Malibu, Calif., five years ago: The sun is edging toward the cliffs at sleepy Paradise Cove as a cluster of surfers sit idly on their boards, rising and falling with the swells, scanning the endless blue. Off in the distance a lone surfer drifts toward them. They exchange glances. The surfer is standing — standing — on an oversized board, using a long, outrigger-style paddle to snake through the water like a gondolier.

Some of the surfers wince. But as the figure slowly comes into view, they do a double take. The clown in a red-striped wetsuit is the brawny alpha dog of surfing, Hawai'i-raised Laird Hamilton, who paddle-surfed from O'ahu to Kaua'i on Oct. 7. Dipping his paddle into the swells, Hamilton maneuvers along the breakers, occasionally riding them in — but without ever lying or sitting on his board.

Once in full view, "it looked like the most natural thing in the world," recounts Ray Sheehan, a 56-year-old retired sales executive.

Since then, a small but perceptible shift has occurred in the Southern California surfing community. Seasoned surfers and neophytes alike are grabbing paddles and taking to the water from a stand-up position. It's a revival — not something new — of an old form of surfing from Hawai'i. Richard Kalolo'okalani "Buffalo" Keaulana added paddle surfing, or beachboy surfing, to the schedule of Makaha's Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic in 2004.

Because paddle surfing requires an especially large — preferably well-engineered — board, the sport has even fueled a demand for custom paddle surfboards. Renowned surfboard shaper Ron House estimates that of the nearly 200 boards he will shape this year, about 70 will be stand-up style.

The appeal of stand-up paddle, or paddle surfing, is twofold.

Experienced surfers find that paddle surfing enables them to get out into the surf faster and farther. They can stay out beyond the normal line of surfers and catch the waves before everyone else. As traditional surfers hop to their feet, the paddle surfers are already there.

With a paddle, "you can go on perhaps eight times more rides and three times as far," says Don Wildman, 73, founder of Bally Total Fitness and an avid paddle surfer.

Once the surfer catches a wave, he or she can use the paddle for balance and to turn. After a while, the paddle becomes a natural extension of the surfer.

Other people are using the boards to cruise coves and lakes. From a stand-up position, the surfer can see deeper into the water. Paddling along reefs and dodging kelp beds, stand-up surfers see leopard sharks and garibaldi make way for seals and sea lions.

"It's a soulful experience," says Robert Howson, a lifelong surfer and owner of Harbour Surfboards in Seal Beach, Calif. "It's also a way for surfers to enjoy the water when there are no waves. Think of it like kayaking," he adds. "The beauty is in all the things you can do with it."

Howson, 42, sees paddle surfing as part of a natural evolution for many surfers. "Most stand-up surfers are in their 30s to 50s. It's not an 18-year-old thing," he says. "You go to a longer board because you don't have those ambitions. You love the grace of it all."

The sport is also accessible to all skill levels. "On flat water, on a wide board, someone with minimal athletic ability can paddle themselves around," says surfboard shaper House. "On a real wide board, on real flat water, anyone can do it, virtually."

But physically, paddle surfing isn't exactly a walk on the beach. It is the essence of a true core workout, says Wildman, a former triathlete who's been doing stand-up for about four years. "This is probably the No. 1 core exercise you can do," he says.

"This has put my body in some of the best condition I've been in a long time," House adds. "But if you really want to know about stand-up surfing, you should talk to Laird Hamilton."

Life, DNA and circumstances have all laid a big smooch on Hamilton. At 42 years old, the big-wave surfing legend famously born in a bathysphere, a deep-sea diving chamber, divides his time between Malibu and Maui. He has a production company, BamMan Films, with fellow surfing legend Dave Kalama and manager-producer Jane Kachmer, plus his own line of beachwear.

Hamilton first saw stand-up surfing in Waikiki in the early 1980s, when he watched a local surfer take pictures of tourists while paddling about on a board.

It looked natural to Hamilton. "If you think about other cultures that have done it, it makes sense," he says. "The standing position is just part of evolution."

One day about 10 years later in Maui, Hamilton and Kalama were horsing around with tandem boards and paddles.

"Dave had some outrigger paddles," he recalls, "and we just started standing on the boards and paddling around with these little tiny paddles."

The equipment was all wrong, but they liked the paddling. "It was an amazing sensation," Hamilton recalls. "Besides the incredible workout and where it takes you, you're standing very straight, you're gliding in the water, and there's something about that feeling. It's why people love surfing, and you don't even need a wave."

About four years ago, House recalls, Hamilton brought some boards over and asked House to modify them for paddle surfing.

Armed with better boards, "We started riding little waves. And then we started doing coast runs on Maui, then channel crossings," Hamilton says.

Currently the only stand-up boards on the market are relatively simple mass-produced boards and pricey custom jobs. Hamilton believes that his board — mass-produced but designed with his input — will popularize paddle surfing.

"One of my friends says this is going to be the biggest, stupidest sport you've ever seen," he says with a laugh. "This is going to be monster big."

Traditional surfers can't deny the style's appeal. Some grouse because paddle surfers catch the waves so fast.

"Some guys say, 'Oh man, that's not fair,' " Hamilton says. "But there's not a right or wrong way to ride a wave. Here's my board. Here's a paddle. Go try it."