Stand Up Paddling's unique words: Dish panning

The classic 'dishpan' performed by the man himself, Keahi De Aboitz.
Stand Up Paddling hasn’t really been around long enough to develop its own lingo like the more established sports of surfing and even kiteboarding, but there are a couple of unique little terms that only a stand up paddler could explain. The most unique of which, is the term’ dish panning’, or a ‘dish pan turn’.

Those of you who have watched a stand up paddling movie featuring Keahi De Aboitiz will instantly recognize the dishpan turn, which is basically like a slide turn. A stand up paddler will take off, make a smooth bottom turn and then as they hit the lip, push the boards tail out, sliding the fins while laying back on their paddle. Length of the turn can be as long as a few seconds, and it was long debated how to score the manoeuvre.

Some say the dishpan turn was easier than a carving turn (where the rail is buried underwater). Other say it was more difficult due to requiring the paddle for balance, and the generally unstable nature of a sliding SUP. Now, it’s become common place and used together with carving turns in competition. But where did the term come from?

We mentioned Keahi above, because he’s the one responsible for the style, and the name. Back in 2011, he was working in the Noosa Surf Club as a dish hand (as all teenagers from Noosa do, to earn money to buy more surfboards). Nicknamed Keahi 'Dishpan' De Aboitiz by Woogie, Dane & Tully, three very prominent figures in the competition scene at the time, they simply referred to ‘dishpanning’ as the style of turn Keahi did.

Someone mentioned it in a competition, and boom. The term was coined for the world to use, and believe us, if you talk about ‘dishpanning’ in the far corners of the US, Europe and Hawaii… They’ll know exactly what you’re on about, now you know the story behind it!