With the easing of travel restrictions, we decided to try to beat the traffic and set off fairly early for Ardlui to give the kids’ SUP it’s maiden voyage.
Our very decent pals at Loch Lomond Wakeboard were getting ready for their re-opening so we timed it perfectly. They had a pile of RED 10ft 8 paddleboards that needed dusted down and pumped up so we put our youngest on the Aquaplanet and the three of us all took out a RED each.
Our original intention was to paddle across the loch, cook some lunch on the far side and hang out over there for a bit. It was slightly windier than we expected though ( wind direction right up the loch)and there was a fair bit of chop. Not the best for me getting my balance right after only one or two shots previously on the board.
L had no problem though, all her yoga skills were paying off. I spent most of the time on my knees but when we got to the far side and it was a bit shallower, I managed to stand up a couple of times. Also fell in. Thankful for the 6mm wetsuit I was wearing – didn’t feel as bad as Raymond had warned me about.
Our youngest, A, was fine paddling over to the far side and the entry of the river but was getting easily blown off course. Made it a bit of a challenge getting her back across but sticking her between L and I, we made fairly quick work of it. It’ll be braw heading up there when it’s less windy and I’m looking forward to exploring further up the river.
When we got back to the Marina side of the loch, I had a few attempts at standing up with varying degrees of success. I even tried the Aquaplanet and it sank under the water when I was on it. Too fat to float. I’ll need to do something about that.
We stopped off on the way home for some lochside roll and sausage and realised there are just so many places along that side of the road that you could just pull in, pump up your board and go for an explore…looking forward to some of that over the summer!
