I had been watching people around Kauai Paddle all week yet had not made the time to try just yet. The tiping point was watching 2 guys paddle haneli bay as the sun went down over the begining of th Na Pali coast. First thing tomorrow I am learning! I need to be able to do that.
We were staying at the Marriott Kauai located on the Kalapaki Bay, a perect place to learn surfing. With a small long swell on one side of the Bay and flat enough water to paddle on the other. I mean look at this place.
After a brief lesson from the guy manning the surf shack next to Duke's, I confidently paddled out on my knees. After all i am an athlete, those guys last night made it look so easy, I am going to dominate this. Wrong, I got up, I feel in I paddled a little, I fell in. This pattern repeated for the next hour yet I was hooked. In my defense it was very choppy that day and i had caught aprroximatly 2 waves in my life so I am not exactly a waterman, but from that day on I was hooked.
Over the next few weeks i returned to reality and got over the "I am not in Hawaii any more blues". Then it hit me, I live in Florida! There is water everywhere! Bays, Lakes, Intercoastals, Rivers, Springs, The Gulf, The Atlantic, hell even my swimming pool. Florida may be the best place on earth, next to Hawaii of course, to SUP. Only problem, those boards are expensive. I started saving, yet inevitibly life happens.
Life will make you think when bam, My next brilliant idea was to start a SUP rental bussiness in the Tampa Bay area. However, I have a great job, needed the security, and was to much of a wuss. My SUP dreams would have to go on hold. I dreamed constantly of the Kalapaki bay and for the day I could have my own board. About 6 months went by when my mother in law handed me an article about a guy named Brody, typical, who started a SUP bussiness in St. Pete. Turns out Brody had essentially the same idea I did using the board as a personal training tool and renting out boards. His company Stand UP Fitness inc. http://www.standupfitnessinc.com/was exactly what I wanted to do.
So on my birthday my wife and I went to check out Brody's opperation. We met his awesome wife Jesse and I got my first shot on a YOLO board. For those of you who know the gulf of Mexico, you know that the surf is generally that of a lake. The light sea breeze and generally flat water make it an ideal place for beginners. Nope this July day had 30 mph winds and rough seas. My wife and I's 3 hour rental was 45 minutes of a butt whoopin. It was time for a hefeweizien and a grouper sandwhich. Yet I yearned for more.
About a month later we went back to ST. Pete this time to meet Brody for a lesson at the beautiful Ft. Desoto Park. Brody is the man! Personable, friendly, and tons of SUP experience. He used to actually get paid to live in Kauai and take people on eco adventures espicially SUP. I was no longer jealous of Brody for beating me to the punch. I wasin love with SUP I was developing a Bromance crush on the Broadster.
After an hour lesson on technique, turrns, and paddeling into the wind we had an hour of free play. I paddled around mangrove islands and chased a pack of dolpins. I saw snook that would make all the fisherman jealous. Erica chased after a Manatee. SUP wasn't just awesome excercise or a way to learn surfing. It was sollitude, adventure, nature, and peace. It is everything that I love about the outdoors and I was looking for in Florida.
So much for peace and sollitude. I knew paddeling was an awesome workout and as a trainer I loved the functionality of the sport, but Brody's paddle fit class took it to another level. We warmed up on the beach at Vinoy Park in downtown St. Pete. We paddled out a few minutes and then the bomb was dropped with sqauts, pushups, planks, mountain climbers, sit-ups, even fricking squat thrusts mixed in between minute bursts of full on paddles. If you are in the St. Pete area you must try out one of his classes.
I think the devirsity of what SUP is appeals to me the most. Races, Fishing, Touring, Surfing, Down-winders, the possibilities of SUP are essentially endless. My blog will journal my exploration of the florida waterways, journal my training for the up coming gulf coast SUP championships, and i will lend my Fitness expertise with educational articles. I hope to insipe new paddelers and help drive the fitness componant of SUP.
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