After having spent quite a few hours paddling a stand-up board (and a few of those in small surf) I felt ready to give it a try in the surf with a sail. The perfect day presented itself last Saturday at North Beach in Ft. DeSoto here in St. Pete, FL. There was small surf and some wind - but not really enough for the hard core wave guys to be out. So I rigged a 5.6, grabbed the Fanatic 10'6" S.U.P. and headed out to see if I could sail in waves without being too scared to breathe.
It was an absolute blast! I was grinning from ear to ear and laughing out loud! The board bobbed out thorugh the waves with ease, I was in control and didn't feel like the ball in a pin-ball machine ricocheting from wave to wave. Coming back in, I could actually think about riding a wave and maybe even turning on the wave! Wow - this wave sailing stuff is fun, it might even be the most fun ever!
So if you have ever thought about wave sailing but it is too intimidating - think about giving it a try on a stand-up board. Rig a sail that is smaller than you would need to be fully powered up, control is your friend and you don't need to be fully planing for the board to be stable. You can use the board in flat water and light wind for freestyle and cruising and if you have a paddle with you, you don't have to wait for the wind to blow. The length means you might have to tie it to the roof of the car instead of putting it inside or in the trailer - but that's a small price to pay for the hours of smiles! I wouldn't head to South Texas without one! Or better yet - come see me in Florida (in St. Pete or Cocoa Beach) and rent one for a few hours. You can be a wave sailor too!
