The Sisterhood

We can paddle and we can surf so the obvious next step is to combine the two. Take a gorgeous summer evening, add in the Thames, a dash of an oversized surf board and a splosh of an extra long outrigger paddle - and what have you got…Stand Up Paddle Boarding! Yes indeedy it was the advance crash test dummy party of Ledge, Loveless and Sharpe that undertook the trial session of this exciting new sport a couple of weeks ago. And we can report back and say “woo hooo bring it on!”

With some expert tuition from Bobby Thatcher, and surrounded by ex-GB rowers we gingerly headed out onto the river to see if we had it in us to become SUPers..Its a combo of balance, strength in the legs to balance on the surfboard, core stability of the greatest levels, a bit of dragon boating paddling technique and then a whole heap of strength! Anyway after about 15 mins – we were cracking along! OK, so the speed and technique leave a lot to be desired, and

the fact that we were on dead calm waters without a wave in sight might not make us pro’s