by John Kernaghan | photos by Blue Jellyfish SUP Adventures –
It was the summer I turned 73, and our little group of paddlers curled out of Finlayson Arm into Brentwood Bay in fast-fading evening light.
Instructor Pam Martin ghosted up beside me and pinned a light to the back of my PFD. “You’re a vessel now,” she said playfully. Technically I was – an ocean-going craft needing illumination.
I knew it was one of those moments I’d never forget. I didn’t know I was at the front edge of a wave of well-preserved folks who would embrace Stand Up Paddleboarding. In fact, Sidney-based Pam has seen a surge in new paddlers aged 50 plus, some well into their 80s.
In the moment, though, as the world spun away from the last light on the Malahat, I recall feeling like one lonely old guy, an intermediate paddler at best, robbed of reason. That’s the engineering piece where we try to read the waves, anticipate the wake and react to stay upright.
Pam was there to fish me out if needed, but I felt a rare inverse empowerment. As the optical clues were taken away, the trust in what my body felt soared. I was “reading” the water through the soles of my feet, tuning in more keenly to the wind on my face, and listening to the slap and gurgle of water as it ran under the bow. My body, on anatomical autopilot with the abdominal muscles at the wheel, was doing the paddling. As the lights of Brentwood Bay’s Pacifica Paddle hewed into view, for an exquisite few minutes I hummed Boz Scaggs’ Harbor Lights during the most thrilling experience on the water in the five years of SUPing to that point.
You can see why an older demographic has swelled in the sport – it’s challenging but not overwhelming; a great way to see your aquatic backyard; a superior way to spot and appreciate ocean, lake and river life; and when you fall off, which will happen, it’s easier to get back onboard than a kayak or canoe. And, it’s no wonder that Stand Up Paddleboarding has become so popular here on the Saanich Peninsula. Water lapping at our doorstep offers a year-round invitation to explore quiet bays, scenic islands and the warmer Elk Lake. With the population of retired and semi-retired folk on the rise, their desire for adventure is soaring alongside their available time to embrace it. No longer satisfied with looking wistfully from shore, many are jumping on board a sport that offers them a chance to spend time on the water while increasing their fitness level and sense of well-being.
The benefits of paddling for joints, bones, muscles, balance and overall stability are many. Standing up while paddling creates a natural activity that is weight bearing yet low impact. The very act of paddling, whether taken at a slow easy pace or ramped up for a tougher workout, increases core and intrinsic muscle strength and paddlers find their balance improves as they learn to relax on stable boards – a real boon as maintaining stability becomes as important on land as on sea.
Perhaps the most remarkable phenomenon is the sense of community that joining a paddling group provides. Harvard studies show that people with strong social connections live longer and healthier lives. The active paddleboarding community on the Saanich Peninsula ensures opportunities for all ages and abilities who are eager to meet new friends and connect on the water.
Blue Jellyfish SUP Adventures, based in Sidney, offers Wednesday Night Women’s paddles and collaborates with Pacifica Paddle Sports for Friday Night Social Paddles throughout the summer, and there are many other local SUP businesses to choose from. Many friendships are born of sunset paddles and some go on to take SUP lessons, courses and trips together.
How to get started? Take a lesson with a reputable instructor happy to adapt to your needs with patience while imbuing the lesson with lots of fun. Once you’re feeling confident, consider social paddles, further training or even setting off on your own. Soon you will find yourself gliding through the water, laughing with friends as eagles soar above you and seals bob nearby. It’s an activity that speaks to all that is good for body, mind and soul.
