SUP

A SUPrise day trip

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

Last Tuesday was a public holiday. Was taken on a mystery day trip. Final destination was Moriya where I got to do some SUPing, snorkeling and swimming.

Was a nice relaxing day. Need more 4-day working weeks.

From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing

I think this rope is at a loose end:

From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing
From Moriya SUPing

SUPING SYDNEY

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I had been wanting to try out SUPing for ages, so when I was back home for Christmas last year, my dad gave me an IOU voucher as part of my Christmas present, thinking I’d get a chance to try out whilst back home for the summer last year. I never got around to using that voucher and lo and behold I actually tried out SUPing this summer in Japan and got hooked.

During my most recent trip home, I redeemed my voucher. Check out my dad’s mad computer skills (Word and google image search).

From SUP Balmoral

My dad took me to Balmoral where I SUPed and he kayaked. I got to have my own photographer for the day. He took heaps of photos of me in action. It was crazy windy on that particular day which made SUPing really difficult, and had to weave through all the moored boats. Was not so fun paddling with the wind.

When it’s not windy, Balmoral is incredibly flat. It’s more like a bay. It’s not a surf beach. It’s actually home to a sailing club.

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

Sydney water is so clean and clear. So beautiful and refreshing.

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

Lots of action SUP shots:

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

All that paddling is hard work. Taking a break:

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

Sydney, Sunshine and Smiles:

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

On the other side, is the leisure swimming area. Just so happened to be school holidays back home so the place was pretty crowded for a Thursday daytime.

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

White sand. Blue water. Sunshine. Seriously, get yo arse to Down Under.

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

Aussies: we’re a hardworking bunch:

From SUP Balmoral
From SUP Balmoral

SUPing in Sydney is pretty SUPer.

SUPer Manly

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

I’ve just come back from a week in Sydney. Was great to feast on good food, sunshine and hang out with family and friends. It was a jam-packed holiday.
Was able to get in a couple of days of SUPing in Sydney.

One of my favourite things to do in Sydney, is taking the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. Blessed withe awesome weather, my good friend Nell and I had a nice chillaxin day with a couple of hours of SUP thrown in.

Prepare to Get Jealous. Enjoy the photo tour.

Harbourside:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Relaxing on the ferry ride:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Cruising through Sydney Harbour:

From Manly SUP

Approaching Manly:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Check out this stingray!!!

From Manly SUP

Silhouette v Stingray:

From Manly SUP

Gotta love the clean, clear water of Sydney.

From Manly SUP

Wharfside:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Out on the water, SUPing:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Out in the sunshine, in and on the water – I’m in my element:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Nell SUPs for the first time:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

I’ll tell ya what, it was a bit windy and the current was against us. We tried to paddle in to another couple of beaches, but we just couldn’t get in against the current. Had to stick closer to the shores.

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Sydney water taxi:

From Manly SUP

Manly even have a SUPball club – a game played on SUP boards. Definitely something I’m going to check in when I move to Sydney. But man, it looks tough!

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Right by Manly wharf is where you can hire SUP boards and kayaks:

From Manly SUP

Don’t these people have jobs???

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

I heart Sydney:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

After SUPing, it was time for some swimming. Water was a little fresh. Not yet summer in Oz. But water was super clear.

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Spot the fish:

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Spot the mermaid:

From Manly SUP

Worked up an appetite after all that time in the water.
Seafood and wine by the water. It’s a hard life, but someone’s gotta do it!

From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP
From Manly SUP

Ferry ride back after a great day out at Manly:

From Manly SUP

Da Opera Haus:

From Manly SUP

Yo wasSUP

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

Have found a new hobby that I’m addicted to: Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP).
So much fun! I’ve gone two weekends in a row now.
It’s been something that I had wanted to do for ages but never got around to until this summer. I had a sneaking suspicion that I might be half decent at it. I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago down at Koshigoe (near Enoshima). I got a lesson for a couple of hours and then had a bit of practice on my own. I was on an air SUP board which is a little trickier. And it was down at a surf beach where the conditions were a little tougher. Paddling is easy. The hard part is standing and balancing. I fell off the board so many times and ended up with major knee rash from the amount of times I had to heave myself back on the board.

Fast forward to the weekend just gone. I spent the weekend at Shiga prefecture for another open water swim race (that’ll be a separate post). I spent my time at Lake Biwa. With my newfound addiction, I researched on the Internet for SUP board rentals at Lake Biwa. I was in luck!

Found an awesome little water eco sports outfit that did SUP board rentals. Super cool, nice people. They even gave me a free ice-cream! They drove me down to a nice area of the lake where I went and SUPed. It was only my second time and it was out on a flat lake so it was soooo much easier. And I had proper board. Managed to not fall off once!

SUP is such a good workout! Really works the calves, and if you look at talented SUPers they have well-built calves. Being short (like myself) also helps because you need a lower centre of gravity to maintain your balance. It’s also quite the core workout. Being short and stocky, I have a bit more natural advantage, so I didn’t find it so difficult. I just need more practice and practice to work on my speed. Haven’t quite got up to SUP surfing yet!

Having since partaken in SUP, I’ve gone all OCD and have been researching all about it on the internet – mostly places where I can get rentals (SUP boards are expensive to purchase!). There are also SUP races which I might be tempted to do next year. In particular, there is an awesome event called “Paddle Mix” which is a 1km open water swim + 1km SUP + 4km run. That is totally my cup of tea!!!! I definitely want to enter it next year.

It’s such a bummer I live too far from the beach. It takes 2 hours to get to the closest beach from Tokyo. And it’s an expensive hobby. I guess it’s a little bit like snowboarding but on the water.

Here are some action pics of SUPing at Lake Biwa, ah fun summer days!

The shores of Lake Biwa – the largest lake in Japan:

From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP

Out in the middle of the lake (I had my waterproof camera with me):

From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP

Nice flat waters – ideal for starting out.

Me out on the water:

From Biwako SUP

A pro SUPer in the making, mark my words:

From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP

It’s so relaxing, just being out on the water, paddling away.

From Biwako SUP

Sunset over Biwako:

From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP
From Biwako SUP

What can I say, I had an uber SUPer weekend!