I was recently reading a book which was championing the idea of trying new experiences. The idea being that if you expose yourself to new things and people, you grow and benefit, but your luck may also improve with it. I liked the idea of trying something new after being confined to base for so long because of the pandemic. It was just a question of what to try and I decided on paddleboarding.
My first encounter of paddleboarding had been seeing people doing it in Barmouth harbour and on the Mawddach river estuary. It’s a stunning part of the world and I loved the idea of exploring by water rather than on land for a change. I’d promised myself for a long time that I would give the paddleboarding a go near Barmouth. However, as it’s proved more difficult and expensive to travel recently, I wasn’t sure when I’d get around to it. So I decided to do it closer to home.
My local sailing club offers introductory sessions for paddleboarding for as little as £10, so I signed up for one of those. They provided the equipment. I’d expected a group session, but I was the only one booked. I had a little one to one tuition to get me started, and a little more about half way through, but otherwise I was left to get on with it. It’s a fairly safe environment as it’s a reservoir and I was kitted out with a life jacket (although I’m a strong swimmer).
I took my swimming costume to put on under the wetsuit that they provided and I wore some old trainers (ones I didn’t mind getting wet). They provided the life jacket, paddleboard and paddle. The paddles are easy to adjust in length to suit the individual. I had mine at one length whilst I was kneeling on the board and another when I was standing.
Initially I knelt on the board. It was easy to get around and I felt very stable on the board. I was able to move around the reservoir very well. The main issue with kneeling was the fact that my knees became sore after a while. The board is quite rigid and it wasn’t very comfortable.
I moved back towards the clubhouse and got some tuition on how to make the transition to standing. My first attempt saw me landing in the water. I then tried a different technique (on the advice of my instructor) and managed it.
Standing up on the paddleboard was much nicer in many ways: I had a better view and my knees didn’t hurt. You are less stable though in the standing position, so I found I was having to work my feet and leg muscles (and probably my core) to maintain my balance. After a while I’d had enough. I’d enjoyed it, but my legs were protesting.
I went to the clubhouse to get changed and found that my legs were like jelly. It took them a little while to recover.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience. I’d love to give it a go again when the summer weather returns and I still want to paddleboard around Barmouth. So I think paddleboarding with feature in my life in the future. I’m keen to keep trying new things. Maybe I’ll try surfing next.
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