Sometimes the smallest adventures leave the longest memories.
A stand up paddleboard is like a flying carpet on the water.
There is something wonderfully simple about standing on a board with a paddle in your hands and the water moving beneath your feet. No cockpit to climb into. No expedition to prepare for. Just a board, a paddle, a little balance, and the opportunity to see the world from a different perspective.
As a sea kayaker, I have spent much of my life exploring the water from a seated position. I have paddled through mangrove tunnels, crossed open bays, navigated tidal currents, and traveled for days with everything I needed packed inside a kayak. Yet sometimes the most memorable adventure does not require an expedition.
Sometimes it lasts only 45 minutes.
A Sunday Afternoon in August
On a Sunday in August 2010, Sean Fitzgibbon and I took our children on their first stand up paddleboard adventure. We were on the water for approximately 45 minutes. I later posted six photographs on Liquid Rhythm Kayaking and wrote that I would let the pictures speak for themselves.
Those photographs still have plenty to say. Their captions record a search for manatees, a child urging Daddy to paddle faster, a request to paddle with a shovel, and the apparently pressing matter of a blue lunch box.
Sean and I were accustomed to spending time on the water. Taking our children along, however, gave the outing a different purpose. We were fathers sharing something we loved. The children brought their own curiosity, humor, and priorities.
Seeing the Water Through a Child’s Eyes
Adults have a habit of complicating outdoor recreation. We measure distances, study forecasts, compare equipment, and sometimes spend more time discussing gear than using it. Children are often interested in something much closer: what might be swimming below the board, what is moving along the shoreline, and whether they can bring a shovel.
A paddleboard changes your perspective. From a standing position, you can sometimes see fish, submerged vegetation, and movement beneath the surface more easily than from a seated kayak. But the greater gift is the chance to explore at a child’s pace.
When a child notices something in the water, we can keep moving toward our planned destination, or we can stop and look. Some of the best outdoor education begins when we choose to stop.
Why Stand Up Paddleboarding?
Stand up paddleboarding, or SUP, uses a floating board and a long, single bladed paddle. It can be a quiet way to explore sheltered shorelines, exercise, fish, or simply enjoy an afternoon outdoors. A beginner may paddle while kneeling or sitting before learning to stand.
It is not a replacement for a sea kayak. For longer coastal journeys, expedition equipment, and demanding conditions, I still prefer an appropriately equipped sea kayak. A paddleboard serves another purpose. It invites us to slow down and explore a familiar place without turning every outing into a test of distance or speed.
Bringing Children Along
There is a difference between taking a child on an adventure and making a child endure an adult’s adventure. I have seen experienced outdoorsmen forget that distinction.
Children do not need a ten mile journey to develop a love of the outdoors. They need time to explore, ask questions, laugh, and return home wanting to do it again. Our 45 minute outing was short by expedition standards, but that is hardly the measure of a family adventure.
Of course, fun on the water begins with sound judgment. Choose calm, sheltered conditions; check weather, water temperature, currents, and the board’s weight capacity; and make sure everyone wears a properly fitted life jacket. Follow the applicable boating rules for the area and use the correct leash arrangement for the environment, avoiding entanglement hazards in moving water. Adults must be able to manage the board and care for the children aboard. A paddleboard may feel like a floating playground, but it remains a watercraft.
The Things We Remember
Looking back at those pictures, I am reminded that the best outdoor memories rarely involve the equipment. I remember the little stories that the photographs preserve: searching for manatees, a child telling his father to paddle faster, the shovel, and the forgotten lunch box.
At the end of my original story, I wrote that next time we would get our wives out on the water and bring lunches for the children. It was a simple closing thought. Years later, it says a great deal about the kind of outdoor life I want to share.
An adventure is better when there is room for family. A good meal tastes better when it is shared. And the stories worth preserving are not always born on distant rivers or remote coastlines. Sometimes they begin on a quiet Sunday afternoon, with a father, a child, and a paddleboard.
So, Why SUP?
Because not every journey needs a destination. Because the water looks different when you are standing above it. Because a child who learns to love the water may someday become an adult who understands the importance of protecting it.
I still love the discipline of navigation, the satisfaction of a well executed stroke, and the freedom of carrying my camp across miles of open water. But I appreciate the simple pleasures of a paddleboard, too.
Sometimes all you need is a board, a paddle, and someone you love to share the afternoon.
The old ways of introducing children to the outdoors still work. Take them along. Give them time to explore. And remember to pack their lunch.
Learn. Preserve. Share.
From the Liquid Rhythm Kayaking Archives
The photographs and memories behind this essay were first shared on August 15, 2010. See the original six photograph gallery in Taking Kids Out on a SUP, preserved on Liquid Rhythm Kayaking as a record of that Sunday outing.
