As with any sports there’s always an element of danger present. Even the most cautious tiddlywinks player could pick up an injury if things get heated!

For beginners, water sports can often be perceived as more dangerous than they really are but it helps to go into any situation with some background knowledge to enable you to make better decisions when confronted with new, possibly risky experiences

We’ve broken down the main areas you need to be aware of so read on as our experts share their knowledge and help you get started in SUP

Inland Water Dangers

One of the safest places to learn SUP stand up paddlesurfing is on a Lake. As long as there aren’t big mudflats that you can get stuck in its about as safe a place as any for your first paddles. There is one serious concern you need to bear in mind if you are spending much time in the water and that is Weil’s disease. Weil’s is spread in the urine of infected animals and washes into lakes and rivers. Typically its associated with rats but not exclusively. It enters humans through broken, cut or grazed skin, expecially on the hands and feet and sometimes through the lining of the mouth, nose and eyes. If you are prone to open skin on your hands or feet you may want to wear latex rubber gloves under a pair of weightlifting/cycling type mitts and rubber verucca socks on your feet. If you feel like you are getting a bad cold or flu around 10 days after going in potentially infected water its best to get a check up with your health care practitioner. The incubation period can also range from 4 – 19 days so bear that in mind as well – you may have to ask for an ELISA test which you can get results from in just a few hours.

Another waterborne danger is Blue-Green Algae which can affect slow moving rivers, canals and lakes in the hotter months. It can be FATAL if you drink the water. If the water you want to paddle has got a visible blue-green misty color then avoid it until the algae has finished blooming and the water authorities declare it safe.

If you are paddling on rivers you need to check a few things before you set off – you need to know the tidal conditions if relevant(rivers often shift a lot a couple of hours after high or low tide at the local beach), you need to know if the wind is going to pick up or change later making it hard for you to get back to where you started from and you need to know safe areas to ‘put in’ and ‘take out’ from the river.

You’ll also want to be aware of the local wildlife conditions – if you are going past families of swans for example in the spring you can expect to get chased away if there are babies present. While swans are not particularly dangerous to humans they can panic us in the heat of the moment and cause us to fall unexpectedly. If you are paddling in a new exotic location you definitely want to find out about the local creatures – if you are in the Keys you are going to be sharing space with the gators so its worth finding out as much as you can beforehand!

Surfing Dangers

Surfing is more of an adrenaline sport than flat water inland paddling and the flipside to that excitement is that there are more risks involved. As long as you keep the following safety matters in mind you should always be ok.

Wildlife

There’s a lot of different animals living in the ocean. Depending on where your local spot is you might be safer or less safe than the average water user – Everyone’s main concern is Sharks. Call it the Jaws phenomena but if anyone sees something resembling a fin poking up through the water the immediate thought is “shark” , even if they are in the middle of Lake Geneva! If you see a shark coming towards you it’s a good idea to paddle back to shore as quickly as possible warning others, especially prone surfers who are partially in the water. Keep calm, keep on the board and you should be ok. If it’s a dolphin you’ve seen count yourself lucky as all they want to do is play with you and are generally harmless as long as they don’t have young ones with them. Likewise if you see a seal or sealion popping his head up he probably just wants to see whats going on and won’t bother you at all. If you are in an area with Rays they are generally more afraid of you than you are of them but they have a nasty sting in their tail that will spoil your day. If you are in an area frequented by jelly fish you really don’t want to get stung by one of them – whilst its not generally serious it can be very uncomfortable and not much fun when you are begging your friends to pee on you to reduce the stinging!

Pollution

It’s a sorry state of affairs that our oceans are becoming polluted to the extent that we can get diseases from venturing into them. If there’s been an oil spill that has affected your local spot you definitely don’t want to go in the water and get sick from it. Likewise if you are in an area where the local city has storm drains that run into the sea chances are that some friendly locals have dumped all sorts of crap in the drains which gets washed out into the ocean whenever there is a heavy rainfall. Its best to wait at least 72 hours after heavy rain before venturing into the water. Likewise if you know there are sewage pipes that come out nearby then you’ve got e-coli and other nasty bacteria in the water that can make you sick.

Local Geography

When you are out on your SUP stand up paddleboard you need to know a couple of things – how deep the water is and whats at the bottom of it. If you fall off your board and think its 10ft deep but its only 1ft you are going to land awkwardly and hurt the joints on your legs with the shock. Likewise if you are expecting sand and its sharp rock or even worse sharp coral then you are going to end up with bruised or cut feet. When we are at a new spot we stick our paddles in the water and see if we can touch the bottom with them to get an idea of the depth. We also try to prime ourselves for the water only being say 2 ft deep when we fall in – if its more than that its no problem, if it is 2 ft then we are ready with bent legs to soak up the impact a bit more on landing.

Conditions

You still need to protect yourself against the elements when out on your board – if it’s even remotely sunny then you need a waterproof sunblock to keep the harmful rays at bay. Conversely if the conditions are really cold you need adequate neoprene to stop you getting hypothermia and making bad decisions. Aditionally you’ve got the wind and swell direction to bear in mind – both of these will endeavour to make you drift from your present location – either along the coast or worse still out to sea. You can work them out in advance by using forecasting sites like magicseaweed or you can just stand on your board for a minute or so and see which direction you are moving in. If the wind picks up to a level that is too hard to stand up and paddle in either drop to your knees and paddle or even lay down like a regular prone surfer, place your paddle blade under your chest with the shaft forwards and paddle using your hands in the water like a swimmer. You also need to beware of riptides from rivers or other coastal features propelling you outwards. If you get caught in a rip don’t panic, don’t fight against it and try to paddle directly into it. Instead paddle along the coast allowing it you carry you out a little bit and eventually you will reach a point where it has minimal effect and you can paddle back inland. You might be a mile or two further down the beach to where you started from but at least you are safe.

If the waves get too big and you get pounded underwater you will be ok – just keep calm and you will pop back up for air again. It’s always a good idea to practice releasing your board leash underwater incase you get yourself in a situation where it feels like the board is dragging you along underwater.

People

Regrettably its easy to annoy or enrage people in crowded surf spots. A lot of surfers don’t embrace SUP and will look for the slightest excuse to make you feel unwelcome at ‘their’ spot. It doesn’t help if you hog the waves or wipe out with your super long leash on and send your board flying into people’s heads. If there are new surfers near you who are wiping out a lot then you are at danger from their boards too. With a SUP stand up paddleboard there’s no excuse not to paddle further up the coast to the next break with your buddies so you’ve got it all to yourselves. Generally speaking if you are polite and understanding of why surfers can be funny about SUP riders then you shouldn’t have any problems with them at all.

Other Dangers

If you are out on your own its always a good idea to let someone know where you are going, what time you will be finished by and to call them at the end of each session. If you don’t call they can then raise the alarm providing you have told them who to contact in this event!

If you are driving to your local spot it’s a good idea to get a sturdy roof carrier if your car needs one. Rhino softracks are good but not as suitable for longer journeys as rigid bars. Make sure the board is strapped on securely (we like and recommend the Thule board carrier) and make sure your rack is securely fastened to your vehicle as we have heard stories of the rack coming away from its fixings at speeds in excess of 70mph due to the uplift. Also when you are parked up at your spot make sure you hide your valuables and clothes out of site and do something clever with your car key!

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Related posts on stand up paddlesurfing
• sup etiquette
• GONG BOARDS ‘R’ BACK
• GONG - Stand up paddlesurfing