This is a video showing solo open canoe surfing.  See how the paddler keeps his paddle in the water behind him as much as possible without reaching out and straightening his bottom arm.  This would ultimately result in losing control of his paddle and then losing control of the boat.  He can do this because his body is rotated to his paddling side.

Don’t think this kind of fun is only for solo boats.  Tandem paddlers can surf too!  With a few tips and tricks you can learn to front surf on a wave like this one, side surf in a hole, or even do tricks!

If the video doesn’t show up (Quicktime required) you can click on this link to view this paddling video on YouTube!