White Water Paddle-boarding on the River Barle.

To start the post Christmas fat burn I decided to take Dave Jackson up on his offer to lend me a board and have a go at white water paddle-boarding.

I have been coaching paddle-boarding on flat water for just over a year now but haven't had the opportunity to see if my kayak/canoe skills on the river were transferable to paddle-boarding.

Dave runs a successful outdoor activity delivery company called Active Adventure South West and has been running paddle boarding sessions to his clients for the last few years. Recently he has been getting more involved with the white water aspect of the sport.

We headed over to Dulverton to paddle a section of the River Barle down to Exebridge. A section I have paddled many time in both canoe and kayak. Attacking this section on a paddle-board adds a new dimension to white water paddle sports. Good water levels are required but more importantly you have to read the river a lot more. Due to the boards having fins, you can get them caught in the shallows on rocks, weed and other strainers. If you are not careful this will pitch you head first over the front of the board. A low stance is also required which tires your legs, using them as shock absorbers from the turbulent water. 

I borrowed a classic 10'6" Red Paddle inflatable from Dave. This board is really a recreational board used on flat water and small surf. It was fast in a straight line but hard to turn quickly. On reflection it could also have been inflated a little more to give the board more stiffness. 

Dave was paddling a board from Red Paddle called the 'Flow'. This board has been designed for flowing water. At 9'6" it is a foot shorter meaning in turns quicker, has a quad fin set up to minimise fin snags and is quite a lot wider. These differences meant the board turned quicker and was more stable.

As you can see by the images, it is a lot of fun running grade 2 white water. Getting wet is definitely part of the daily programme for this sport. I lost count how many times I ended up in the water and Dave had his fair share too!

A great day out trying a new sport. The only issue being i'm now hooked which means more kit to buy!!