How good is spring this year?
Like every spring, it's marvellous, and this year I've already tried some new paddleboard activities from lazing to wobbling. Perhaps they'll inspire you too?
I spent a lot of March on training courses, so have been fully immersed (yup, pun intended) this spring. Here are some highlights
1 Discovering white water paddleboarding
There are a few moves the really good paddleboarders do that defy gravity.
Trying not to look as if I was beadily watching the pros like a stalker, I practiced secretly the knighted knee to sudden stand position. I occasionally jumped like a pogo stick (or spring lamb), though who knows what anyone watching me thought as there are fortunately no videos. I slammed my paddle down as if trying to knock out a passing fish. I adopted a non parallel stance. And I perfected my cross-bow turn (and its reverse) with no idea what I was doing.
So when I met Ian Dovey from Ian Dovey Coaching and followed him down a stretch of a bubbling River Dart on a two-day tour leader course when I had a serious ah-ha moment. Location wise we were in Devon and started at Buckfast (near the Strawberry Fields farm shop) before paddling to Staverton (ending by the steam train station). It was organised by the Castle Canoe Club which paddles in Hackney, London but loves going on trips.
That kneeling move? That’s very handy on white water.
The pogo jump? Keeps you on the board when the water bumps.
The paddle as outrigger? The slam stops you tilting off.
The cross bow turn? Takes you into the eddy. And by the way an eddy is actually a quiet bit of water, not the rough white watery bit. I think steady eddy is a good way to remember what you’re looking for.
Obviously with only one go on white water, even if it was for a blissful WHOLE afternoon, doesn’t make me very experienced. But I am so glad to now know how those moves can be used. And very glad that I haven’t spent the past winter rooted to the middle of my board because if I had, then I’d have had a lot more swims in the River Dart.
My top tips when it comes to white water paddling.
Wear a helmet
But don’t wear a leash
Know your dry suit will keep you dry (I had a wet suit under my dry suit)
Follow someone who knows the river and has the skills. That way you can copy routes and moves.
Because I’d never done white water before, I was shamefully relaxed - literally not a single bit of me was nervous. I’ve heard (and overheard) white water kayakers getting into a terrible state before they head into the water and I think now I understand more why they might get anxious before doing something they claim to love and have risk assessed. The joy of going through white water on a paddleboard is that you are so much less likely to get your craft, or yourself, stuck under water.
You can also stand up and see further downstream which can help every paddler around you take the best route.
2 Getting into the flow
“Tide and time waits for no man/person”
This quote is why I’m a little nervous of tidal water and tide timetables. But thanks to a bit of tidal river training with Ian Dovey, again on the fabulous River Dart, I’m starting to get the hang of sheltered tidal water. This time we launched from Stoke Gabriel which has a car park rammed with vehicles topped by boats, and (also useful to know) up the hill a public toilet just after the gallery.
It’s not just the flow, it’s the wind that makes tidal water paddling so potentially complicated. The best advice is to be prepared but also be sure to have a back up plan. So if the conditions are not right, do something else. Around Dartmoor there are many nice things to do and a plethora of farm shops for tea and cake.
Check out what the wonderful Ian Dovey Coaching offers here
3 Off on a Solo Paddle
I do a lot of paddle touring and litter picking along the Regent’s Canal so just occasionally it’s fun to put down the litter pickers and head off on my own, in the daylight. Usually I take a very slim, wobbly board that makes this an extra fun challenge.
My hope is that by the end of the summer season I’ll be able to look behind me on this wobble board and have a smiling chat with whoever’s on my tail. Right now the only way I can do this is by throwing myself on to my knees.
Turns out those white water paddleboarding skills I never thought I’d need are very useful, even on the canal.
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I’m writing this at the start of April with blue skies and an air temperature of about 13C. Here’s to happy paddleboarding 2025 in the sunshine (March had the most since records began). I’m not sure what that means for climate change but I did see a brimstone and a cabbage white butterfly during my weekend paddle along the canal.
And also Eid Mubarak to anyone celebrating.