Paddleboarding!
So this posting is very, very overdue. Way back in the days of yore – i.e., September – a bunch of us went stand up paddleboarding for Alicia’s birthday ((You might remember Alicia from such adventures as the Fall Classic Half Marathon 2013, the Edge-to-Edge Half Marathon 2013, Victoria half marathon 2010, Scotiabank half marathon 2010, Vancouver BMO Half Marathon 2009, and surfing in Tonfio 2007.)). Our guide was Kathleen from WazSUP Stand Up Paddleboarding and Surf Shop ((I only just now as I was writing this post clued in that the “SUP” stands for “stand up paddleboarding.”)). She taught us the safety rules and the basics on how to get around and then we set off from Yaletown and paddled all the way to English Bay and back!
Here’s Alicia, starting out first on her knees:
Here’s the group of us starting out:
And here we are standing:
Once we were all standing, we managed to group together and hold paddles to form a group so we could listen to Kathleen tell us about more advanced stuff, like turning:
And off we go:
It was very cool being out on the water – the water was calm and it was very peaceful floating along like that. Also, it was an interesting experience to be going along False Creek on the water, as Alicia and I often go running along the paths on either side of False Creek – the Kits side or the downtown side – where we run and look out on the water, but with this we were going along the water and looking out onto the path – quite a different perspective! We also got to see a baby seal… or was it an otter? I can’t remember – this was a long time ago, after all. But I do remember it was a baby and it was barking. So cute!
The fearless crew of paddleboarders!
Thanks for much to Kathleen from WazSUP for being such an awesome guide and taking us out for such a fun trip!
SUP!! I love SUPing! Have ony done it in Hawaii where the weather is lovely and warm!