Tuesday I loaded my board up on my car with my soft car racks, which are suprisingly easy to use. I put washcloths around the edges of my board where the ropes make contact with it, and was happy to find that no marks were left on the board on my 30mph drive to Birdseye Dock.
Launching at Birdseye, my first thought was how windy it was and how big the chop was. I've only been out on an SUP once, and although I had no trouble standing I was using it in a lake with only minor boat wake. Between the wind and the waves I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get going, but as soon as I launched I realized how stable my Ark is which allowed me to quickly get accustomed to the feel of paddling through the waves. I crossed the Housatonic River, paddling along the edge of the marsh checking out the fish swimming beneath.
As I crossed back to the other side, I was suddenly greeted by a "BANG" on the back of my board. Thinking I might have hit a piece of driftwood I looked back quickly only to see a silvery streak as a large fish flapped and darted away. A few minutes later I cruised by a man-o-war the size of a garbage bag, it's brainy-looking tentacles hanging far beneath the large, bell-shaped head. I saw a few smaller red jellyfish, but mostly just harmless white ones which scattered the river (I knelt down at one point to scoop one up, remembering my brother and I having a white jellyfish fight on the docks when I was younger).
Definitely hooked on SUP! Next time I'll write about my 2nd time out, even heavier chop launching from Short Beach, as well as my review of Seattle Sports Lashmates Superstik Attachment System.
-TreeburnerCT
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