by Keith and Heather Nicol
Pasadena Beach is
one of the most popular beaches in Western Newfoundland and we recently went there
to try paddle boarding with Scott Ledrew who runs the brand new Newfoundland
Adventure Company. Scott has started this company to allow visitors at the
beach to try some different activities and he has sea kayaks and paddle boards
to rent right on the beach. He also
sells bikes and has bikes for rent for anyone that wants to cruise around the
beach front roads in Pasadena. He operates the bike rental out of A. Watton and
Son Store where he also sells beach wear, art and some crafts.
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| The store rents bikes and is close to the beach |
Paddle boarding
has been around for a few years but Scott told us he knew of no other place in
Newfoundland where you could rent paddle boards . The sport is sort of a cross between canoeing
and surfing. But instead of sitting you stand up and paddle using an extended
canoe style blade. Our only experience with surfing was many years ago in
Hawaii and at that time we didn’t have much success with it. As we recall, we
may have managed to stand up for a nano secord before the next wave sent us
into the water. Surfing is much harder than it looks. But the paddle board has
lots of buoyancy and is much easier to stand on. One of the reasons it has
become so popular in many places is that is easy to learn and is good exercise.
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| Paddling boarding is easy to learn |
Scott started us
out kneeling on the board to get a feel for it and then we stood up when we
felt comfortable. It didn’t take long before we were standing up and paddling
out into the lake. Keeping the board going straight ahead is abit of a
challenge since you tend to take several strokes on one side. Just like in a
canoe if you paddle only on one side the bow tends to turn. Scott told us to
try a J stroke which we had some success with but we found we usually just
changed sides to keep the board going straight. This gives both arms and
shoulders a work out which is one of the goals of the sport. And if you want even more challenge try paddling with Tiloup, a dog that likely paddle boarding. If you are
interested in trying this sport then contact Scott at: 632-6970 or check out
his facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NewfoundlandAdventureCompany.
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| Paddling with Tiloup |
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| Heather paddling a sea kayak at Pasadena Beach |
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