I have been trying to muster up enough courage to try paddleboarding. I gave blood earlier this week and I was a bit tired today but if I don't do it today I never will.
I called Bonita Jet Ski and asked about the conditions today. The winds have to be out of the East or the water will be too choppy for a beginner to try it out. The winds were favorable in the morning but changing to northwesterly in the afternoon so I had to get my act together and get out to the beach if I was going to try it today.
I arrived at 10:45 AM, parked the car, took a deep breath and said.....OK....today is the day. A friendly face ( didn't ask his name...shame on me) said the conditions were good and ended with a "Yes Ma'am." Getting used to all this politeness here. It's the norm and so I asked if he would take a photo of me on the board and he again politely said "yes Ma'am" but his helper would take photos as he set up the paddle and the board. He also advised me ( which turned out to be great advice) to leave anything that I didn't want to lose behind with him at the rental shack.
There were several more photos like these but one is plenty to share!
I wish he could have taken a photo of me standing on the board but this is the usual way to paddle out.
I did stay on my knees until I got further out and decided to try and stand. I did it the first try! You have to put your feet pointing straight and in the middle of the board. Not too bad I thought. I had to stay within the buoys that were placed strategically along the shoreline but far enough away from the swimmers.
Easy I thought....until a little wave made me lose my balance and before I could react I was in the water. Good thing I didn't have anything of value or it would have been gone. I swam back to the board with the paddle in my hand. The board was close enough that it was not too hard to swim to it and get back on and I continued up and down the shoreline till I got knocked off again. Darn.....is this normal or I am making a fool out of myself. Since I was the only paddleboarder in the water I guess I will not know until the next time I go and there are others out the paddleboarding.
The second time I got knocked off the board it seemed to swim away from me. Rut row. I tried getting back to the board but it kept getting away from me. I tried swimming with the paddle in one hand and the board was getting further away. Do I ditch the paddle and get the board and go back for the paddle? Yikes. I tried putting the paddle under my armpits. Nope that didn't work either. Finally I stopped the panic and swam to the board which seem to stay in place long enough for me to grab it. Whew! I can tell you I was tired person when I got back on the board. In fact.....I laid on the board for a minute to catch my breath before getting back on my knees and starting to paddle. I learned that the lower you are on the board the easier it is to stay stable and paddle.
I stayed out with the paddle board for an hour and my time was up. Although it was fun it got a bit boring paddling up and down the shoreline. Don't get me wrong....it was definitely an upper body workout and testing your stability but it's not something I felt passionate about. Of course if someone who visits wants to try their hand at it I will be more than willing to go and enjoy a day on the board.
Beach toys. I will save those for another day.
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