First Time SUP in shoulder high waves!

I have been watching the SUP thing with interest for a while and planning to give it a try. Then my mate turned up with a brand new Oxbow 11' on a perfect glassy 3-4ft morning.
I helped him set it up and wax it and found he had 2 paddles! Then I thought of my 12 foot Tandem surfboard that I made to take my kids out on. I wonder if that will work?
I already had the boat loaded for a trip to a secluded sand bar so we threw in Dave's new board, paddles and my Tandem and a young mate with his 6' shortboard.
It was picture perfect peeling 200m+ left and rights with deep channels. The tide had started to rise so it was pretty nice, not hollow spitting tubes like it can be in low tide and a solid swell.

Boards in the water. Clear, glassy, sunny.... could be some exotic tropical paradise.....



Here is a smaller 3 footer as we got ready to leave the boat:



Dave paddles off into the line up. He was not a complete novice like me:



And goes for a small one to warm up:



Thats it. I gotta get out there.
It took me a while to feel comfortable on the 12' x 25.5" Tandem. It floats me very well but felt a bit unsteady to start with, especially when standing still or trying to swing around for a wave. It glides beautifully and surfs a wave surprisingly well from the tail.

After an 1 - 1/2 hours or so Dave said he was stuffed and gave me his Oxbow to try while he went back to the boat and took a few snaps. At 30" wide it is a lot easier to stand still on and surfs very well. Here is one of the medium waves. Lochie was the only other surfer within miles :







Paddling back out. This is the best part of SUP 'cause this is a long ride and normally it is a long hard slog back to the lineup.



I think I may be hooked on this SUP thing. I can see it opening up a lot of fun on less than ideal surf days. And the body workout factor is definitely up there. I can see myself cruising on the inlet on onshore days for a workout for sure.

Excellent.....Two thumbs up from me...Great pictures.

DJ

yeah, something is wrong with the picture links

Photos are still on the Photo section. Anyhow here is the whole post again with pics as I can't edit the original post anymore.

I have been watching the SUP thing with interest for a while and planning to give it a try. Then my mate turned up with a brand new Oxbow 11' on a perfect glassy 3-4ft morning.
I helped him set it up and wax it and found he had 2 paddles! Then I thought of my 12 foot Tandem surfboard that I made to take my kids out on. I wonder if that will work?
I already had the boat loaded for a trip to a secluded sand bar so we threw in Dave's new board, paddles and my Tandem and a young mate with his 6' shortboard.
It was picture perfect peeling 200m+ left and rights with deep channels. The tide had started to rise so it was pretty nice, not hollow spitting tubes like it can be in low tide and a solid swell.

Boards in the water. Clear, glassy, sunny.... could be some exotic tropical paradise.....





Here is a smaller 3 footer as we got ready to leave the boat:



Dave paddles off into the line up. He was not a complete novice like me:



And goes for a small one to warm up:



Thats it. I gotta get out there.
It took me a while to feel comfortable on the 12' x 25.5" Tandem. It floats me very well but felt a bit unsteady to start with, especially when standing still or trying to swing around for a wave. It glides beautifully and surfs a wave surprisingly well from the tail.

After an 1 - 1/2 hours or so Dave said he was stuffed and gave me his Oxbow to try while he went back to the boat and took a few snaps. At 30" wide it is a lot easier to stand still on and surfs very well. Here is one of the medium waves. Lochie was the only other surfer within miles :









Paddling back out. This is the best part of SUP 'cause this is a long ride and normally it is a long hard slog back to the lineup.




I think I may be hooked on this SUP thing. I can see it opening up a lot of fun on less than ideal surf days. And the body workout factor is definitely up there. I can see myself cruising on the inlet on onshore days for a workout for sure.

This would have to be the best photo I have seen in a long time.
Its the type of photo that lets you see the moments before and after the shot.
Mind surfing this was fun but I bet the bloke catching the wave was stoked!?
Very jelous I wasnt there...