Sunday, October 3, 2010
Day 305: "Speed Is Your Friend"
On Sunday, Day 305, Michael and I tried something new. It's called SUPing. A type of surfing, SUP stands for Stand-Up Paddling. I took my camera inside the waterproof bag and took a few shots of Michael in action. Even though you can clearly see the bag in this photo, I really like this shot.
While neither of us has ever surfed, we caught on quite easily. It was more like kayaking, really. They say it's like taking a hike on the water. We were able to see fish and coral beneath us as we glided over the reef.
SUPing provided a pretty good work-out. We paddled around Smuggler's Cove for an hour straight. By the time we came back in, we had an audience. Michael took a spin on my board so I could get some footage to share with you.
My most humiliating moment came as I approached the shore and a large group of people sipping on their painkillers and bushwackers... Unsure of how to complete my SUP loop, I shouted out to Andy's son, Josh. It went something like this:
Me: "Hey! Josh! What's the correct way - woah, woah - to dismouuuuuuuunt?"
SPLASH!
As I came up for air - full of equal parts salt water and humility - the crowd was laughing.
Random Guy: "I think you just answered your own question!"
Josh: "What did you say, Amelia?"
Me: "Nevermind..."
The only real casualty of the day (my pride aside)? Michael's sunglasses. On his first fall into the water, his hat and glasses came off and he was only able to grab the hat. The BVI has claimed two pairs of wayfarers so far...onto #3.
Our instructor was Andy Morrell, the founder of HiHo, a popular Caribbean clothing brand. (HiHo stands for "hook in and hold on," which is a reference to Andy's primary sport, wind-surfing.)
Andy recently brought SUPing to the BVI with a large inventory of boards and paddles. He's a great teacher and my favorite quote of his from the day was "Speed is your friend." Things can get a bit dodgy if you slow down too much. I fell several times, as did Michael and our new friend Tony who just moved here from Chattanooga, coincidentally enough!
My most humiliating moment came as I approached the shore and a large group of people sipping on their painkillers and bushwackers... Unsure of how to complete my SUP loop, I shouted out to Andy's son, Josh. It went something like this:
Me: "Hey! Josh! What's the correct way - woah, woah - to dismouuuuuuuunt?"
SPLASH!
As I came up for air - full of equal parts salt water and humility - the crowd was laughing.
Random Guy: "I think you just answered your own question!"
Josh: "What did you say, Amelia?"
Me: "Nevermind..."
The only real casualty of the day (my pride aside)? Michael's sunglasses. On his first fall into the water, his hat and glasses came off and he was only able to grab the hat. The BVI has claimed two pairs of wayfarers so far...onto #3.
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1 comments:
Love the video! Can't wait to try it in Dec!