SUP session at the delta
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Water, #Water Everywhere, My #Paddleboard Can Shrink

How do you typically spend your last Sunday in August? For lots of folks, August is still a hot month in the Northern hemisphere, so the beach fronts of rivers, lakes, and oceans see huge crowds spending their last summer weekend around the water.

Weightless water

Water is our “over-arching” theme this week for Sunday Stills. Since interpretation is wide, I encourage you to go with a sub-theme.

You probably know I am an avid water-sports person. Although I dabble in windsurfing, I prefer stand-up paddling (aka SUP).

Stand-up paddling is my sub-theme today.
Delta SUP sesson
Delta SUP session

In the “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the sailor expresses his disdain of being surrounded by (ocean) water but none that he can actually drink.
“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”
― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Now you understand the inspiration for the title of my post…or do you?

With water, water everywhere, theoretically, I can use my SUP anywhere there is a body of water over a foot deep. All summer long we have had fabulous windy days at our delta campground, which means lots of windsurfing. Conditions aren’t always right for me to get out on the water with my SUP, hence my disdain over water being everywhere but the conditions are at once too windy to SUP and not windy enough to sail!

I look forward to the calm weekend days at the delta when I can get my SUP out on the water and get my dose of physical activity. SUPing is a great workout which strengthens your core, back, upper body, legs and even your feet.

SUP session in Lake Tahoe
SUP session in Lake Tahoe

Because of logistical reasons, I leave my 11-foot fiberglass, stand-up paddleboard at the delta all summer. Our campsite is a few steps away from the levee fronting the Sacramento River, making it easy to carry my board to the water. This summer at the delta I only got out on my SUP three times! I don’t have an extra SUP laying around at home, so if I want to paddle on nearby Lake Natoma or the American River near my house, I have to rent a board. Renting is fine and I have done it, but the incentive is low.

When I’ve had my SUP at home, it takes some effort to load it on top of my car and properly tie it down. That being said, try re-loading and re-tying it after one-two hours out on the water!

Exhausted much? Also, no incentive unless I have help.

Years ago, I tried an inflatable SUP but I didn’t like the bouncy, unstable feel to it. Recently, I tried a new model and it was surprisingly stable even in small waves and a little wind. Major improvements have been made using carbon stringers and other technology for stability and durability.

View of SUP
Paddler View of my inflatable SUP

Bi-annually I receive e-mails from a water-sports store in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland, Oregon about their clearance items. Recently I saw their inflatable SUPs on sale and an idea brewed in my head about how convenient it would be to have one of these available at home.

Even on clearance, these boards are pricey, so I checked out Costco and what do you know, they had an inflatable SUP package that included the board, a break-down paddle, leash and other goodies (bag and pump included), all for half the price. (No affiliate marketing going on here, just information).

SUp in bedroom
Brodie approves of my inflatable SUP!

Imagine a SUP that fits in the trunk of your car, or in the carry bag that can also be packed for air travel. Sure, inflating takes about 5 minutes with a manual pump, but a pre-work out is all good! After a couple of hours on the water, carrying the board (less than 25 pounds) back to the car, then pushing the deflate button, and poof! Done! Dried off and rolled up and into the car in less than 10 minutes.

“…and all the boards did shrink.”

Now, my incentive is strong to simply grab the bag (just under 50 pounds total), drive the 6 miles to the lake, inflate the SUP in the parking lot or right on the beach and go!

And I did.

Getting ready!

Quite the Zen experience last Saturday at 9am. Cool breeze, calm, flat water…and a ton of people out on their inflatable SUPS and other watercraft!

No excuses!

My escape is to just get in a boat SUP and disappear on the water. ~Carl Hiaasen

Enjoy this gallery of previously posted photos.

Morning stand-up paddle session in Mission Beach, San Diego.
Abstract Reflection
No wind? No problem. Get out your SUP and enjoy!
Woohoo! In the Sea of Cortez

Here is a little bit more about SUPing on Folsom Lake and Lake Natoma.

Link up here or create a pingback by linking to this post! I can’t wait to see how you will interpret water for Sunday Stills!

Be sure to check out the Sunday Stills page for the September themes!

Terri_sig_palm2

 

 

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101 comments

  4. Great post Terri! Probably the only workout I’ve not tried but you may have pushed me over the edge. I kayak on the river here and it’s glorious. Dolphins are all around me and often spyhop me along the way so I hesitate to switch as I like to cover more miles. But we shall see. They have both kayaks and paddle boards right here ready for use so no excuses!

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. Paddle boarding looks like so much fun. I would like to get into doing that more. I’ve only just tried a few times. Your photos makes it look even more tempting!!

    Liked by 2 people

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  7. I like the way you explained Coleridge’s poem – much better than my university profs. You look totally awesome standing on your board. I enjoy watching the paddlers but I think walking is more my style. Twenty years ago, maybe…

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    • Now that is a high compliment coming from a literary expert like you, Shari! I had to look up the sentence as a quote and saw it was a poem (so much for my lit review, LOL!). Somehow “water, water everywhere” stuck in my mind when titling the post, so I had some fun with it! I find paddling very easy and something different to do on a hot day!

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  9. This looks like a lot of fun! Where I grew up, bigger paddle boards are used by the lifeguards on duty in beaches and carry a bit of nostalgia besides. 🙂
    I’m adding my contribution to today’s theme, of the places of the world where ocean meets sand and breath meets air and air meets land.

    Life’s Elixir

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  14. Wow… inflatable SUPs. I have never heard of them but love the concept (just like inflatable kayaks). You don’t want the transportation of your “toy” to be a barrier. Funny, as you hope for calm winds, your fellow windsurfers are hoping for the opposite. Nice post about water!

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  18. Hi Terri, I was just trying to get a gathering of folks to paddle next Sunday (and do BBQ after) …I always feel like Labor Day is last weekend of summer. I totally get the transport issue…we don’t have anywhere we can just pick up & put in. That would invent me to paddle more for sure! And maybe get better at it. I’m still at less than 100 hours on my board… in 3 years. Sigh.

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  22. Who would have known that even SUPs come as inflatables, Terri? It must save you so much space in the car, and no having to tie things down on a roof-rack.
    I don’t see many people on SUPs here in the UK. These days, it seems to be mainly people Kite Surfing, but that’s because we usually have south westerlies coming straight off the North Atlantic. Keeps us mild in the winter and cool in the summer.
    Our summer season ended yesterday; today the beaches around here are almost deserted.

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    • I’m so happy someone figured out how to make the inflatable SUPs stable! Kite boarding is really picking up on the West Coast as more Boomer windsurfers in their 50s and 60s are taking it up and leaving windsurfing behind. It takes a lot of wind to really sail on a windsurf board, but kiting takes much less. Plus the equipment is more manageable. I’m not interested in learning (I see too many accidents). I prefer SUPing over all the board sports and I am grateful to those forward-thinking inventors! This coming Labor Day weekend is our un-official summer’s end although everyone is back to school already. By the way, you should try SUPing sometime, you might like it, Hugh!

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      • Me? Watersports, Terri? I suppose I should give it a try, but as a non-swimmer, I get rather terrified by the water. That may seem strange for somebody who chooses to live by the sea, but it’s the scenery that brings me here, plus it’s a great place to be during the autumn and winter season.
        However, I’ve just taken up cycling again, as we have some great bike tracks here. I’ve already got a puncture in the front tyre, but thank goodness my partner also has a bike he never uses.
        Enjoy your upcoming long weekend. 🌞

        Liked by 1 person

      • Well, being a non-swimmer is quite the game changer there! But cycling is amazing and glad to hear you get out often on some good roads! After I teach my Wednesday night class I am a free bird til Tuesday! Enjoy your weekend as well, Hugh!

        Liked by 2 people

  29. It all looks so serene (and Zen as you commented) Terri and I pinned a pic or two. I’ll probably never get one, but it definitely looks preferable to windsurfing to me – less likely to kill myself!
    #MLSTL 🙂

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  43. I have many, many photos of water, enough to fill 10 posts or more… 🙂 my big challenge is to write the posts, but I found another I made not too long ago, from Acapulco – yeah, we visited Mexico for several years from North to South and West to East, when we had money and when we left without…

    Hopping that you don’t mind if I post more than one, here is my other contribution for water photos:

    http://www.travelways.com/acapulco-beaches

    Thank you for this opportunity!

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  46. I’ve only recently become aware of SUP and now it’s all I see on adverts, holiday adventure ideas and blogs posts like yours…I think it’s a message for me to give it a try 🙂 – I like the idea that it strengthens the core, and it looks like so much fun.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • More than one is fine, I remember some folks linked more than one for the weekly photo challenge. As the week wears on, though, not as many folks look at the link up. I will always share one post on my social media, but I may not have time to share more than that per person.

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