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Enjoying Paddle Surf

The sun still shining in Portugal. After another training session in the morning, we went for a fantastic Stand Up Paddle afternoon. Portuguese Baviera is great!

The Telegraph found 7 reasons to enjoy it:

1. It’s a bit like surfing…

…But not as hard. Stand-up paddle boarding pretty much does what it says on the tin: you stand on what looks very much like a conventional surfboard and propel your way along with a single paddle. Simple as that.

2. It’s not discouragingly difficult

You don’t need hours of learning how to fall off the board before you manage to get anywhere. The trickiest part of stand-up paddle boarding is learning how to stand – but even mastering that shouldn’t involve too many dunkings. A two-hour introductory session with a qualified instructor (prices from around £30) will get you up and paddling with confidence, and once you’ve mastered the basics (standing up and steering your board) then the only limits are your own imagination.

3. It’s surprisingly serene

If most water sports are about soakings and adrenaline, then stand-up paddle boarding is less concerned with action than with enjoyment. Gliding across the water can be enormously relaxing – so much so that paddle board yoga is becoming increasingly popular.

4. But it’s easily adaptable

If you’re craving more of an adrenalin rush, don’t discount this activity. Like many sports, it can be adapted for the more adventurous. And if you think white-water rafting is a thrill, you need to try it standing up on a paddle board…

5. It’s got some serious heritage

For a supposedly “new” sport, stand-up paddle boarding has been around a long time. It originated in Africa thousands of years ago – though the modern version is thought to have been developed in Hawaii in the Sixties, when surfers began using canoe paddles to propel themselves.

6. You don’t need to live by the sea

You can paddle board in the sea, of course, but if anything stand-up paddle boarding is more popular on inland waterways – and if you’re a beginner, the lack of waves certainly makes the sport easier to master.

7. It’s the world’s fastest-growing watersport

And yet it’s also new enough in this country to have a dedicated, enthusiastic community. Get into stand-up paddle boarding now and you’ll not only have great fun, but become part of the vanguard of a whole new craze.