Out on the water

 OK, so not just on but also IN the water (a lot)!

What a fabulous afternoon.  It's the first time this year we've managed to get out on the water, after having been set back by various events including inclement weather, the wrong tides and sickness.

We met up with some friends and their daughter at Mudeford Quay.  They brought a paddle board, we brought two kayaks and a paddle board!  We normally go to Calshot for water activities, or kayak down a river, so this was a first for us.  

We bought our paddle board last year and I tried it once, but didn't mange to stand up on it (on the water that is.)  So this year I had hoped to learn to stand up and paddle.  But thus far, it appeared this was not to be, thanks to many events conspiring against us. 

However, today was the day!  The weather was perfect - not too hot or cold - and dry! And when we got to Mudeford, even though it was busy, we managed to get parked and the tide was in.   Our friends' daughter has previously been afraid of water, so the main object today was to see if we could encourage her to love it.  She did so well, learning to paddle on a board and in a kayak.  Phil managed to distract her by playing pirates, so in the end, she'd been out on the water for ages but hadn't noticed.  Result!

I started out on our paddle board but was still struggling  to stand up.  Our friends' paddle board is slightly bigger than ours, so they persuaded me to try standing on that one instead.    This was after I'd fallen off mine once.  I did succeed but only with help.  So I went back to ours and tried a few more times.  I managed to stand up, albeit just for a few seconds each time, and then fell in. But it was a huge achievement for me, so I'm feeling just a little pleased with myself.   What was even better was that whether I was just sitting on the board, kneeling or falling off, I felt peaceful, calm and relaxed.

Let's hope we manage to get out on the water again this year.  We've missed the amazing feeling it gives us.