Canal du no keys!

So Richard...how do you get into your van with the keys locked inside?

Well you don't...but I know a man who can!

For those of you still unsure as to what we are talking about...It is suspected by me that Richard locked his keys in the van so that we didn't have to do anymore paddling in the afternoon!

Canal du Midi

3rd of March - 17 degrees and sunshine....this is why we came to the south of France for testing!

After driving past several dry river beds and one dry canal we were relieved to find the Canal du Midi full and not flowing. We had 4 hours of paddling practise, trying not to chase the ducks and struggling to answer questions from the locals with our schoolboy French.

The day before we had a chance to test the speed of our boards with windsurf sails attached and achieved a maximum of 30kph! a little bit faster than 7kph paddling and at the time considerably faster than the locals on their shortboards.

Today the weather was back to normal...cold and rainy but we used our time to research the locals rivers and vineyards...no drinking and paddling!

What is Standup Paddleboarding (SUP) ?

You can trace Standup Paddleboarding (SUP) back to the Hawaiian beach boy culture. Up to the 2nd half of the 20th century, local beach boys would stand on their long boards and paddle out at beaches like Waikiki, with their cameras slung around their necks so that they could photograph the tourists. For some unknown reason, around this time, people lost interest in SUP and the sport had dwindled to such a point, that it virtually died out.

However, at the turn of the 21st century, there was a dramatic turn in the trend, when a group of influential Hawaiian watermen – most notably Laird Hamilton – “revisited” SUP, as a way of keeping fit on flat water. Laird and the others soon realised, however, that SUP offered an incredible amount of potential – as a promotor of core-fitness, a great lightwind or no wind windsurf alternative and as an alternative way of enjoying the surf.

With such a notable stamp of approval on the activity, SUP soon began to be taken seriously, as the surfing community began to wake up to what is now considered to be the fastest growing watersport in the world.

Today, there are SUP distance paddling events, GPS speed trials, Surfing and Freestyle sessions croping up all over the globe.

With our World-1st Paddle, Surf and Sail expedition, we are opening up another new discipline in SUP and can't wait to see where the sport is going to go next.