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I have to admit that, though I love water sports, I’m not a super skillful aquatic person. I have a good sense of balance when feet on the ground, but it’s a different story when I’m on this new thing, called SUP.
Stand Up Paddleboard (or Paddling), aka. SUP, is fairly new to Canadians, but now it’s super duper popular among water-loving fun-seekers. I got a chance to learn SUP at Toronto’s beautiful Harbourfront. A day of “Alright, I will give it a shot.” turned out to be an experience of a lifetime.
My instructor was Alex. We were taken out on a boat to a little tiny bay along the shore of Toronto Islands. Alex was a fun guy. He once lived in Qingdao, China, so we started chatting in Chinese. What an icebreaker!
Task #1 of playing SUP is to get onboard. I walked my board, which was attached to my ankle with a “leash”, to some shallow calm water. Step by step, I was on my stomach, knees and finally my feet standing on top of a board that’s longer than me, holding a paddle, well, longer than me as well. Blue sky, sunshine, just a little breeze and the ever-charming Toronto skyline made me feel like I was standing on top of the world.
Before then, I never realized how much fun you can have when you fall into water from somewhere other than a dock. If you want to have some hot summer fun, why not try SUP and get wet and cool just in this town called Toronto
Click here for exciting Ontario stand-up paddling adventures.
One reply on “Getting on Board”
I am dying to try this out! Have seen people out on the Ottawa River – looks like fun.