Rowing down the Charles River and looking ahead at the Mass. Avenue bridge, I saw a sight that confused me. Heading for the MIT boathouse, there was this man who appeared to be drifting across the river. He was standing straight on his legs, but I could see his arms moving. He appeared to be paddling with some sort of an oar, a very long one.

Coming closer to him, I saw that he was standing on what looked like a surfboard. It was probably one of the most interesting things I’ve ever seen on the Charles! It was just this guy standing on a board, paddling his way slowly down the Charles.

When I got back to my dorm, I looked up what this activity was called. Turns out it’s called stand-up paddle boarding! Original, huh? They even have stand up paddle board races! For instance, they are having paddle board and OC1 races in Hawaii on May 17th and 18th that start at Maliko Bay and finish at Kahana Beach Park on the island of Maui.  It is an 8 mile course that includes a straight run with a 180 degree buoy turn and a 300 yard beach run finish in front of Lae ‘Ula O Kai Canoe Club. There are even multiple divisions for these races, such as male and female divisions–both having elite and recreational divisions.

The guy on the Charles made it look so easy to stand on that board and balance. I’m curious to see if this is actually the case. People make surfing look easy, but I’ve tried that before and believe me, even getting up on that board is hard to do! I would definitely want to try this water sport some day–it looks so relaxing!

Tweet This Post