We spoke about the euphoria of a sold swell forecast (with SUP surfing in mind) in this article. That’s very coastal centric whereas scoring mirror flat, glassy calm water can occur anywhere. And the feeling of stand up paddling atop such H20 can be as blissful as sliding liquid walls.
Just to reiterate: we’re not talking about sheltered water here, where breeze may still be puffing. We’re describing zero wind, zero flow so there’s basically zero ruffling of the water. If you gaze at the horizon the sky should be symmetrically represented in the water’s reflection. If you snap a pic it’ll often appear as an optical illusion…
Such paddle boarding conditions do exist and occur frequently in the UK. But you’ll need to be on it forecast wise. Blighty’s changeable weather means no two hours of SUP will ever be quite the same – unless Momma Nature’s feeling especially kind. That said it’s easy to find sheet slick stretches if you search.
Knifing through water when it’s this calm is what many will consider SUP Utopia to be. Everything’s so much easier. Your board works to its utmost efficiency; head down/hammer down grinding strokes aren’t required as if you were paddling into a headwind (unless you want to step on the gas), and that sensation of glide – which is what hooks most in to SUP initially – is exaggerated considerably.
If you’ve yet to experience SUP conditions as described then this is a must. Next time you’re able to snag a session it’s worth looking hard at weather forecasts and interpreting this info according to where you intend paddling. Get it right and you too will discover complete flat water SUPing bliss.
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