SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers April 2014 lo-res free to read | Page 13

It all started with an idea
while paddling my favourite
standing wave in an old
Jester surf kayak. Hours on
end, carving back and forth
on a tiny wave, the thought
crossed my mind; could I
surf this on my 9.6ft
longboard? There was
always a bit of doubt
though, so I never actually
bothered to try…

About ten years after that I first saw modern
stand up paddle boarding on TV. Instantly, my
mind went back to the days of riding that wave.
SUP had to be the perfect craft for river surfing
I thought. After searching the web I realised that
folk were already river SUPing in the USA and I
needed to get involved.

Time for action
A year later I bit the bullet and purchased a Red Paddle 10.5ft inflatable stand up.
iSUPs seemed to make sense for river environments as they are pretty bombproof
and resistant to rock dings.
My maiden voyage was on a cold November day – the iSUP was very easy to inflate
but it was pretty tiring. I donned a drysuit and buoyancy aid and hit the weir for
the first time.
My friend Ian, who was there to film, recommended that I should have a paddle
around on the flat first. No way, I thought – I just couldn't wait to surf that standing
wave, so I dived straight in.

Success!
My first attempt was fairly successful although I
didn't really know if it would work or not. I had no clue
where or how to stand and really was just feeling my
way along. I fell back on my kayaking and surfing
experience and hoped the two would gel together.
And gel they did. That was the moment that I became
a fully-fledged UK river SUPer.

To o l s fo r t h e j o b
The all round shape of the Red Paddle iSUP worked well on the wave. Its flat
bottomed planing hull was just like a traditional longboard but with more
volume. It wasn’t, however, great in white water but was OK for running
small rapids.
More advanced stuff, like ferry gliding or eddying in and out, proved
trickier. (The rails of a standard all round SUP get ‘snagged’ in the
changes of forces between aerated water and the green water).
Another consideration was safety gear. The first bit of
additional kit I purchased was a helmet. (A good
quality kayak helmet is perfectly adequate). A
leash is also a good idea – but you must use
one in the correct way. It soon became
apparent that a standard surf ankle leash
would result in drowning if it got snagged
on debris, branches or rocks.

wave

After some further thought and research, I
adapted an old kayak towline and belt that
had a quick release system that could be
easily pulled with one hand whilst under
force.

river SUP
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I was now fully geared up and ready to
tackle a bigger play wave.

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