Stand up paddling with Penny Pug
By Carrie Crook, surfing wahine
April 9, 2010
I’ve wanted a stand up paddle (SUP) board ever since Sailworld gave us that great demo last summer. The demo gave us a great opportunity to try all the different SUP boards and learn enough of the basics to get us on our way with a piece of equipment that we could use anywhere and anytime on the Cape. SUPs are great for ponds, rivers and even the surf and it’s a great all around workout (especially the abs!).
After begging my husband, Damon, for almost a year, we finally bought a beautiful 11' Oxbow SUP that we can both use. We live on a great pond in Mashpee and I knew that we could get the SUP and kayaks out through most of the year and perhaps convince our beloved Penny Pug to get out there with us as well. She loves the kayak, so I knew that she would be a natural!
On the first sunny day in March, I suited up in my 5/4/3 wetsuit, got Penny in her bright green life jacket (she sinks like a rock without it), and headed to the pond. The wind was strong, so the pond was a bit choppy, but I knew Penny was up for the challenge. I pushed the board into knee high water and carried Penny out for her first excursion on the new board.
Penny was a bit nervous on the board by herself, but when I got on it, too, and started paddling, she acted excited and curious. She paced to the front of the board and then to the back until she found her place standing in between my legs on the center of the board. It was a difficult paddle out to the middle of the pond with the strong winds, but the easy cruise back to the beach gave her confidence and she found her sea legs. She stayed on the whole time and seemed to enjoy her time out on the water.
I am not sure if I will take Penny actually surfing, but I will definitely take her out on all of our still water adventures around the Cape. We are just happy that we can take her out on the water and give her some extra exercise and excitement this summer!