Just one snap from last night’s splashabout SUP Club (thanks to Helen) of the calm before one of the best games of SUP rugby we’ve had in years! Another great night, starting with a cruise up-tide and upwind to Thorpe Bay from Shoebury Common, before we flew down to our preferred pitch for a full-on hour’s game. Then a few tricks on the way back to the beach before another great dinner and drinks at our favourite Shoebury ’spoons. Fun times…

Venue: Shoebury Common Beach (SS3 9QR / https://w3w.co/scared.acting.earth)
Arrive: c.6pm
Launch: after 6.25pm briefing
Finish: c.8.30pm
Level: Confident coastal paddlers

With light enough offshore winds and another workable high tide this week we’re heading back to Shoebury Common Beach (SS3 9QR / https://w3w.co/scared.acting.earth) for a splashabout SUP Club. Hopefully kicking off with a quick / short route up towards Ocean Beach if conditions allow, then some fun and games on the way back assuming it’s good and sheltered and flat – we’ll have to see, and adapt to whatever the weather delivers…

[Note: to be clear, Shoebury Common Beach is just east of Thorpe Bay, past the yacht club, at Uncle Tom’s … NOT Shoebury East Beach. Follow the postcode / w3w, drive into the beach car-park and through onto the grass. SS3 9QR / https://w3w.co/scared.acting.earth]

Re kit, probably bring your most comfortable board and a stunt paddle. (Or if you’d rather some open water practice on it, feel free to bring your tippiest / fastest raceboard…) We’re expecting it should be pretty flat in a cross-off to offshore wind, in which case we’d expect to try some tricks and play some games after a short route to warm up. (If we’re unlucky and the wind stays more westerly than predicted, there could be enough breeze to turn things ‘challenging’ – unlikely, but always possible!) We can’t know for sure … but we can easily look after everyone. We just don’t want anyone left disillusioned by conditions, as can potentially happen if it’s a bit breezy at the coast. Basically, all competent stand-up paddlers welcome, just be ready for some swimming if you’re not used to coastal conditions and it turns out a tad choppy…

Anyway, arriving c.6pm (when parking charges cease at SS3 9QR / https://w3w.co/scared.acting.earth) ahead of a quick briefing at 6.25pm, we’ll work out the plan for sure when we see conditions. The tide (17.11) will have turned so we’ll likely take on a short route first if the breeze allows, up-tide towards town then back for a playaround. All confident coastal paddlers welcome (ie; able to stand up and paddle strong for 90+ minutes and not in need of a lesson to do so – which of course we offer via www.supsect.com/learn-to-sup). And for a change this week, as it’s a splashabout we can be much less rigid with our no-late-launching policy: so if you’re running a bit late, no problem, just paddle out to find us (turn right off the beach!)

After, we’ll be off to the Shoebury ‘spoons for dinner and drinks for sure…