Having a family with three teenage boys, I was keen to find a sport in which we could all participate and enjoy. Not having too much athletic ability or inclination myself, I was a bit limited in my choice! My boys were into soccer and surfing, but I wasn’t keen on either. About two years ago, my husband took up stand-up paddling and I became a “SUP widow”. He absolutely loved it! He’d would be in the water every day if he could possibly manage it and soon the boys got converted as well.
After much begging and pleading, they finally convinced me to go with them to Waimea Bay on Hawaii’s North Shore. The water was like glass – surely this couldn’t be too hard! My husband put me on his large SUP board, assuring me that “the bigger the board, the more stability”. To my surprise, I hopped on the board and was instantly mobile (give or take a thousand wobbles!). The main point is that I stayed on top of that board! The view into the water was amazing. Because I was elevated (standing up versus lying down), I could clearly see the bottom of the ocean with all the different shadows cast by the seaweed and rocks. it was simply breath-taking. I also chuckled to myself that I would surely be able to see any approaching sharks (another phobia of mine!) Not only could I see them approaching, but I was out of their reach! My fascination with the view of the ocean floor had a pleasant side effect; being sidetracked made me relax and not fixated on the fact that I was a first timer on a paddleboard, and consequently the nervous wobbles soon stopped. Within 15 minutes, I had my balance and switched to a smaller (and more hence more challenging) board. Who says this was hard to learn!
And talk about quality family time! My male family members took great delight in watching my beginner’s attempts as they glided past me with enviable ease. The male default to coach and instruct also kicked in – suddenly I had four personal SUP coaches, instructing me on my paddling stye, how to get more power out of my stroke, where to place my feet for maximum balance etc etc. Lots of laughs were had (myself included) as they watched me learn.
Since then, we have been on paddling adventures out around headlands of the North Shore to get to spots difficult to reach by land (or impossible to park near because of the crowds of tourists!). We have also had countless hours of fun jumping off high rocks located off-shore which can be reached by using the stand-up paddleboards to paddle out -the boys enjoying the challenge of who can jump the highest, make the biggest splash, do the craziest jump, or simply laughing at how loudly Mom screams every time she jumps!
The added bonus is that along with the fun comes a great workout. SUP is renown to exercise and develop your core – I found muscles that I didn’t know even existed! From my toes through to my neck, it seemed that every muscle was given a workout; both cardio and weight training (with the resistance of the water on the paddle). What an awesome way to exercise and train as a family.
As the saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Who knows, you may even find that you love it too!
(Sign it as “Converted SUP Mom” or something lame like that?? )