editor’s note
Winter
What kind of winter have you had? Was it full of
paddling or did you hang your 'stick' up, deciding
to wait for warmer weather? Have you been to some
far-flung corner of the world to escape the UK's off-
season? Did you learn how to SUP and are now
looking forward to more?
Anyone who follows me on social media may be aware
of my own winter season. From a conditions POV -
keeping in mind I tend to look for waves and/or wind -
it's been a so/so period. A few good sessions in and
amongst some meh ones have made it OK but not
classic, from a water point of view. Up until January
everything was progressing as normal and then the
proverbial hit the fan. To cut a long story short my four-
year-old daughter suffered acute liver failure, resulting
in a transplant, with my wife being the donor. After five
weeks in hospital, we're now in a very different position
to pre-illness, as you can imagine.
Upon getting home there were a few days of
readjustment before I managed to get afloat. Although
we now have liver disease in the family the rest of life
has to go on. And after the turmoil of 2019's beginning
standing atop a SUP with paddle in hand was (and is)
extremely therapeutic.
So what was my winter like? Pretty crap to be honest.
But we now have to move forward, taking every day as it
comes. Being a family, and being able to do some of the
things we did before - such as spend time at the beach
and outdoors - is what I'm thankful for. It's easy to take
stuff for granted and as the old saying goes; 'you never
know what you've got 'til it's gone', which rings very
true.
Summer
With spring now officially in the air and warmer
temperatures heading our way, there'll be more excuse
and less motivational searching to get wet and swing a
paddle. It's slightly harder in the UK to be a year-round
water person with seasonality in the mix. Yet a good
many of us do just that - it's just we all prefer sunnier
conditions and higher mercury levels.
We'll no doubt see another influx of newbies hit the
water this year. If we get an idyllic summer like 2018
then maybe even more! If you're an active paddler and
have friends and/or family considering taking up arms
then certainly help them out and give them a taste of
SUP. The more bods we get entering the sport the higher
a % of those will stay and progress. More growth is still
needed within SUP for a whole load of reasons. Do your
bit and who knows where stand up will be in 5 years.
Enjoy the latest issue of SUPM. As always feel free to
give us a shout if you have any feedback or have ideas
for content. Happy paddling.
Tez Plavenieks, April 2019
[email protected]
Twitter: @tezwoz.
Instagram: @tez_plavenieks_sup_wind