Land
Probably the most common thing I
get told by newcomers to the sport
is: ‘I’m a surfer, but I don’t live near
the sea so I want to give SUP a try’.
My reply is simple: ‘You’ve come to
the right place!’
I could honestly say that a large percentage
of Central SUP paddlers are (or were)
landlocked surfers – in fact the whole idea
of Central SUP was founded on that. I didn’t
have the ocean on my doorstep but
paddling a board on a canal was a happy
second best. However, like the rest of them,
it soon became my first love and my
longboard now collects dust in storage.
Writing about that inland mentality is what
this article is about. Being placed in the
heart of the country probably makes me a
worthy contender to answer that question.
The growth area of SUP seems to be flatwater paddling and the amount of paddle
boarders on rivers, lakes and canals of old
Blighty has increased lots over the last
couple of years. The most common board
shapes seem to be the 10/11ft all-rounders
and recreation paddling the most popular
side of the sport.
Inland surfer mentality
It’s fair to say that the Inland surfer
mentality has evolved; we still like getting
into some solid waves but that thirst is
quenched more readily now by the
accessibility that SUP brings. In addition SUP
can offer more stability and volume and be a
much more effective wave riding machine in
very poor conditions, so whereas you may
have been struggling with a surf board
beforehand, you suddenly find yourself
dropping in, holding a paddle and not riding
the white water anymore! Being a SUP surfer
has certainly progressed my wave riding
skills no end – for a start you are on the
board on a regular basis, not once in a blue
moon, and you can practice turns, paddle
skills and weight distribution on flat water.
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For me, it was like a big sigh of relief once I
knew I would not have to drive for at least
two and a half hours to my nearest beach to
often find the conditions had changed,
giving me some brown blown out slop. The
one thing I will say for being a land locked
surfer is that you go out anyway, as you’ve
come so far nothing is going to stop you!
Back in the day I would surf everything and
anything just because I knew that might be
the only time I would get a wave for a couple
of months. I would surf in the winter with two
wetsuits on, marigolds on my hands to try
and keep warm, in some of the worst looking
waves you could imagine. The locals would
be dumbfounded as to why you would ever
want to bother. Of course it made sense to
them when they heard a Brummie accent
chirping away in dulcet tones as I strolled
past them, all smiles.
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