wind/chop is your enemy - - - - - unless u want to get blown somewhere.

The short answer is no, you can't paddle into a wind strong enough to make waves that you can catch.

The problem is your body makes a great big sail blowing you back. During normal paddling you'll be going about 8 kph. Into a strongish breeze you will be lucky to make 2 kph.

You can kneel or lie down and paddle into wind but it's hard work. Once you get out far enough to turn around and try and catch runners (wind blown waves) the wind will blow you to shore before you get set up for catching a wave.

Also, catching runners is an acquired skill. I've done a few long downwinders and a fair bit of paddling in strongish wind and I still haven't got it sussed. When you do eventually catch a full on surfing downwind wave your face will split in two from grinning. The joy is hugely out of proportion to the quality of the wave you're riding.

What you can do is find a little bank sheltered from the wind by a groyne or breakwater. You can use your sup as a normal surfboard and catch some really clean little waves.

The best option is to do a downwinder of 5-10-15 km. Get together with some mates (or your partner) to do a car shuffle and then run straight downwind from point to point with a 20+ knot tail wind. Be careful to not get too far out, make sure you have some good downwind landing options and avoid any kind of very strong offshore wind (even cross-off is bad). There is a real risk of being blown away from the shore and you will not be able to paddle against the wind.