Flat Water Paddling Session in Theodolite Creek (Part 1 & Part 2)

[Night Wing]

This post is basically geared to those newcomers to supping and wanting to learn how to sup and the easiest way to learn is to flat water paddle.

When I was researching the world of sup to replace my world of kayaking, I searched all over the internet for topics and on YouTube, Vimeo, etc; for any video information on flat water paddling with a sup. I already knew I wanted to sup surf later on, but I needed to learn first on flat water paddling. While searching on YouTube for flat water paddling, I came across two videos which showed leisurely sup flat water paddling session on Theodolite Creek in Queensland, Australia. These two videos "sealed the deal" for me to get into supping.

Since I don't follow conventional wisdom, a short surf sup is not the best way to learn flat water paddling because all of the flat water sups I had seen on lakes Conroe and Woodlands (near where I live), these sups were mostly 11' in length or longer. I decided to purchase a short surf sup and a SUP Sports 8'11"Hammer caught my eye because sup surfing waves was going to be the next step for me. I learned how to paddle this short surf sup in a straight line. Basically I had to learn where to place my feet on the sup and improve my paddle stroke to paddle in a straight line. Once I got the hang of paddling on flat water, I started paying attention to the beauty of the lakes.

The scenery on these lakes is great, especially the heavily wooded shoreline of Lake Conroe up in the back creeks where boat traffic was almost non existent. Wildlife was plentiful on Lake Conroe since I saw lots of turtles, a few harmless water snakes, wild ducks, cormorants, beavers, river otters and alligators. Paddling along in the early morning, I even came upon a few whitetailed deer coming down to the shoreline feeding on the tender vegetation growing close to the shoreline.

Below are the two videos which ushered me into the world of standup paddling. They're best viewed in high definition and in full screen mode. I hope you enjoy watching these two videos and if you're not a member of the Zone site, you might consider registering to become a member and enjoy participating with your comments. I was once a non registered member on here and lurked for a few months, but I had lots of questions I wanted to ask so registering to becoming a member on here was the next logical step.

BTW, the Zone and Seabreeze sites are basically the only places on the internet in one place, in my opinion, where you can find lots of great info with regards to supping from flat water paddling, sup surfing, downwinding, touring, etc.

[mjb1959]

thanks for sharing!
this is why i love this site!

[deepmud]

I like it! Non-threatening, "non-Red Bull" paddling . I do a lot of this, either on paddleboard or on kayaks..

I think any board that you can stand up on would work for this - the cheapest Costco inflatable or Amazon "no-name" board will do 3mph for less than $400 bucks - 4 or 5 years ago, the 4" thick boards were pretty terrible - now they are all 6" thick and only a mildy terrible  - they don't have real fin boxes, can't inflate very high to be stiff for waves.

Anyone who is holding back from the $1000 and up "good" boards - if the cheap one gets you on the water THIS year instead of saving up for another year - then get one! And find a stream or lake to explore. Get "supthecreek" ! (ok his surfing is awesome too but his flatwater pictorial-stories are very inspirational in the "non-Red Bull" kind of way )

[Night Wing]

I'm a detailed oriented person. In these two videos, Michelle is paddling a 10'x30" wide sup. Also, starting at the 15 second mark of the first video, you can see Michelle's shadow (on the far left side of the video) and with it, you can see her take 5 paddle strokes on the right side of her board before she has to change the paddle over to the left side of her board. By going back to these two videos, this is why I started looking at a 10'-10'6" for a second board. A good length board for flat water yet it will nicely surf the mushy waves we normally get on the beachfront facing the Gulf.

I immensely enjoy a good flat water paddle. It gives me a nice stress less feeling. This is why I do a lot of flat water paddling on the area lakes near me where I live since the Gulf of Mexico for me is 90 miles away.

When I flat water paddle on the Bolivar Peninsula on the upper Texas coast, I sup in the salt marshes off the intracoastal waterway. And my chances of meeting another flat water paddler in those salt marshes is basically "zero". It is liking having my own private kingdom in those salt marshes. The only thing I have to watch out for are the alligators who call the salt marshes their home. Some of the gators in the salt marshes are BIG.....like 13' in length.

This is why where the waterway in the marshes start to narrow, I go no further, turn around and go back the way I came.

[supthecreek]

Perfect Night Wing!
This is my kind of paddling.
And I am certain it is appreciated by folks interested in trying SUP paddling

It was interesting to hear what you took from these videos, and applied it to your purchase decision.

I have no desire to be out in the middle, non-stop chugging from point A to point B....
Much of my time is spent wandering up side creeks and walking around on islands.

It is my experience that this is what most recreational paddlers are looking for..... just enjoy nature, get some exercise and paddle with friends

I never experience "burnout' or come home unhappy with my effort.
It is an endless, year round, trip of wonders for me.

[Night Wing]

@supthecreek

I've seen the video where you took the above photos from. Nice video. I always enjoy your narrative within your videos.

I learn a lot from watching other people's video. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, I remember I saw a video of big guy (about 230-240 pounds) in a black wet/dry suit surfing his Naish Alana (10'6" x 30" x 4" @ 160 liters) off of Cape Cod.    Of course, that was before his "Sunova Days" of today.