Paddle Board

Sorie: So Mark, I hear you're a surfer but you're also a paddle boarder.

Mark: Hmm, no waves around here.

Sorie: So is that why you chose to paddle board?

Mark: Yeah, if I could surf, I'd be surfing everyday but luckily, we still live by the ocean here but it's flat out there on the ocean. And paddle boarding is the perfect way to get on the ocean.

Sorie: Okay. So what do you use?

Mark: It's like this huge long board. It's like 10 or 11 foot long. And you get to have paddle, which is not like a kayak paddle with paddles on either side, it's just got a place for you hand on one side and it's got kind of paddle bit on the other. And you stand up and off you go.

Sorie: So what is it called?

Mark: It's called sup.

Sorie: Sup.

Mark: Hmm.

Sorie: And it stands for?

Mark: Stand up paddle board, SUP.

Sorie: Awesome.

Mark: Yeah.

Sorie: So you go there everyday in the morning. You stand up on this board. Is it easy?

Mark: It's a bit tricky at first but it's a very versatile bit of equipment you can like kneel on it or you can sit across laying on it. And you can just use it like a canoe or a kayak. But if you're confident, you can start to stand up. But when you first stand up, you definitely fall in a first few times or even more.

Sorie: And how is it to be there in the middle of the ocean on this board?

Mark: Tranquil. It's amazingly peaceful and tranquil. And you're right out there with the colors and the birds and the fish around you. A lot of jellyfish in the place where we live now.

Sorie: So yeah, I've heard you stories of you going on this sup and you tell me, you come back and you can see quite inside in the ocean?

Mark: Yeah. So clear because there's not much swell that's why there's no waves too. But yeah, the clarity is quite immense. And as I said this, there's jellyfish and they're as big as you are. They're like 5-or-6-foot. And their top like head bit, I don't know how big that is but their tentacles just wiggle down for about 5-feet long.

Sorie: Are you not scared of falling off?

Mark: I'm not really. I haven't fallen off since we moved here. I think I've got it finally but I wouldn't want to be in there with those jellyfish.

Sorie: No, you wouldn't.

Mark: Have you tried it?

Sorie: Yes. In the past, in a different place. But I only like to do it where I know that if I fall, I'll be safe. So I wouldn't want to try with jellyfish, no.

Mark: No. They're not everywhere though. You can go to the place where there's no jellyfish. Definitely, I recommend doing it.

Sorie: All right. I'll try. Thanks.

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