Sunday, June 15, 2014

Get Up, Stand Up

Louise and I decided to head to the dark side today and try our hand at stand-up paddle boarding. It's something we've always wanted to try as The Gorge near where we live would be a great place to SUP. We could carry the boards down the hill easily and launch into its flat and calm waters.
We hooked up with Jason from Epic Surf Co. for a lesson.
IMGP0389

We met early on this cloudy and drizzly morning at Gonzales Bay, a small but sheltered bay on the southern shore of Victoria.
Gonzales Bay

The first thing we liked about paddle boarding? These boards are light!
IMGP0387 copy

But then the hard part began, getting on the board and standing up.
IMGP0392 copy
It's not as easy as it looks. First you have to get on your knees, then try and move to your feet, then stand up. It sounds simple, but it takes some getting used to. And it didn't always go well.
IMGP0391 copy
But finally, she's up!
IMGP0393

Louise was really good at it, and really got the hang of it. Although she had a few falls, she was really good about getting back on the horse and trying again, and managed to stand up quite a few times and went for a couple of long paddles. I was able to get up on my knees, but really found myself having a hard time balancing on my feet. I did manage to stand up a few times, but I didn't stay up for long. :)
There's something about not being on solid ground that my feet don't like. I have the same feeling if I'm in skates or rollerblades -- my feet total rebel, they want to be on the ground, ground that preferably isn't moving. It's odd...while on the paddle board on my knees, I had no problems. (Although you can't edge really well on a paddle board. As I found out.)

Most of the time, my view was this:
IMGP0400
I was starting to refer to it as "fall down paddling."

But Louise was a whiz at it.
IMGP0396 copy
IMGP0398 copy

Will we do it again? Not sure. No question we had fun, but I am not sure we were convinced enough to try it again. We'll sleep on it and see. And you will see it here, if we try it again.

Trip length: .5 km
YTD: 26.08 km
More pictures are here.

2 comments:

  1. I am glad that I am not the only one who struggled - I tried it last Friday. http://www.sofadodger.co.uk/blog/number-12-stand-up-paddle-part-of-my-100-sports-fitness-classes-to-try-in-a-year

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sam,
    Just read your post, well done! At least we tried it, which is more than many people can say! :)
    I can see why people enjoy it. It's a heckuva lot easier to get on the water with a board then dealing with a kayak and all the assorted accessories. And it's good exercise, and I'm sure it's a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. Of course, getting the hang of it takes a lot of work.

    ReplyDelete