PADDLER 77
“
SO BEFORE WW SUP , WHAT OTHER CRAFT DID YOU PADDLE ?
I have paddled rafts , canoes , kayaks , and sea kayaks , and I am certified in them all . I am also a canoe and kayak coach in different disciplines / environments of the sports and an advanced leader for canoeing and kayaking . For rafting , I am the current national trainer for Scotland . So , I also have a fair bit of experience in other crafts , which I think really helps build the holistic skills required to paddle .
”
In terms of advanced paddling , it comes down to working the river , analysing waves in a quick response to know where to hit them right , what angle you need to be at , where your edge control on the board has to be , and your weight in the correct position . SUP is the easiest of all the paddlesports as anyone can jump on one and , by a mile , the most technical ( in my honest opinion ). Do you need speed for this feature , or do you need to brace instead , and if so , why ? Which direction should your speed be taking you ? If you fall off while travelling in that direction , where will you end up ? Do you have time to recover before the next feature and moves you must make ? These are skills that come with time , practice and a lot of paddling of different rivers - variety is key to getting skilled !
HOW DO YOU HANDLE EMERGENCIES , SUCH AS EQUIPMENT FAILURE OR SEPARATION FROM THE BOARD , WHILE NAVIGATING WW ?
I have had to deal with a few things from SUP and been on the river for plenty of incidents , accidents and other things , but honestly , stay calm ; if you panic , then the situation only gets worse and takes longer to deal with . Analyse the problem and try to deal with it calmly and effectively - best case the person can deal with it themselves or only need minor support from yourself . Equipment failure can happen - I have broken paddles in the middle of grade 4s , + s and 5s and it , for lack of a better word , sucks when that happens because your only option now is to hand paddle or swim ( neither good option in those grades of water ). Because SUP is so versatile , you can easily rescue another person and get them onto your sup or paddle them to the side , empty boats with ease , pick up paddles and even beach yourself on obstacles with minimal risk compared to other crafts .
YOU ’ RE THE OWNER OF HIGHLAND OUTDOOR ADVENTURES ; HOW DID THAT START ?
Good question . Honestly , I gave up my previous career managing the last outdoor company I worked for from 2013-2023 to set up Highland Outdoor Adventures with the dream of really focusing on providing quality outdoor experiences to all , in particular for white water SUP and climbing in both summer and winter environments . I started it up in 2023 , and it has been a wild , busy ride over the last year , but I have loved every second of it ; the people who book onto activities are just awesome and providing them with the skills they want , i . e . entry level through to advanced level coaching and training / assessing instructors is a true and honest pleasure / privilege . https :// www . weehops . com Etive Right Angle 20ft waterfall landed back on the board and fell off decided not to try it again as too much impact on the back and legs . Photographer Daniel Smith
ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC CERTIFICATIONS OR QUALIFICATIONS SOMEONE SHOULD SEEK IF THEY ASPIRE TO BECOME A WW SUP INSTRUCTOR ?
In my mind , the SUP WW Leader or SUP WW Coach would be the two best qualifications you can gain to help people in the sport , but there are multidisciplinary ones like the Paddlesports Touring Leader as well , which will certify you up to G1 ( 2 ) and open water SUP paddling .
SO BEFORE WW SUP , WHAT OTHER TYPES OF CRAFT DID YOU PADDLE ?
I have paddled rafts , canoes , kayaks , and sea kayaks , and I am certified in them all . I am also a canoe and kayak coach in different disciplines / environments of the sports and an advanced leader for canoeing and kayaking . For rafting , I am the current national trainer for Scotland . So , I also have a fair bit of experience in other crafts , which I think really helps build the holistic skills required to paddle .
PADDLER 77