Inflatables by air

I was in at RPS getting some bits week before last, and Warwick mentioned he was going surfing last week with his daughter, did me and my daughter want to tag along?
Had to tell him "No, sorry, going to Hamilton Island for the week".
Wife had booked without telling me, but had checked out that they had SUPs for hire.
Warwick kindly offered to lend us a couple of inflatables to take. I was a bit suss on the inflatables, having never seen one or paddled one, but thought 'Why not?".
He loaned us a Naish 12'6" Nisco board, and a Fanatic 12' Fly Air, I think an older model.
Pumped them up before we left, and doubts as to whether they were worth taking lessened - they looked like the real thing.



We were flying Virgin Air, and they charged $35 to get each one there as an additional baggage item. This had to be booked before hand or they would be charged much more as excess baggage. The travel agent suggested we strap the paddles to one of the boards to avoid 3 additional items. I made a plywood box to (almost) fit inside a paddle bag to protect the shafts, and packed two extendable paddles in the bag. I wrapped the Naish board around this. To save weight, took only one pump between the two.
Fanatic and pump weighed in at 23kg - the maximum - Naish and paddles 18kg. Took towels and other gear in the bags as well. For the return trip they made me remove the paddles from the board bag, and they travelled on their own. This was a much safer arrangement as far as potential damage - I was scared of the bag landing on the paddles at some point - but would have cost an additional baggage item. Paddles and bag had to go as oversize, but this was no problem.



Check in of baggage was no drama, and all arrived safely. Unpacked at Hamilton Island and no damage. The boards are quite bulky to move around the airport, and it would be worth packing in a bag with wheels, or strapping to a trolley with wheels.
Transport at Hamilton Island is by golf buggy, and initially we only took 2 people plus two boards and paddles on the buggy. By the end of our stay it was 4 people, 2 boards and 2 paddles. Never quite got brave enough to carry the boards inflated.

Not going to do a full review of Hamilton Island, but great spot. Initially I went and checked out the hire boards, which would have been included in our accommodation cost. Boards were not bad looking Hobies, but were only available for a 2 hour period at high tide, and restricted to small area at resort. There are good reasons for this, but it would have been very disappointing if that was our only option.

Took the boards around to the resort beach, and inflated. The Naish came with an air pressure gauge, which I broke first go. As a guide, pump them up as hard as you can be bothered, then add a bit more. The first time we used them, we had to return and add more air to both boards.









Both boards paddled much better than I expected, not at all "corky" . The Naish was probably the better of the two, but my (almost) non paddling wife could handle the Fanatic without a drama. I even managed to surf the Naish on some wind bumps, but surfing straight at a coral reef on an inflatable board was a bit alarming. Beautiful spot to paddle, particularly when keeping track of Melbourne weather on the same days. Lots of fish, turtles, stingrays to chase, and generally nice flat water.









Overall, Hamilton Island was not a great paddle destination, mainly due to not being able to get to the water in many spots - generally trees down to water, with rocks and big tide. But don't get me wrong, it was very pleasant, and well worth doing.
The Whitsundays in general would be brilliant, particularly if doing a yacht charter. A couple of inflatables to explore inlets / reefs would fit easily in a quite small yacht.

The boards were brilliant - far better than I expected. Both paddled well, and you could get up a fair speed on either.
Pumping them up was far less hassle than I thought it would be, and you feel very clever arriving at the beach with a bag, and then paddling off a few minutes later. Lots of people commented on what a good idea they were.
Transport by air was no hassle, just a bit of pre planning required. Virgin had a 23kg weight limit, so weighing everything before hand is a good idea.

Thanks very much to Warwick at RPS for the loan of the boards - they turned a good holiday in to an excellent one.

One of the upsides of Hamilton Island was a very convenient drinks cart to bring refreshment after the paddle.

Nice.. Great report and great pictures..

Got to have a SUP while holidaying.

I have just returned from the sunshine coast for a 2 week break (basically to hang out with other Melbournians thawing out). I hire a board for the entire time and was glad I had the option. I hired through Ocean Addicts and the very helpful people (thanks Ben) dropped off and picked up from my apartment. They let me also try a few other boards during my stay (Naish Mana 9’ 5” and Mana 8’ 5”). Now I know my next surf SUP purchase!!