Lake Tahoe has always been the place to go to get away from the “rat race”. With Lake Tahoe’s crystal clear waters and pristine beaches Tahoe has always offered unparalleled opportunities for recreation. The natural beauty of Lake Tahoe can best be appreciated through silent non-motorized sports; the list of these sports is growing daily! One of the fastest growing sports in Tahoe today is stand up paddle boarding or SUP’s for short. A few years ago some of the old sweaty surfers from southern California began bringing SUP’s to Lake Tahoe to test the waters and sure enough it took off much like its predecessors the kayak and the mountain bike did 15 or so years ago. Everywhere you go you’ll see these stand up paddleboards! They are on top of many vehicles on Tahoe’s roads sometimes piled five-six high on a standard luggage rack. It seems that the simpler you design a sport the faster it grows. There is no waiting around the gas pumps to fill up your oversized boat and it does not cost two hundred dollars to fill your tanks.

All you need to start with is a paddle and a stand up paddle board! A paddleboard is a long stable surfboard with a deck pad and maybe a leash. Paddleboards come in many shapes and sizes, some you paddle in the prone position but the growing rage is in the stand up paddleboard. Some are less than ten feet and these are great for smaller paddlers and average size people that may spend more than half their time surfing. You should go longer if you want to tour long distances. Consider using a paddleboard that is over eleven feet for more touring. Racers will be on longer paddleboards twelve feet and up for the serious racers competing in one of Tahoe’s many competitions scheduled for the summer of 2010. Touring/racing boards are typically a displacement type hull with a v-shaped bow and a very flat bottom. Your paddle is basically a long canoe paddle which should be very strong to handle the extra torque required to power these SUP’s. The paddle has an angled single blade with a T handle. Paddles are typically cut to length or adjusted to be about 8 to 12 inches over the top of a persons head for maximum power with each stroke. Paddle boards are very efficient in calm winds when standing but when it’s windy you will find that it is easier to paddle in the prone position (on your stomach) or on your knees for more stability and efficient paddling.

It is always a good idea to take a short lesson to get started; here are some simple tips to paddling. One safety tip is to start out in clear water so you can see any obstacles. It is a good idea to avoid shallow water and the rocks just below the surface. You can paddle on your knees through shallow waters to avoid hitting a rock and subsequently falling from a standing position onto your board or worse yet into the shallow rocks you just ran into. So now you have safely navigated away from the shallow water and you can now stand up on your board. Take a look at where your knees are positioned on your stand up paddle board and most likely your knees are straddling the handle in the center of your paddleboard approximately shoulders width apart, this is the “sweet spot” You may notice that your knees make an indent in the deck pad of the paddleboard, this is where the balls of your feet will go for instant stability once you get on your feet. Bend your knees and gently begin making short forward paddle strokes remember to hold the paddle with the paddle blade angled forward for optimum reach. The most efficient paddle stroke is obtained with a somewhat rigid straight arm position. This position allows you to use more of your core and back muscles when you crunch to paddle. This crunching forces the paddle deep down and back for a stronger forward paddling stroke. Experiment with sweeps and draws as well as forward and reverse strokes. You may like to move around on your board once you are confident and stable. Moving around on your SUP allows you to experiment with added maneuvering and faster turning techniques. Get to know how the board responds to different foot positions and your weight distribution changes so when the water gets rough you will have better control over your paddleboard for surfing those small waves.

North Shore Lake Tahoe’s crystal clear waters are the perfect place to get started on you SUP journey. You can see down seventy feet on a calm morning paddle adding to the extremely unique natural experience. So not only will you look cool and get ripped but you will see things that you would not typically see anywhere else on the planet. So take the plunge, make the journey to Tahoe and experience paddle boarding first hand. The north shore of Lake Tahoe is surely the ultimate stand up paddling destination anywhere!