SUP safety has to be at the heart of what we know and understand when we go paddleboarding. Often if we run instructor courses, people ask why the safety is done first. It's fairly simple really. If I fall in, or if I get cold, or if I don't wear the right kit for the weather I could find myself in trouble. Safety and knowledge of that on the water must be first.
Paddleboarding is boom town at the moment. You can't really go to a loch or to the sea at any given time without seeing someone out on the water. It's a very exciting time for the sport, but also one where as providers of the sport we have a duty of care to make sure people using their new kit know what they are doing with it, how to use it well and how to stay safe if things go wrong. Being an accredited SUP School with Water Academy has hugely benefitted the business in being very vigilant with how we teach others safety in the sport.
At Glasgow Paddleboarders Co. we want community to be at the heart of what we have created as business. We love running SUP socials and there have even had up to 70 people attending. How do we manage this? How do we know that it's safe to run with these numbers? SUP safety. The most important part of SUP safety is self rescue. Self rescue simply put, is falling in off of your board and being able to get back on it. There are lots of different ways to do this and the courses we run go through lots of methods to do so. These are paddleboard specific methods that will support you in your quest to being safer on the water. In our course we spend 3 hours with you looking at a range of things that will keep you safe.
We look at weather conditions and discuss what is suitable weather to paddle in and forecasting what is coming. Knowing how to cope if weather conditions change is also very important. Looking at boards and how they are constructed and difference between a good one and bad one are also important. Thinking about what board is the right board for you also factors into this as one size does not fit all. We also spend time understanding why the leash and buoyancy aid are key things to use when paddleboarding in open water inland lochs and on rivers. If you are surfing your board, the set up of kit and clothing can be quite different.
If you want to know more about what we offer please just use the contact us tab on the website. For those that have already been out and spent some time on lessons, consider doing SUP Safety as the next part of what you within your SUP journey.
Stay safe.
Ally
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