Although we’ve only got these blurry excuses for photos to show for it, we had a ridiculous amount of fun at SUP Club last night. Water on the burner phone lens came courtesy of a full-on heatwave splashabout at a whole new venue down on Canvey, to tuck out of the easterly breeze – where who knew paddleboard netball would be a thing?!? (Non-contact and courteous, of course … well, mainly!) Then just off the island, Gambero D’oro Benfleet made our night with a truly amazing 3-course Italian meal.

Venue: Thorney Bay Beach, Canvey (SS8 0AU / gmaps / what3words.com/showed.valid.suspended)
Arrive: c.6pm
Launch: after 6.20pm briefing
Finish: c.8.10pm?
Level: Confident coastal paddlers

As the heatwave returns this week, we’re going to hit the coast for another SUP Club splashabout – not going anywhere from Thorney Bay Beach, Canvey (SS8 0AU / gmaps / what3words.com/showed.valid.suspended) but staying put for a playaround, hopefully tucked out of a building easterly breeze … but as this is our first time bringing SUP Club here, we can’t be totally sure of anything, so will have to deal with whatever level of breeze and chop (but hoping flat and half-sheltered!) we encounter.

Meeting by c.6pm ahead of a 6.20pm briefing, 18.58 high tide (@5.18m) and 21.14 sunset. We think charges (£1.20 per hour) cease at 7pm at the Thorney Bay car-park, which isn’t enormous but big enough and we’re hoping won’t be too busy – ideally drive through to the grass area on the left as you go in, under c.2.1m height restriction barriers.

All confident coastal paddlers welcome (ie; able to stand up and paddle strong in coastal open water conditions 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).

After, we’ll be off (probably off the island tbh) for dinner and drinks somewhere, as yet tbc quite where will accommodate us, but we’ve got an idea…