Perhaps you’ve seen the pictures; beautiful people doing yoga on paddleboards as the sun rises, or Katy Perry ignoring Orlando’s bloom while he paddles for them both. It can’t be that difficult if dreadlocked blonde hipsters called Noah and Kai, S’well packing their cold brews while downward dogging can do it. So, bazaar thought we’d give it a try too. We have now gained a whole new respect for the sport.
“I’m looking at the sea, it’s a bit windy?” was the first text we got that morning from Kuwait Water Sports, asking us if we wanted to postpone the experience until it got calmer. But when we checked the wind speed it said 10 KTS which generally translates as a “gentle breeze” according to windfinder.com. Well, we are hardcore content creators, mothers, wives, well-traveled expats, and we can handle anything classed as “gentle”.
We try three different paddle boards, two at 11 1⁄2 feet long, one of which can attach a sail for windsurfing, and a smaller, lighter weight 10 1⁄2 feet long board. All three are inflatable which is hard to believe when you see them. They feel pretty solid, and we found, are nearly impossible to tip over once in the water. “It’s like a spider’s web inside,” says our instructor on the strength of the boards, but I think he means Marvel spider and not ‘arachnid’ spider.
In shallow depths, you can simply place yourself on the board, one knee at a time. In deeper waters, however, with a bit of an ungraceful body lunge, you can sprawl yourself across the width of the board and bring up your legs behind you. From there you can sit on your ankles or raise yourself up and kneel, facing forward, paddle in hand. Pretty easy so far, and this was the case for all of us.
The difficulty comes the higher up you place your center of gravity. Lifting up to kneel you can feel the quadriceps tensing, and your core, as you paddle each side of the board. Then, up to the full stand. Not as easy as you’d think. Placing my hands down on the board at either side of my knees, I lifted my body up from the kneeling position, and placed my feet flat on the board, choosing to use leg power to then raise my entire body to a stand. “Tits over hips!” I shouted to my colleagues, “Bend your knees and lean back a bit!” Perhaps “stand up straight, shoulders back” would have been a better guide. This is a real workout!
If you want to gain any kind of momentum you must stroke each side equally to propel yourself forward in a straight line. Going further out, the waves, gentle ones mind you, from the gentle breeze, push the board up and it slaps down onto the water, gently again. This is enough to give the inexperienced paddleboarder the wobbles however and if you’re not confident you will end up over the side. If you are too confident, you will also end up over the side. I ended up over the side.
It’s a game of control, paddleboarding. It’s exhilarating actually. How well you do, depends on patience and determination. Don’t try to run before you can walk. Or, headstand before you can balance, I found out quickly. While some colleagues thought paddleboarding in groups would be fun to let off steam, others thought that being alone in silence, watching the water and what lies beneath would be therapeutically calming too. It seems like the ideal way to get a hardcore workout done without needing to join a gym or schlepp on over to a class and have to deal with other people.
With the inflatable paddleboards, you can take these anywhere at any time. Now there is no way you can say, “There’s nothing to do in Kuwait”, especially if you own your own board! We’re impressed to hear that the Kuwait Water Sports paddleboard kit has everything you need included in the price; board, paddle, pump, accessories, and it all fits into one easy-to-carry bag.
Our instructor also takes his with him when he travels and has even taken it to Sharm El-Sheik. When asked though, where he likes best to paddleboard he says, “Honestly, Kuwait.” Because this is not a water sport where you are searching to view the underwater secrets of the sea, many fish get frightened off by the paddle anyway. This is a physically challenging sport where you get to search your strength of mind too, and that is thrilling.
To get in touch with Kuwait Water Sports follow the account @kuwaitwatersports on Instagram and direct message them. Sailboats and other watersports equipment, as well as paddleboards, are also available. For enquiries, call or WhatsApp 6686 4388.
Try paddleboarding and other water sports with Savannah Sailing Shack on Instagram @savannah.s.shack.
