I thought paddle boarding would be as simple as kayaking on my feet.
by Samantha Korb ne day, in the notso-distant past, I was reading a tabloid magazine (as part of my daily routine) when I came across a picture of Jennifer Aniston paddle boarding. There she was, in all of her disgustingly perfect glory in a bikini standing on top of the ocean, literally. Feeling worse about myself after seeing that picture, I then decided I must learn how to paddle board so that I could look like Jennifer Aniston... or, at least, try to. Having just moved to Orange County, I figured there’s no better place to jump on the “water activity train.” Side note: surfing still scares me, but that’s next on my list. I set up a private paddle boarding lesson with the Pirate Coast Paddle Co. in Newport Beach at the Aquatic Center. Two of the three owners, Mark Oehlman and Terence Ngo, were generous enough to devote their time to teach me their paddle boarding skills. I met Mark and Terence at the Newport Aquatic Center at 6:30 PM on a Thursday night so they could brief me in time for a sunset paddle. I thought paddle boarding would be as simple as kayaking on my feet. Terence quickly taught me 123
I was wrong. Terence walked me through the paddle boarding basics with patience. First and foremost, there are two ways to get onto the board: standing up one knee at a time, or jumping to both feet like a surfer. I thought about being
super ambitious and attempting the jump-start, but then it dawned on me that I could quite possibly fall into the ocean before I even started paddle boarding. I made the decision not to whip out any flashy tricks and save them for the next time, assuming I survived my first lesson. Next I learned where to stand on
the board. Logically, the middle of the board is the chosen location. Thanks to my prior science teachers, I was able to make a real-life connection to the center of gravity; I felt semi-brilliant. This moment of brilliance was short-
lived when I learned that the way the paddle is maneuvered is NOT the same as when kayaking. I took mental notes when Terrance taught me “The Switch.” “The Switch” occurs when you are moving the paddle from the left side to the right side of the paddle, and vice versa. You simply move the paddle up and over while
moving your hand positioning. It feels unnatural at first, but then becomes second nature. Lastly, I negotiated how to turn. Terence dubbed the turning movement “The Rainbow.” I was immediately intrigued when Terence showed me this because I tend to gravitate towards bright colors. As a matter of fact, I was clad in a neon Tavik bikini and a neon yellow zip-up. “The Rainbow” entails making a rainbow motion with the paddle forwards or backwards depending on the direction you want to turn. Again, logical. At that point, I had discovered all there was to know about the basics of paddle boarding. Now it was up to me to keep myself from falling into the bay. Before Terence, Mark, and I set out for our sunset paddle, a little voice in my head said, “Remember Shark Week?” I couldn’t help but ask if I was at risk for being a shark’s dinner. Sharks apparently don’t venture into the Back Bay, so if being eaten by a shark is in my future, it would not happen today. With that knowledge, I walked barefoot into the bay with my paddle and kneeled onto my board. I stood up slowly, repeating “don’t fall” to myself. I superglued my feet to the board and