To insanity and beyond ...: It's NOT for sissies .... or those who DON'T want to get wet!

“LAUGH loudly, LAUGH often, AND most importantly, LAUGH at YOURSELF.”

~ Chelsea Handler

Stand-Up Paddle boarding is NOT as easy as it looks!

My fellow 'SUP'ers ... Christine, our teacher, who's the only one older than me ... Julia, who's 10 years younger than me and Nicky and Olivia,
20 and 17 or thereabouts respectively, 2 of the girls from the Co-op.

I learnt a lot today about what NOT to do when you're learning to SUP!

A sense of humour is MANDATORY.

Nicky was UP and GOING almost immediately!! Wonderful balance!

DON’T fall in the water. It makes you laugh .... AND ..... you struggle to get back up on your board

.... BUT .... it makes everyone around you laugh and then they FALL in the water too!

I was up next but didn't have Nicky's confidence to try standing up straight away.

DON’T try stand-up paddle boarding for the first time when there are waves ... and a wind ..... unless you have the balance and poise of a ballerina. Nicky does, she took to it like a duck to water. So does Olivia though it took her a little longer to feel confident enough to stand up. So does Chris, our teacher, but she’s adamant that with a little practice and the right conditions we’ll be standing up too!

First step of trying to stand up .... I've now got to get my feet on either side of the handle in the centre of the board ..... yeah right!

I think I’ll be getting a little wetter first before I get the balance thingy right.

Julia heading out

WAVES and WIND are NOT conducive to learning stand-up paddle boarding.

Olivia heading out

It is NOT the most graceful of sports despite looking so. When you watch SUPers when you’re walking along the beach they appear to glide effortlessly over the water.

It is NOT effortless .... my quads feel like jelly!

Second step .... get your feet on either side of the centre, and bend your knees.
This is the 'bum in the air' pose!

In the beginning when you’re trying to stand up, you spend a lot of the time on your hands and feet with your bum in the air. If holding this pose for what feels like aeons bothers you, DON’T try paddle boarding.

Third step .... stand up and paddle .... FURIOUSLY .... it's supposed to help you keep your balance!

It IS a HUGE amount of fun.

I obviously DIDN'T paddle furiously enough.

DON’T allow the lemming to have the camera.

There are only SO many unflattering photos of yourself you can tolerate.

So I tried again ...

Be prepared to LAUGH and LAUGH and LAUGH.

It’s a long time since I’ve had SO much fun in an hour and got SO wet!

.... and took ANOTHER tumble!
You can tell I wear shorts more than what I wear a bathing costume .... really weird tan line!

In the words of Christine, our teacher, “I’m a grandmother and if I can do it, anyone can!” She’s so right.

Christine and Nicky .... Nicky's a natural!

Olivia and I both trying to stand.

I have wanted to paddle board for ages. I’ve often seen Christine out in the bay, with her poodle (her husband’s poodle, actually) paddling off around the cliff towards Ladies Bay and beyond. It has ALWAYS appealed to me. I think I’ve mentioned on my blog before about having this vision of the hound sitting on the front of a board as we explore the eastern bays together.

Olivia DID it!

I am NOTHING if NOT persistent!

Well I think my vision could become reality. I just need to learn to stand up and paddle first without falling off. Then I can introduce the hound to the board. Christine’s offered to help and will take the hound on her board first as it’s quite possible I’d put the hound off by tipping her into the waves.

The hound couldn’t understand WHY I wasn’t on the sand with her. I didn’t know until after the lesson but she’d apparently tried to swim out to me. She’d got it into her head that she should join me .... mad hound!