“ A good place to start could be a canal journey , as they typically allow for easy access and egress and are not affected in the same way by the wind as maybe an open water journey could be .”
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“ A good place to start could be a canal journey , as they typically allow for easy access and egress and are not affected in the same way by the wind as maybe an open water journey could be .”
Consider l Can I effectively move my board forwards and steer and control it easily ? l Am I able to change direction and to accelerate my board if I need to avoid a hazard ? l Can I paddle kneeling and prone in case I need to ? l If I fall in the water can I swim back to my board and climb back on easily ? l Am I happy being in deeper water and potentially further away from the shore ?
What do I want to do ? Once you have the SUP bug , dreaming about amazing SUP adventures can occupy your thoughts throughout most of the day ! When you plan your trip , you need to consider what your motivations are for the trip are and what you want it to feel like . It ’ s perfectly fine to want to use your SUP to enable a slightly more adventurous picnic , but of course it could also be used to facilitate a much longer physical challenge too . Remember that starting small is probably safer ( and more enjoyable ) at the start , you wouldn ’ t take up running and set off for a marathon on your first time out would you ?
Ask yourself l Do I want a relaxed and gentle experience ? l Am I looking for a physical challenge ? l Do I want to explore new locations from the water ? l What kind of distance do I want to cover ? l How long do I want to be out for ?
Who am I going with ? Whilst a solo adventure may be a great future goal , there is definitely some security to heading out with peers and / or more experienced paddlers initially . Other paddlers can help with planning , assist with decisions along the way and can add to the security of being on the water if you are less experienced .
Think about l What can I contribute to the journey ? l What can others contribute to the journey ? l Am I directly responsible for anyone on the journey e . g . children and family and can I look after them in this environment ? l Am I capable of looking after myself as well as others at the same time ?
Where am I paddling ? All of the previous questions will directly influence where you can head to for your SUP adventure . The key point when choosing the location is that the environment must match the skills and experience of the paddlers . If the environment / location is too challenging or too advanced for the group , this is when issues will typically arise .
You may well already have a venue or a trip in mind , but if you are unsure where to paddle the ‘ Go Paddling ’ website has a whole host of information aimed at paddlers getting out and planning trips for the first time in the UK . The website has trail maps , paddling challenges and paddlepoints , which allows you to search for access and egress points and points of interest too .
A good place to start could be a canal journey , as they typically allow for easy access and egress and are not affected in the same way by the wind as maybe an open water journey could be . There are also some great stretches of river that make amazing SUP venues , but a bit of care and research must be done beforehand to ensure that the river is suitable for your skills and experience . In England we can gain this information from the flood warning information service and links to information about Welsh , Scottish and Northern Ireland river levels can also be found too . If you are outside of the UK a quick online search should bring up the relevant information for your region .