Camping paddle board is the best way to get outside and enjoy the sun and water. If you love the dancing waves of water and the brightening sun, you should spend your time in SUP camping. It is an outstanding source of exercise, and you will enjoy every learning session.
Paddle Boarding for beginners can be alarming to know where to start. This article will guide you and provide SUP tips and gear recommendations for beginners. Whether you want to know how to stay safe or looking for your first camping paddle board, read on for the most straightforward tips.
HOW TO GET STARTED PADDLE BOARDING AND SAFETY
How To Get Started
Basic Knowledge:
Learning how to stand or grip your paddle board properly is essential before starting your journey because this will help you understand how to create and balance your camping paddle board.
- First, you always want to ensure you’re wearing your leash and life jacket because they the number one safety devices that verify your paddle board sessions are safe.
- Please don’t put the board straight on the ground. You want to ensure that the fins clear the shoreline and the paddle board is floating.
- Keep your hand on the side of the board to balance it, and move one foot at a time to place your feet where your knees are.
- Put your knees on either side of the handle to keep yourself evenly over the board’s center line, and take a few strokes on your knees.
- Get your paddle in the water, stand up straight, your chest forward, look at the horizon, look at something stable, and then start paddling.
- Your feet should be facing forward about hip-distance apart or broader with knees moderately bent.
Tips For Camping On The Beach:
Driving on soft sand can be a challenge at the best of times, and if you’re not used to it and need to do things properly, there’s a good chance you will end up stuck.
Tip #1
So the first thing you need to remember is to drop your tire pressure because this spreads your tire footprints out and increases the surface area. By doing this, you will glide over the sand rather than sink down into it.
Tip #2
Make sure you’re in four-wheel drive; if you have an older four-wheel drive, make sure you lock your hubs in. Also, pack a recovery kit.
Tip #3
When picking the spot to camp on the beach, you must be aware of the conditions, mainly the prevailing winds. Whether you’re on the east or the west coast, the wind is coming from the ocean, but you do get the occasional southerly wind. Peg everything down correctly, even if it’s on a nice calm day.
Tip #4
Like any campsite, you must take all your garbage with you. Please don’t leave it around for animals to choke on or city workers/other campers to deal with. If you’re the sort of person that leaves all your garbage behind for someone else to deal with after you’re done camping, then this is why our beautiful spots get shut down every year.
Geared Up To SUP:
Just a few critical camping paddle board pieces can make a huge difference in your comfort, safety, and enjoyment while learning SUP.
- First, rent or borrow one from your friend. If you love to SUP and want to do more of it, consider buying your own. The combination of paddle weight and skill determines the choice of board. Also, buy a stiff board because the more rigid the board, the more efficient it is when you paddle.
- A lightweight SUP paddle is the next necessary gear on the list. A SUP paddle is more like a stretched-out canoe paddle with a tear-drop-shaped blade. Always remember that the paddle is the motor of your board. Therefore, it needs to perform the best on the water and be a comfortable fit for you.
- Suppose you’d like to experience camping paddle boarding more comfortably, so could carry a Kayak seat. It is the must-have inflatable accessory when you’re getting ready for your first paddle.
- Your safety is essential at any cost, so remember to pack your gear with a whistle and light. The whistle will help you warn other boaters and if you enjoy paddling at night, be sure to have a light on board.
Paddle Handling
Start Small With Precautions:
Although it might be appealing to go on an enormous mission for your first SUP camping trip, it’s a good idea to start small and take all the precautions.
- You will learn many things once you have started to practice camping paddle boarding which you can further apply to more extensive and longer future trips.
- Try to begin with a two-day trip to a lake or steady river, and camp out for one night.
- The best thing is to limit the miles to under five each day, and it depends on the wind, water flow, tides, and your experience.
- When you start, check the weather condition because bad weather will dampen your mood and make your time less enjoyable.
- The windy condition can put your life in danger. High winds can be very threatening for you. Therefore, be careful while starting.
- Before starting your first camping paddle board trip, it’s better to understand the water and understand it.
Paddle Handling Tricks:
To begin with good flow, beginners need to handle the paddle. Here are the things they should consider while grabbing their paddle.
- The beginners hold the paddle backwards, thinking that intuitively they get more scoop on the water by keeping it this way, but the correct way to have the paddle is to angle forward and away from you.
- Holding the paddle too high is another big mistake. Still, ideally, keep the paddle pretty far apart, making it easy for you to scoop the water backward and enjoy your camping paddle board experience.
- Another common mistake is making the stroke too far to the side away from the board and holding the paddle diagonally away from the board. You should hold your paddle straight up and down and pull it straight back in a straight line.
- If you lose your balance, the paddle is like your walking stick. It’s going to give you extra stability you can lean on it if you’re losing your balance.
Falling and Getting Back On It
Regardless of your best efforts to stay balanced on your board, you’ll lose your balance and fall into the water at some points. Take it easy, and remember that SUP is a water sport. Therefore it’s okay to get wet.
- Stand towards the side of your board so that if you lose your balance, you fall into the water, not on your board, because it is pretty dangerous to fall on the board, and you might get injured.
- It’s better to hang onto your paddle while falling, and if you get detached from it, bring back your board first and get back on it.
If you fall into the water, you should focus on the following steps to return to your SUP.
- Place yourself next to your board and near the center.
- Hold the handle at the center of the board using one hand.
- Focus on your legs and let them float up to the surface behind you, and then push your legs while pulling on the handle to slide yourself onto the board.
The above tricks will help you to make your first camping paddle boarding super comfy and enjoyable. You need to focus on maintaining balance and then go with the flow.
Safety
Thing To Remember:
Everyone should look out for their safety, and if you’re a beginner at camping paddle board, you should be careful.
- First, ensure you avoid hazards, and wind, especially offshore wind. It can be hazardous; therefore, always paddle upward first, and then coming back will be easier. You don’t want to go with the wind because it will be risky.
- Always wear a leash for safety because it connects you to the board, so the wind can’t blow the board away if you fall off. You can always get back to shore with your board quickly.
- If you’re doing this for the very first time, make sure you go somewhere where lifeguards or other people can help you if you need it.
- When you’re done paddling, go back to the beach and get off carefully with one foot; when you touch the bottom, step off with the other foot and lift the board out of the water.
Tips For Cooking Over A Fire
To fully enjoy campfire cooking, you should plan to cook some of your favorite foods and make a proper list of what ingredients you require. The natural wood smoke transmits a fantastic flavor to any dish you prepare at the campsite. There are a few tips to get the best experience while cooking food over a campfire.
Tip #1
Build your fire correctly and in a safe place. Ensure there are no trees or power lines overhead, and there should be at least 10 feet of clearance on every side of the fire. If you want to funnel away the smoke, place a large rock at the rear of the fire site.
Tip #2
When selecting your cooking tools, ensure you have the right tools to make mouthwatering plates. A grill shelf will be the best choice because you can grill your veggies and meat directly on the shelf and easily prepare one-pot meals.
Tip #3
Don’t cook directly over naked flames; it will burn your food and it’s also dangerous. Please wait until your coals are red-hot, use a cooking surface or stand to keep your utensils away from direct heat.
Tip#4
You should be ready for any issues because a campfire can expeditiously get out of control if the winds pick up or they are left unattended. Therefore, to avoid such a situation, have a bucket for water or sand to douse and dampen the flames immediately.
CONCLUSION
There is always excitement when you’re learning something new and different, and camping paddle board is another fantastic experience for beginners, but they need to take significant precautions before starting. So, the above points are going to help you throughout your SUP camping adventures.
