Going with the flow
but paddling hard in the quiet bits
Words & pics : David Partridge The summer of 2022 has been a great summer for SUP . Paddlers have discovered events and competitions and been drawn along by the defining currents of the SUP movement . David Partridge , a Shropshire-based SUP enthusiast , has created some of these currents and jumped on others . We asked him to track his SUP journey .
My paddling started when there was no wind to sail . I had canoed the Severn and Wye , windsurfed and started to mess about on boards . I was self-taught , enthusiastic , but hopeless . I loved it , and so did lots of others .
In 2018 I wrote a Development Plan for Chelmarsh Sailing Club . Membership was falling ; sailing members were older , male and racing enthusiasts . We needed to do something to keep the club based on a fantastic reservoir near Bridgnorth Shropshire alive .
Fast forward to winter 2018 , and I ’ m running , swimming and paddling in a fitness test , not quite what I had in mind for club development or me ! I met Chris Kenyon ( coach and instructor ) and John McFadzean , a fellow course member on the ASI Instructor course . The SUP world is all about the fantastic people drawn together in the flow – Serendipity in every sense of the word . s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k
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