Surfboarding and paddleboarding

I found both surfboarding and paddleboarding to be a lot of fun. First lets describe what each of them is. Surfboarding or surfing uses waves for propulsion and the person doing this has to stand on the surfboard and balance and maneuver the surfboard and use waves to propel forward. In paddleboarding you are standing on a board and balancing and using a long paddle to row or paddle forward. But thats just the starting point.

Let me describe how you’d actually go about surfing in its entirety. So you strap one of your feet to the surfboard and stand in say waist deep water and put the board in front of you and sort of lean forward till you are floating on the water with the surfboard under you and you sort of paddle yourself with your hands out to the sea till about the point when the waves start to form white crests on the top before they curve forwards to crash down. Find a time when you are in a trough and turn around and kinda look back waiting for the next wave to start forming behind you. The moment you notice a wave about 10 – 15 feet away and behind you (this is for beginners) start paddling furiously till you feel the wave touching your feet and lifting you.

At that instant put your hands under you and spring up and plant your feet one in front of the other facing a little to the left or right. Which side you choose is upto your comfort. I, being right-handed, put my right foot behind and left foot forward and face to my right. I can use my right leg’s strength to maneuver more easily at the back of the board. Thats it! From that point act like you are on a bicycle with somone pushing you from behind.

All you have to do is maintain balance. If you feel you are slowing down because you got too ahead of the wave maneuver a little left or right by tilting your feet accordingly so you let the wave catch up. The biggest difference between wave surfing and paddleboarding is that in surfing you want waves. The bigger the better I guess.

 Now in paddle boarding you start of from a pier (unlike from a beach in surfing) and sit on the board in a crouched position on one or both your knees with the paddle resting on the paddleboard perpendicular to length of the board. Now in paddle boarding the calmer the waters the better the experience. So this is better done in a lake or a slow moving river and on a day when the winds are very calm. Once you are a couple of feet out from the pier use the paddle to gently propel yourself forward more into the lake by rowing in turn on either side.

Once you are about 10 – 15 feet out, in one single motion stand up and hold the paddle either horizontal to the ground or vertical to the ground and get your feet to stabilize the oscillatory motion. Since the paddleboard is wide, the wider you can keep your feet the better control you’ll get. The most optimal I’d say is to keep them shoulder width apart. It helps to keep your knees slightly bent if this is your first time till you are completely comfortable with your balance. Trust me this is so much fun that you’ll get the hang of it very soon. Now bring your paddle down to the water and gently with very little force start rowing on either side. Once you get more comfortable with your balance you’ll be able to apply more force. Now one thing in picking out the paddle is that you want it to be atleast a foot or two taller than you when you place it vertically on the ground.

 Just like in surfboarding you can also slightly use your feet to tilt the board one way or the other to get better turns. This is so stable that people take their dogs or young kids as well on their boards. Though you might want to be sitting than standing when you do that. If you are not an expert swimmer (or even if you are) I’d suggest using a life vest. Doesnt hurt coz you can focus on enjoying the experience knowing fully well that the life vest will float you even if you fall and you can take fear out of the equation.

 So hope when the next summer is around or if you are visiting places in the south around this time of the year you get a chance to try out one or both of these sports! Enjoy! 🙂