Paddleboarding always looked hard to me. Like I’d fall off straight away if I attempted to stand. I asked about lessons once and got a reply from a young lady who said she’d teach me for $150. My husband said he could do it, so we rented a board for $30 and headed out to the beach at Aina Haina.
It’s shallow out there until the reef break, many yards out, so shallow that I could reach out and touch the coral with my fingers as I paddled on my belly. I was scared to stand, because if I fell it’d be into the coral and that would not be good. Coral is sharp, for those of you who don’t know.
Then we loaded back up and went to the bay at the end of Keahole Street, by Costco. This was much better, except there are boats heading out there. Here I paddled around and you know what? I didn’t fall once.
It’s not hard. First you paddle on your belly, then you kneel in the middle of the board (the sweet spot), then you slowly stand while bending your legs.
And it’s fun. Contemplative.
I saw a dog that looked like a mini-yellow Lab paddling around behind its paddleboarding owner and considered stealing it. Unfortunately I had no camera and it was on the sandbar, so we got no pic.
The slower you go, the harder it is, like riding a bike. So just go fast.
MARGARET DILLOWAY 