As we set up for today’s Stand Up Paddleboard lesson a couple of details led me to think we should do something a little differently. First, the woman who had signed up for the class had just taken a private kayak trip with one of our guides yesterday through the marshes where I normally teach. Second, the waters of Queen’s Sound looked pretty inviting as I drove across the Chincoteague causeway earlier in the morning.
As Kim filled out her paperwork I asked if she was interested in doing a little exploring today in a place where we rarely paddle. With a quiet, subtle confidence she confirmed that she was up for a bit of an adventure and we were off to Queen’s Sound Landing with a couple of SUPs and a rough idea of what the next two hours would bring.
Being a bit exposed half way between the mainland and the island, our launch site picks up wind a little earlier and more effectively than I had anticipated. Shortly after we hit the water it was clear that for a beginner paddler, heading in to the wind was not going to be all that much fun, and in fact if the wind picked up it may not even be possible.
I scrambled a plan B, talked it over with Kim, and darted back to the car to call the shop to arrange a pick up over on the mainland. Kim and I were going to do the first ever SUP run from the Chincoteague causeway to the mainland of the Eastern Shore.
For a petit quiet vet from Pennsylvania to sign on to this program so quickly told me that the confidence I sensed earlier was indeed real. It also should have told me that she didn’t really understand what we were getting ourselves in to.
25 minutes later as we ripped along down-wind, Kim was practicing getting on and off the board (off is pretty easy) when she looked over her shoulder and saw how far we had come from where we set out. She confirmed my suspicions when she said “Wow. I had no idea how much of an adventure we were in for.”
But she hung in there and was soon pitching herself down the faces of the 2-3 foot rolling chop that had been kicked up by the ever-increasing Southeast wind. We made some jokes about how we should have been doing a kiteboarding class instead, but Kim kept putting the paddle in the water and making progress toward that distant shore.
More than once I watched a wave rear up behind her as she crossed a shoal and had to stop myself from yelling advice that would just confuse her. Back on land later, she would confirm that ignorance is bliss by insisting that if she had any idea how big the waves were it would have totally freaked her out.
By the time we hopped off our boards at the Captain’s Cove Marina I was truly impressed by how well my quiet, confident new friend had handled both herself and her board as the first person to cross this sound by paddleboard. To do it in those kinds of conditions was even more impressive.
If you saw Kim riding her bike down Maddox to the beach, or sitting at the Sea Star Café having lunch you probably wouldn’t think “I’ll bet that woman is a bad ass on a stand up paddleboard.” But you should – because she is.
Thanks for a great day on the water Kim. I am looking forward to getting back out there to push my limits as much as you pushed yours, and I hope to be able to do so with the good humor and grace that you exhibited all day.
Today this is why I love my job. Tomorrow it could be because of a great adventure we have on the water with you. Make it happen!
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