95% of surfing is paddling.
True, but if you're surfing near shore it's a little different than if you're going out into open water and blasting down swell (downwind) for miles at a time. Paddling back home upwind against the swell and dragging a foil the whole way would be torture (if not impossible). You more or less have to have someone waiting downwind to pick you up and bring you home.
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