Arizona Stand Up Paddling

paddling the AZ and beyond

AZ SUP and Falling In

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Splash on flickr

So, if you SUP on the waters of Hawaii or the Carribean or places like that, you probably couldn’t care less about falling in the water.

If you’re looking to come out to Tempe Town Lake in AZ to try SUP for the first time, then it might be a different story. Now I love Tempe Town Lake and couldn’t be more grateful that we have it here in the city but it isn’t the cleanest body of water. That being said, I have no problem paddling it at all.

Talking to people who are thinking about coming out paddling SUP with us, many are worried about falling into the water there and they shouldn’t be.

The things is, it’s highly, highly unlikely that you’re going to fall into the water your first time. Most of the times that I’ve fallen in the water were after I’d been paddling for a few weeks when I started working on pivot turns & doing other goofy stuff.

If it’s your first time, the odds are that you aren’t going to be trying anything too crazy. The boards that you’ll likely paddle are around 34″ wide. That’s pretty wide. Race boards can be a good deal more tippy but they are a lot narrower – down to around 25″. I’ve been on a 27″ wide board (Surftech Bark Competitor) that was definitely less stable but that’s not likely to be the board you paddle your first time.

The only other people who I’ve seen have some balance challenges were heavier folks – like 250 lbs-ish. We have some pretty big boards and the rentals at Tempe Town Lake are the same. With those, you can definitely paddle safely if you are around that weight. At that point though, a bit of balance does help. As the person to board ratio goes up, you need a bit more balance and skill.

Of course some tips regarding SUP make a world of difference as well. Some of the key ones we always share with people are:

  • Start out with a low center of gravity. We typically have friends & family start on their knees & then stand up as they feel comfortable.
  • Your balance is much better when you have the paddle in the water. It serves as another point of balance/support. So keep paddling.
  • Balancing is also easier when the board is moving. Same concept as riding a bike. As the board gets moving, it gets increasingly stable.
  • It’s also much easier to balance when the lake is still. Wind comes up in the afternoons and then dies down again in the evenings. So paddle early or later if it’s your first time to enhance your chances of flat water. Also check the trees wherever you are when you’re considering heading down to the lake. If you see them blowing up top, there’s likely a bit of chop on the lake.
  • Easiest way to fall in is waiting for someone with your board at a stop and looking back behind you. If you’re a bit uncomfortable with your balance and you’re out there & waiting for someone, drop down to you knees when you’re not paddling.
  • Wait a time or two before you try pivot turns. 😉

So with that quit worring about falling in to Tempe Town Lake and go SUP!

Oil for the Tin Man

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Finally got back on the water today. It was a lovely day, nice and sunny with a high of 67 degrees.

The weather has actually been amazing the last few weeks but we’ve been hammered with the house move, the holidays and bouts with the flu and cold. Well, we finally pushed the excuses aside today and got on the water. Went down with Heather, the kids and a neighbor kid.

We didn’t get any crazy workouts in but at least we started our paddling initiative of 2012.

As I expected, I was creaky and my stroke wasn’t anything fabulous but I know that comes back quickly. One of the things in my head was that I had this nagging pain in my lower back that I haven’t been able to stretch to gone. The cool thing was that on my first run, I felt that exact spot getting cranky and screaming when I was paddling on the right. As I continued to paddle, it felt like it was loosening up.

It’s crazy but it seems that so many of our ails are helped just by getting them moving. And that spot on my right lower back, seems to avoid muscle movement/involvement no matter how I try to stretch and loosen it. Well SUP did the exact trick. While I was creaky and stilting on the board, I can already tell that it’s going to help and a few outings along with my regular stretching routine is going to make it go right away.

Anyway, lovely day, fun trip to the lake with the family. Tough to beat for a Sunday.

Oh, and the water was coollllldddd….

AZ SUP Meetup Friday 9:30 at TTL

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It looks like we are going to have a SUP meetup at 9:30 am on Friday, 11/25/11 at Tempe Town Lake.

I was contacted by Garrett of Sawyer Wooden Standup Paddleboards from Lake Tahoe. He’s going to be in town for the Thanksgiving week and is looking to get out at Tempe Town Lake and would love to paddle with some of the locals. He will also have a 12’6 hollow wooden SUP that experienced paddlers can try.

Don’t think it will be a bunch of us but we’ll be heading to Boat Beach to catch up and get some time on the water.

Come join us!

 

 

What SUP at Ignite Phoenix 11

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Just wanted to say a big thanks to the warm, generous crowd at Ignite Phoenix tonight!

I was honored to be able to present and I had a complete blast speaking so many folks about SUP.

I must also say a big thanks to the Ignite Phoenix organizers and all the volunteers. It’s such a great, great event every single time!

Will post video as soon as it’s released. For now, here is a link to the slide deck.

What SUP? Stand Up Paddling in AZ – Ignite Phoenix 11

View more presentations from Chris Lee

 

AZ SUP Permits and Passes

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So you have your first board and paddle and you’re ready to jump in the water. Did you know that you need a permit in order to paddle in Arizona lakes?

Wondering if you need anything else?

You do NOT need to register your stand up paddleboard. You can see at the Arizona Game and Fish Department website that there is only call for registration when a watercraft is motorized. I verified this with a call to the AZGFD. You can also see this at the Boater’s Guide site by Boat Ed, the official provider of Arizona’s boating safety course (developed in conjunction with Arizona Game and Fish). Non-motorized vessels are specifically excepted.

What you do need though, is a permit.

And depending on where you paddle, you will need different permits.

Tempe Town Lake

If you are going to paddle at Tempe Town Lake, you need a specific permit for that lake. Permits are good for a year and are $50 annually per watercraft. If you are a Tempe resident, the cost is discounted to $25 annually per watercraft. Daily permits are also available for $10 per day (Tempe resident or not).

You can purchase your permit at:

Recreation Administration Office
2nd Floor, Tempe Public Library
3500 S. Rural Rd., Tempe AZ 85282
(480) 350-5200
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Pyle Adult Recreation Center
655 E. Southern Ave., Tempe AZ 85282
(480) 350-5211
Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

I went to the Tempe Public Library. If you’re going to head there, as soon as you step in the door, head for the elevator on the left and take it to the 2nd floor. Once you get out, head toward your right and you’ll see the office with the glass wall on the lobby.

A tip is that permits are done by month. So if it’s nearing the end of the month and you can wait a few days, try to wait until the 1st of the next month so your permit will be valid for that much longer.

Other Arizona Lakes

If you’re looking to paddle other lakes in Arizona, you’re likely to need a Tonto Pass.

The Tonto Pass is a daily use pass. There are 2 components to a Tonto Pass. There is the pass itself and then there are water craft use stickers. You do NOT need a water craft use sticker to stand up paddle. They are again only needed for motorized watercraft.

Tonto daily passes are $6. You need to scratch off the date and time you are using it for and then they are good for a 24 hour period. A Tonto Pass is needed for each car parking at the lake.

Tonto Passes are required for:

  • Saguaro Lake
  • Canyon Lake
  • Bartlett Lake
  • Apache Lake
  • Roosevelt Lake

Passes are valid at the recreation areas, NOT the marinas. See detailed info on valid Tonto Pass locations.

You can buy Tonto Passes ahead of time at a variety of locations. You can buy them:

Lake Pleasant

If you’re heading to Lake Pleasant, they do things a bit different there. They charge a fee for entry. It is $6 per vehicle or $2 per person in a van or a bus.

Nothing to be done ahead of time here. Just pay as you enter.

Great Saguaro Lake Trip!

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Had a great trip to the lake this past weekend. We got a bunch of family up SUPing for the first time, had a nice picnic and just enjoyed the lake.

My mom, Heather’s mum & stepdad and my 5 year old nephew got out on the stand up paddleboards for their first times and really enjoyed it. That is one of the things I love most about stand up paddling. Anybody can do it from young, young kids to folks even a bit older than me. 🙂

SUP on Saguaro Lake – Arizona

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We are still exploring Arizona and the different places to paddle. Today we diverted from our normal plan and headed out to Saguaro Lake to paddle stand up. I’d been out to Saguaro Lake (map) many times but that was all years ago and it was always to waterski so I didn’t really know what to expect with regard to SUP. We were excited to get to an Arizona lake with a bit more scenery and a bit cleaner water.

It turned out to be awesome and very different from Tempe Town Lake. We went to Butcher Jones beach. It’s a nice large beach with some sand(ish) and patches of grass. Looking at the water, it definitely looked a good deal cleaner than Tempe Town Lake. Plenty of area to set up a comfortable spot. There are also some nice amenities there but I didn’t really look too closely. I did see that there are grills, bathrooms and spots with shade but I was mainly there for the water.

The beach is pretty. It’s a little cove with some (kind of) sand. There are hills and mountains surrounding and there a couple lines of buoys a ways out for a no boat zone (inner line) and a no wake zone (outer line).

To get to the subject that most SUP fans care about, the water is indeed a good bit cleaner than Tempe Town Lake. At the time we were there (afternoon) there was also a lot more movement in the water. There was a strong wind and a good number of small waves rolling in. I’m guessing those were mainly from the boats passing out in the main part of the lake.

I’ve been thinking of trying one of those SUP races over in CA (since we don’t have many at all in Arizona). I know that paddling SUP in the open ocean will be far different from a closed body of water like Tempe Town Lake. While I paddled tons of open water off Long Beach, Kauai and Oahu, I still have yet to experience it on a SUP. Saguaro Lake was a good first step. I’m sure that the waves and chop were miniscule compared to open water but they were significant compared to TTL.

They made for a great workout. We loved the instability and the variety. Several hours later, I can tell I’m worked in very different ways than a typical TTL workout. My midsection and rib area are already a bit sore (which is cool). I think the instability caused many more muscle groups to be called into play.

Heading straight out a good distance (past both buoy lines) and then turning around and racing back in gave you a bit of a chance to work to catch some bumps. Nothing major but at least it was something. I didn’t think we were going to get that opportunity anywhere in Arizona.

I guess the telling thing to say is that we will likely be spending far more of our weekends at one of the outer lakes (such as Saguaro, Canyon, Pleasant) instead of Tempe Town Lake. The combination of cleaner water, chop and bumps and scenery definitely makes the additional drive worth it.

Some tips on SUP at Saguaro Lake…

  • You need a Tonto Daily Pass. It’s $6 and it’s good for one day. You can buy them ahead of time online or at locations around town. Then you just rub off the spots for the date and time. FYI: The Tonto Daily Pass has spots for watercraft stickers. You don’t need these. These are only needed for motorized watercraft.
  • Like all lakes, if you want still water, you want to go early or late. As the day heats up, the wind picks up and you’ll also get lots more chop.
  • The water is quite shallow for quite a bit. Make sure you walk your stand up paddleboard in to a spot where you’re not going to be dragging your fin.
  • There is a good deal of plant life in the water – some reeds and some other lake weed type stuff. Look out for that when you’re paddling.
  • As the beach is pretty broad and it is so shallow, you’re going to have to walk in a bit. If you have something like water shoes or Vibrams, I’d give those a try. I haven’t paddled in my Vibrams but I hear it’s pretty good. My buddy who had his on was digging them.
  • If you’re barefoot, stick to the left half of the beach where it looks like there is mud under the water. It is mud but it’s much more comfortable on your feet. If you stay toward the right side of the beach, you’ll end up walking on lots more rocks and pebbles. Not much fun.
  • If you do have your flip flops on around shore, be careful in the mud though. When I was moving boards and putting boards away with my flip flops on, the mud definitely stuck to them, holds them down and takes a second to release. Just take your time so you don’t fall.

SUP AZ at Night

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Paddling at Night

I tend to paddle a bunch at night. I usually work late so getting up super early is rough. Then I work until the day is done, go home & eat dinner with my family. After the kids are down, a couple times a week, I’ll load up and head out to the lake for a workout.

So far, I’ve just paddled at night at Tempe Town Lake. I don’t really see that changing so some of my comments are specific to TTL.

Paddling at night is very, very cool. It’s beautiful out there with all the lights reflecting off the water. There is a bunch of ambient light so it’s easy to see what you need to. Then it’s also dark enough to make it seem like a completely different experience. Obviously there is no sun beating down on you so that is great. It also always seems extra calm. Talking with one of the rangers, I hear that it’s typically quite calm (no wind) in the evenings. That results in a glassy surface which is lovely to paddle on.

If you are going to paddle Tempe Town Lake, it is open for boaters from 5 am – 10 pm so make sure you’re off the water by 10.

Night Lights

As far as details, if you’re going to paddle after sunset, you need a light by law. For paddling SUP, you just need an all direction white light.

There are a few different types of lights. We’ve settled on an elevated light that attaches to the stand up paddle board in a couple different ways. We actually use 1 of 2 different types depending on the board we are paddling.

For my standard epoxy fiberglass board (a SUP ATX lake rider LR model), I use the Paddlers Supply Company LED Kayak Deck Light with Suction Cup Base from REI. It’s about $40. It has a very strong suction cup that sticks to the fiberglass surface. No worries that it will fall off.  It’s super easy to put on and super stable. Then it has the clip that I attach to the leash cord just in case anything were to happen.

No issues with this. Quick on and off. Bright light. Doesn’t get in the way of paddling at all.

Now when you have one of the comfort top boards where the padding stretches the full length of the board, the suction cup option isn’t going to work.

For our SUP ATX comfort top HR board, we use the Kayalite® Deck, Anchor and Stern Light. It’s also $40. The light itself is pretty much exactly the same as the other model.

The way this light varies is in the attachment mechanism. Since there is no open fiberglass to stick a light to the board, I clip it to the leash anchor point.

I can’t actually get the clip around the bar so I’ve attached a thick zip tie with just a little slack. You cannot attach it directly to the leash cord either as there would be too much slack when attached. So I attach the clip to my zip tie and then I pull the other end of the bungee to eliminate slack and tie it off on the light.

This again works wonderfully.

Tempe Town Lake Night Paddling Tips

If we’re out with friends, we still go out to Boat Beach as I like the feel down there. I like being with the bridges. If you have people that are waiting on the bank, it’s a bit nicer there in the evening than the Marina.

If I’m by myself or 1 other person and basically doing a workout paddle, I go to the Marina. You can drive right up and drop your board and equipment steps away from the water. I drop my stuff on the grass right near the boat ramp. Then it’s easy to park very, very close.

I typically either head west toward the lighted bridges or on occasion will go east toward the other bridges. If you go west toward the lighted bridge, rounding a pylon and heading back to the boat ramp will give you a workout of about 1.1 miles.

Then getting out at the Marina is a breeze. Just walk your board up off the boat ramp to the grassy spot grab your car, strap your board on and you are ready to go.

One other bonus of paddling from the Marina at night is that you don’t have to deal with any sand which is nice.

Another random tip:  I now don’t worry about stashing my flip flops anymore. I just chuck them on the front of the board pad and they don’t even move over the course of a workout.

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