Why so many Britons have taken to stand-up paddleboarding

Visit any SUPSUPbody of water in Britain this summer and you will spot them, wielding their paddles like modern-day Argonauts. In the past three years stand-up paddleboarding (or ing) has gone from obscurity to popularity. Some 4.5m Britons have dabbled; over 1m own a board, according to one survey.Paddleboards were invented in Hawaii in the 1940s. Originally marketed to as a backup for days of flat water, early adopters used them for racing and exploring coastlines. But s struggled to take off. Thrill-seekers thought they combined all the work (paddling) with none of the excitement (surfing).