THE high cliffs and green hills of La Jolla , Calif., are undeniably gorgeous, but the show going on in the water below them was positively dizzying. Golden Garibaldi fish swam among swaying leaves of kelp; stingrays and a small shark kicked up grainy clouds of sand. A dark reef loomed amid imposing waves as we approached the headland.

Instead of riding the waves, many paddle surfers opt to use oversized distance paddling boards for touring shorelines and observing aquatic life.

I was experiencing my first successful attempt at standup paddling on a surfboard, and the sensation of rowing upright across the glassy ocean without the energy of a swell made me feel like an astronaut on a spacewalk. Standing above the aquatic world like this turned surfing into an utterly new experience.

After enviously watching that surfer catch waves from a point far beyond all the others, I decided to order a lightweight standup paddle — single-bladed, six and a half feet long and made of carbon fiber — from a company in Hawaii . I tried it out on a fat, stable 10-foot surfboard in the chilly waters near Charleston , S.C. It quickly became evident either that I didn't know what I was doing, or that even my big board was just too small for a novice.

A week later I joined up with a crew of talented standup paddlers in San Diego , who were in town for the annual Action Sports Retailer show. The biggest buzz at this year's celebration of all things surf and skate came from the early forays of C4 Waterman, Surftech, Infinity and several other surfboard makers into the field of standup paddle surfing. On display were high-tech paddles and almost comically oversize longboards specifically created for this emerging sport.

Standup paddling reportedly dates back to the 1920s and '30s, when Waikiki's Beach Boy surfers like the great Duke Kahanamoku paddled their huge Koa wood surfboards upright because it enabled them to keep their cameras dry for photographing wave-riding tourists. But like almost everyone now involved in the sport, my tutoring crew were fairly recent converts.

My instructors were the renowned Hawaiian surfer Brian Keaulana; Scott Bass, the online editor of Surfer magazine; and the most experienced paddle surfer of the lot, Rick Thomas of San Diego. Mr. Keaulana said he grew up occasionally watching the family of Leroy Achoy — a contemporary of Mr. Kahanamoku — paddling into swells at Waikiki. But he preferred to concentrate on lifeguarding, stunt work, big-wave surfing and tandem surfing — a discipline in which he is a current world champion.

When Mr. Thomas handed me a 12-foot-long, 5-inch-thick and 31-inch-wide Laird Hamilton model demo surfboard, I was amazed by its huge size and light weight. Amazement grew on the ocean. I dug in and easily knee-paddled straight into and over the small breakers. When Mr. Keaulana encouraged me to try standing up once beyond the waves, I simply jumped to my feet and stood there, somewhat baffled. The board didn't tip or purl. Though wobbly, I paddled and didn't fall.

My partners quickly dissected my stance. If I bent my knees, straightened my back and moved slightly forward, balance would come more easily. Waving the paddle side-to-side so that it brushed across the surface of the water would create a stabilizing effect when standing still. Oh, and one other thing: I had been holding the blade of the paddle backward.

WE slowly made our way south, 300 yards from shore, and paddling came more easily. Mr. Keaulana showed how to make more rapid turns by digging the paddle in on one side and quickly shifting weight to the back of the board. Though the ocean was rolling, I only fell a few times.

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