3 Reasons to Grab a Paddle (Not a Parawing) This Winter

REASON #1:

Time Machine

The paddle turns back the clock. It hits rewind. At age 54, I’d walk through fire to hit rewind. Climbing to my feet, bobbing like a bath toy, wobbling like a drunken sailor – I’ll do it. Gladly. There’s Marty McFly magic in the wonky battle to stand upright on a downwind foil board. I’m convinced it’s why my chronic knee and back pain have vanished. Why I’ve shed 8 pounds. Why when I step off my downwind SUP foil board and go surfing or windsurfing, my sessions are not haunted by I’m-getting-older reminders. My paddle kit is my DeLorean. Each balance bobble a tick toward 88 mph.  

REASON #2:

Winter Savior

My winter enemy is atrophy. What happens to my body when the water sessions stop. Hitting the gym doesn’t cut it. I’ve learned this. A winter of gym only leads to a sobering reality check come spring. Wakeups to what I’ve lost on the water. Physical proof the “old man” has snuck in the door. 

Downwind SUP foiling – especially when learning – is winter’s savoir. When you suck, you sweat. Cold temps be damned. SUP foiling’s aerobic demands keep hands and feet warm, while fast-twitch fibers in the feet and lower legs keep firing all winter. No boring gym. No regression. No old man creeping me. 

And finally, safety: My downwind SUP foil board doesn’t rely on wind. Miles from a car, if the wind dies, it’s a non event. I keep riding the remnant swell. And if that swell vanishes, my board is floaty. I’m holding a paddle. I can always get to shore. My cold-condition contingency is set. 

REASON #3:

A Sure Thing

“Should’ve been here an hour ago” post work skunkings – they don’t happen. 5 or 35 mph voodoo winds – they look epic to me. Ditto for gusty dawn patrols. Holding a paddle, I’m not a slave to the wind. I just need swell. And the better I get at SUP foiling, the less swell I need to do it. I head to the water knowing I’m going. All. Year. Round. My hit rewind time machine at the ready. To this husband and dad, whose every session entails a ticking clock and stars aligning, certainty is priceless. So I paddle. And to anyone who asks why I paddle, my response is easy: Why would I ever stop?