the growth of a great fun sport.

“There are two great SUP clubs locally with club Malnutrition based at Seven Mile Beach in Gerroa being a long board/SUP club and Husky SUP in Jervis Bay just being SUP specific.

“You can contact either of these clubs and be assured of the right advice and a lot of fun, as well as Natural Necessity Surf Shop if you would like to get involved in the sport.”