Maybe it was Lock Down that had me itching to try something new but when I heard through someone at work that a local company, SUP2Summit, were offering paddle boarding I checked out their website straight away. I've been on holiday and fancied trying it but for some reason it didn't occur to me I might be able to do it in Montrose.
If you follow me on Instagram then you'll know I love sunsets over the Montrose basin. It always blows my mind that I'm lucky enough to live in such a stunning place but on Monday night I got to watch the sunset from a whole new perspective.
We met round the back of Rossie Island on Monday night just before 7:30pm - there was 4 of us and the instructor James in the class. After some quick introductions we got into our wet suits, introduced to the boards and got into the water.
It's really straight forward to paddle on your knees so while we got used to the technique we paddled round to a sheltered part of the basin for the main part of stand up paddle boarding... standing up! I have notoriously bad balance so I wasn't confident I'd learn quickly. It wasn't long before I fell into the water for the first, second, third time until finally I found my feet.
Over the hour and a half we were out I had a great time. James knew lots of interesting stories about the wildlife, geology and history of the basin. Just don't listen to closely because before you know it you've stopped concentrating and your in the water again. Luckily it's easy enough to get back into the board and stand up again.
I'm lucky that I'm not scared of the water and the basin isn't very deep (although notorious for the sinking mud) so falling in is all part of the experience and the fun. The wet suit kept me warm and the buoyancy aid made sure I'd float.
If you fancy giving SUP a go then I cannot recommend going out with SUP2Summit enough. The class I went to cost £20 for the 1.5 hours but they offer more classes up the coast at Catterline and just today they announced a custom built pond just outside Montrose for SUP. Perfect if you want to get to grips with a new hobby before going out on the open water.
Now excuse me while I figure out how I'm going to save up for my own board.
Thanks to Barry Stuart on Facebook and SUP2Summit for sharing pictures!
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