The joys of parent and ten year old mucking about on a paddleboard. We try paddling but quickly branch out into surfing, wading, hanging on the back and exploring… plus the happiness of sharing it with friends.

140 – Mucking about on a paddleboard – (medium-high tide)

Thursday 7 / Tuesday 12 August. Windy and sunny 21°C / Cloudy and sunny. 23°C

The first thing to say, is that we are not brave. In any way. Or hardy, or risk takers. We are RISK AVERSE. We are not the paddling boarding family who hop on and set off into the sunset. These families are amazing. We watch in awe but do not even aspire. We just muck about really.

We got the paddleboard last year, a bit dubiously. I wondered if it was a mistake, particularly when I realised that as well as the board we had to buy the paddles, the pump and the lifejackets. B wasn’t sure either. But we discovered it was worth every penny. B isn’t sure about swimming in the sea yet. She’s a strong swimmer but gets scared easily. We had an incident with a rope burn and a body board a few years ago and now she approaches the open waves with a lot of caution… until she forgets and goes wild with excitement. The paddleboard gives her a bit of a safe haven. She can sit on it if she gets scared or cold and it works as a taxi service when she gets tired too. I spend a lot of time walking through the water pulling or pushing it… which is more fun than it sounds.

It’s been a year since we used it so we start cautiously. Newport, where we’re staying, has a particular water geography. There’s a huge sandy beach opposite our campsite, which develops into a sandbank at low tide. On our side are rocky coves and stony beaches. Between is a tidal river which, at low tide, you can wade across but which has a VERY strong current which switches with the tides. I ask a man with a boat for some advice on the currents and the answer is clear. ‘Don’t attempt to cross the river near hide tide – you won’t end up where you think you will’.

We start at medium tide. It’s deep enough to paddle but shallow enough to also wade in wet suits if we need to. We take both paddles and set out energetically. We both get frustrated trying to balance the paddles so we go in a straight line. B can’t do this yet and I’m rusty plus the tides coming in so we’re pushing against the flow. After a while we give up, I hop off and push the paddleboard up the river with B sitting at the front with her legs in the water enjoying herself. The water’s so clear we can see the bottom. She ponders the chances of me stepping on a crab.

Our plan is to get to the end and paddle back but half way there she spots the surf on the beach on the other side of the sand bank and scampers over. I try and join her but the wind is high (hence the surf) and the board is like a large heavy kite so I give up and sit on it in the sand and wait for her. She’s enjoying jumping over the waves. I can see her in the distance. She’s having proper conversations with them and scolding them for trying to knock her over. In the end I continue up the river alone while she copies me on the other side of the sand bank and we meet where the river meets the sea.

Then we hop on the board and, with a minimum of paddling, ride the current all the way back to where we started. At some point B decides it’s more fun being in the sea behind the board. She hangs on and the river pulls her along.

A few days later and we take it out at full high tide. Wary of the current, we practice our paddling skills in the natural harbour and avoid the river. B doesn’t find this as much fun, she tries pushing again but it’s harder in still water.

138 – Adventuring on a paddleboard (low tide)

Monday 11 August. Was sunny then went cloudy. 22°C

Our second turn out on the paddleboard and this time it’s low tide. My plan is to head up river again as the tides going out and ride it in. I’m thinking energy saving! Unfortunately there’s a flaw in my plan. It’s too low tide. The river is far shallower than I realised down stream and we both have to walk, me picking up the end of the board and sometimes dragging it. It’s not going well. In the end we decide, as the winds gone down, to take it over the beach to the waves.

And it’s immediately much better. B is scolding the waves again but then we work out you can surf on the paddleboard too. It’s very calm but we head out into waist high water and she clambers on and I wait till just the right moment and try and catch the wave so it takes her all the way in… We’re not particularly good at it but we get better and it’s REALLY fun. Then she doesn’t get off quick enough and the next wave tips the board… cue more scolding and grumps.

After a while I try and move us down the beach to the end of the sand bank where the river meets the sea. I reckon the tide must have come in more now and we can ride the river back. There’s also a lot of people down there and I’m curious as to why. I’ve never been right to the end at low tide before…

It quickly becomes apparent that we’ve been missing something very important. The first thing we see are the caves. They’re not the biggest but they’re enticing, clearly only accessible at low tide. We drag the paddleboard over the river and go and explore. There are lots of kids playing in the river nearby. A boat tries to get upriver for a few minutes and then gives up as far too shallow. I have a feeling my brilliant plan is failing for the second time. It’s clearly a very very low tide and not in the mood to change. Grumpily we settle for dragging the paddleboard home and set off… and then we find the MARVELLOUS thing…

I’m walking up the river when suddenly the sand gives way beneath me and I’m swimming. It’s not unpleasant – it’s a warm day – and suddenly I’m tuning in to the kids all around us who are clearly having a fab time. The river, which I’d presumed would be evenly shallow again all the way back, is far from such. Instead the bottom changes constantly, from too deep for me to stand to just a few inches. There’s a point where it’s really deep and there’s a rock next to it where the kids are jumping into the hole. Just a metre out it goes down to inches shallow again. Then there are the currents which pull into the deep sections and out again. Near the rocks is a fab bit where it’s deep enough to properly paddle – and a bit overfilled with little kids on boats doing just that. B and I are fascinated. As we slowly make our way upstream we find the section is about 50 metres long and full of the sort of geography installed at vast expense at water parks. When we hit the predictable shallows again we see the river in a new light… and then we notice the crabs, which are just under the water, scuttling away from our feet. We drag the paddleboard back to the tent resolving to come back and explore this again very soon.

Alas we don’t, other things take over and we find ourselves packing up without a proper explore. We’re back in a few weeks though and it’s the first thing we want to revisit – without the paddleboard this time. We want to swim it.

131 – An evening at the beach with paddleboard and friends

Friday 22 August. Still and sunny. 22°C

We’ve been back home a week and we’re taking the paddleboard to the local beach with friends. They want to have a go. B and I can think of nothing more fun and we’re right. It’s a great thing to share. The kids aren’t sure about it… but find the joy quite quickly. There’s definitely something about it providing a sort of security. All the kids are on it pretty quickly (even the little ones we werent’ sure would want too). They don’t bother with paddling – it’s much more fun being pushed by the grown ups. The dad, much braver than me, takes them for a paddle round the bay. They have a fabulous time for about an hour, splashing on and off before getting cold and running shivering to get warm.

As they get dry and snuggle into towelling robes we’re suddenly surrounded by a life saving club with lots of kids with super light boards who hop on them and paddle furiously out to sea. It’s a lot more focused but great entertainment.

130 – Digging yourself into the sand

Friday 22 August. Still and sunny, getting dark. 22°C

Then they dig themselves into the sand… I’ve not seen ten year olds do this before. I used to bury B when she was little, and she’d shake herself up laughing, and she’d obviously dig me in, giggling frantically. Now they’re taking it to a new level. They dig their legs in and lean into the sand. It enables them to stand at weird angles and sit in mid air.