Sharing joys of paddleboarding
Iremember the first time I took my daughter paddleboarding. She said, ‘‘Dad I feel like Jesus, I’m walking on water.’’ I don’t know if he actually did walk on water, but he could have, if he had a paddleboard.
With summer coming, now is the time to think of improving your wellbeing, by either dusting off your paddleboard, hiring one, or even buying one. It’s a bit like yoga on water and improves your core, with the added bonus of eco-therapy and connecting with friends.
With that in mind, I signed on for a paddleboard trip with SUPwell on Facebook on the Puhoi River last weekend. Now, being a bit rusty myself, and having my winter conditioning onboard, I kind of liked the idea of floating down a river on my paddleboard with a few mates and a few people I hadn’t yet met. So, my laconic sign-on was slightly challenged on arrival when I discovered that it was an 8km paddle, UPSTREAM.
Most of the participants were regulars and many had been getting lessons. My fear of exposing my poor technique and lack of paddle fitness was alleviated by the instructors Victoria and Helen reassuring me that I would be fine. My confidence was buoyed by the fact they had cleverly timed the mission with the incoming tide.
So, armed with board, paddle, sunscreen, hat and PFD (personal floatation device) I paddled out in the blue waters at Wenderholm, north of Auckland and into the tide. It was like being on one of those travellators at the airport. That was thanks to augmented paddling – where one stroke is four, as the tide carries you along. Chatting to fellow paddlers and dodging a slalom of 150 racing kayakers coming downstream made for an entertaining and challenging mission.
Bird life, stingrays, mangroves and totara graced the journey. As we ventured inland, the water gradually changed colour, heralding ‘‘are we there yet?’’ queries to the competitive kayakers, who were a friendly bunch. Once again, many wellbeing boxes of learning new things, connecting with others and nature and being physically active were ticked.
While I am a bit rusty, I have spent a reasonable amount of time paddleboarding, so my muscle memory, balance and technique meant that it was a very pleasant trip. My 14-foot touring board made relatively light work of the wind against tide-chop, compared to some of the others who were paddling on inflatable paddleboards. Like anything, having the right equipment for the conditions makes a big difference and – for once – my equipment matched the conditions, even if my technique didn’t.
There were people of all ages and body types on the mission and everyone had a smile on their face. Certainly, a guided trip like this – with experts – takes the stress out of a trip and it was good to see those who had lessons putting them into practice on a warm spring day.
We capped it off with some healthy refreshments at the Puhoi pub, where the camaraderie continued. I enjoyed it so much, I have enrolled the family and a few mates at the next mission on the lovely Matakana River on December 15. So, if you want to join me and the crew, register on the SUPwell Facebook page and trade the Christmas shopping hordes in for some paddleboards.
Whatever you do this weekend, get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine with family and friends and try something new that involves moving your body and your mind.
Dr Tom Mulholland is a GP with 30 years’ experience. He’s on a mission, tackling health issues around New Zealand.