The first time I saw someone doing this, he looked like he was just paddling effortlessly and gliding along the surface. Despite my lifelong coordination issues, (my mom always said I couldn't walk & chew gum at the same time - love you, Mom!) I really wanted to try this. Since that first time, we've not only seen people "stand-up paddling" in calm, protected waters, but we've also seen some guys paddling out through the waves, riding the waves in like regular surfers, then paddling out again to repeat the sequence.
After the winter months of relatively rough water even in the bay our condo overlooks, Bob & I went to the beach there one calm afternoon. After reading & signing 4 pages of warnings and waivers, I was ready to take to the board! The guy working in the rental bungalow gave me a few instructions, a few suggestions for where I should try paddling, and one warning: "go wherever you want, but if I can't see you, I can't save you."
As suggested, I started out kneeling to get a feel for the board and the paddling. Once I stood up, I found that it was easier to balance than I had expected - remember, tho, I had purposely chosen a very calm day. The paddling, however, required more effort than I had expected. At first, I was barely dipping the paddle into the water, so I had a hard time steering. In fact, while I never did lose my balance and fall, I did have to jump off the board one time to avoid hitting a boat moored in the bay :)
Despite the almost calm winds, I could really tell when I moved into the less sheltered area. One of the instructions I had received was "your body is the sail,"and that was really helpful when I got into an area where I couldn't move forward at all. I "lowered my sail" by returning to a kneeling position and was finally able to paddle forward again.
The verdict? More work than I'd expected, but definitely something I'd like to do again. Come on down and join me!
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