I recently surprised Ellie with a stand-up paddle board (SUP) for her birthday. Besides it being something that we have both talked about getting, I realized it was a great way to bring an essence of Hawaii to the 10,000+ lakes here in Minnesota.
We also took a SUP tour when we were in the Turks and Caicos this summer. It’s a great way to see the water from a new angle.
We decided to get a board that would be good on lakes as well as the ocean, so that we could potentially bring it with us on trips to Hawaii or Easter Island. To my surprise, there are a bunch of different styles of boards (including ones that pack easy and inflate). They run between a big range of prices, sizes, and weights. I found the REI website to be the most useful in figuring out what style would work well for us. Another hurdle I had to overcome was how to transport the 10′ 6″ beast using our little Saturn without having to install roof racks. That’s when I remembered that beach-bumbs on the North Shore of Oahu would have some sort of simple contraption with tie-downs to secure their long boards onto their rusted out hondas. After a little digging in the Amazon of products online, I found Wrap Rax from Block Surf. It’s basically 2 sets of tie-downs with solid padding that holds your board in place on top of your car.
It only takes me about 5 minutes to get the straps tied down and the board on the car. I love the flexibility of this kit. And (!) the kit says it can hold up to two long boards. I guess I’ll just have to get another board for myself 🙂
The sport of Stand Up Paddling (or SUP) has become pretty big throughout the country. I always seem to run across interesting news articles about it, like this one: A musician recently paddled from Cuba to Florida. He stood up nearly the entire 28 hour journey! The feat was done to bring awareness to international relations between the US and Cuba. Maybe next year both presidents should settle their differences over a paddle on the Mississippi.
Here’s the article:
Musician Paddles from Cuba to Key West