“I’m not go ing to
ride this barge”
Haywood N ewkirk, a sixth generation
28
WBM october 2011
W ilmingtonian, is a Surf C ity Surf Shop and
Boardworks team rider.
“A bout three or four years ago,” N ewkirk says, “my
wife bought me a paddleboard from M ike Barden at
Surf C ity for Father’s D ay.”
H e says his initial reaction was typical for watermen
used to prone boards.
H e thought, “M an, I’m not going to ride this
barge.”
But N ewkirk took the board to the ocean, never
bothering to start in the waterway.
“I started surfing in the second grade,” N ewkirk
explains. “I had surfed for 37 years and never been
on one of these things, but once I got on one and I
got on the surf in the right conditions I realized how
much more you can do with one of those than you
can with a regular board.”
Places that previously hadn’t been surfed became
new territory for surfers like N ewkirk, T odd Bostian
and C hris C urry, who N ewkirk says were the only
others at W rightsville paddleboarding when he started.
“T he thing about surfing on a SUP is the paddle
allows you to cover more ground,” N ewkirk explains.
“O n a traditional prone surfboard, if you see the wave it’s
got to be within 50 or 60 yards … for you to catch it.”
O n a standup board at the offshore breaks, N ewkirk
Clockwise from top left: Haywood and Hae
N ewkirk regularly paddle to Palm T ree Island in the
Intracoastal Waterway with their daughters Elle, 8,
and Hayley, 7. Competitors in the recreational (right)
and open (left) divisions race to the ocean with their
boards during the 2010 Mullet R un. John Beausang,
a founding member of the Wrightsville Beach
Paddle Club, completes a lap in the race.