Learn to SUP lesson
Learn to SUP on our 2-hour beginner paddleboard lesson at SUPsect stand up paddle boarding school at Paper Mill Lock near Chelmsford, Essex. Starting from absolute basics we teach all of the essential paddle skills in our 2-hour Learn to SUP lesson – and we keep group sizes low to maintain the high quality of our sessions. You’ll have a lot of fun, but most importantly you’ll learn all you need to know to stand-up paddleboard safely and competently by yourself. As an approved and affiliated BSUPA school our certificated lesson is based on BSUPA’s Ready to Ride syllabus. All of our Learn to SUP lessons take place at Paper Mill Lock on the sheltered waters of the River Chelmer: we consider it the ideal beginner venue in South Essex, as the water stays flat and safe in all but the worst of weather conditions.
Our 2026 teaching season is now over – we will start to schedule 2027 dates in springtime. To be added to our contact list for next season, please email duncan@supsect.com…
Paddleboarding gift vouchers are available – redeemable against any of our scheduled 2-hour courses. More at www.supsect.com/paddleboard-gift-voucher
Having been operating a SUP school since the early days of the sport in 2012, our teaching structure has developed and evolved over the years… Following a couple of years operating Covid-19 Secure our private sessions have become very popular – 1:1 and 2:1 coaching with or without kit hire, plus private 3:1 and family/household beginner sessions – since 2021 we’ve been able to reintroduce our ‘standard’ scheduled public beginner lessons (with suitably reduced group sizes, having carefully expanded our risk assessment to ensure the safest, highest quality operation possible.) Continuing into 2026 we keep our group sizes low in order to offer the best possible experience for our clients.
Our public group lessons cost £65pp including all kit and instruction, private 3:1s are £70pp including kit hire (these can be extended to 4:1 @ £65pp) 2:1 courses cost £70pp with your own kit, plus £25pp kit hire if necessary. 1:1 coaching on your own kit is £105 (+£25 kit hire if necessary).
All of our courses take place on the safe, sheltered waters of Paper Mill Lock where we are so confident in our venue and teaching techniques that we offer an unrivalled stand-up guarantee for beginners.
To ensure everyone’s safety and maximum progression, we generally stick to an upper limit of one instructor per four clients on the water (4:1). Although BSUPA guidelines allow a 6:1 client:instructor ratio, we firmly stick to quality over quantity, offering a much more successful teaching approach.
Our 2026 teaching season is now over – we will start to schedule 2027 dates in springtime. To be added to our contact list for next season, please email duncan@supsect.com…
Please email duncan@supsect.com to enquire about future courses, ask any questions, or be added to our contact list…
Your lead instructors, Elisa and Duncan, are both BSUPA qualified advanced SUP instructors (Level 2 Race & Tour) with full RYA first aid and powerboat certification. SUPsect instructor Trevor is BSUPA Level 1 and St John first aid qualified, with a wealth of invaluable experience from a career of safety management. While our fourth BSUPA qualified instructor, Ian is SUPsect’s most naturally talented paddler known for his unrivalled SUP style… (Learn more about us here!) At SUPsect, a team of two instructors usually teach our mixed public groups of up to 5 people – so a typical student:instructor ratio of 3:1, which means we can assure safety, quality of learning and devote plenty of personal attention to your progression. (We sometimes operate 4:1 and occasionally 5:1 by special arrangement, compared to the BSUPA 6:1 upper limit.) We’re fully insured and take your safety seriously – our teaching venues are professionally risk assessed and our lessons are conducted safely and sensibly.
After well over a decade of very successful SUP instruction we’re so confident in our methods and venue that we guarantee to get you stood up and paddling, or your money back!
So what does a typical Learn to SUP lesson consist of?
Starting on dry land, we’ll introduce you to the kit, concepts and initial techniques first – as well as safety, weather, tide and route planning basics – before heading to the water. At the riverbank we cover how to fall in without risking injury, how to get back onto your board and how to launch safely before getting the group on board one-by-one. Kneeling to begin with, we’ll get you used to the board and paddle for a little while and able to stop and turn around before helping everyone to get safely standing up and paddling (with fewer people falling in than you might assume!)
Then it’s time for our first little cruise up the river to allow the initial techniques to bed in before we start to look at more advanced techniques. First the ‘paddle slap’ brace position to aid stability and promote some movement on the board, and then the ‘reverse sweep turn’ for smoother, quicker transitions. All the while we’ll be working on the basics to ensure an efficient, comfortable paddle stroke – and before you know it you’ll be paddling completely confidently.
Not every lesson will progress in exactly the same way, depending on weather conditions and the make-up of each group, but we might move on to cover advanced power strokes, surf-stance, step-back turns and more…
On completion of the required course elements, successful candidates will receive their BSUPA Ready to Ride certificate to recognise that they are competent beginner paddleboarders with the practical and technical knowledge to SUP independently.
SUPsect’s Learn to SUP lesson costs £65 per person, including instruction and all kit – top quality board, paddle, leash, shortie wetsuit, neoprene footwear and CE approved 50N buoyancy aid. Our teaching season generally runs from May to September, weather allowing. Our scheduled course dates are published about a month in advance and you can book via the links above. To enquire about future courses or ask for further information, email lessons@supsect.com
Alternatively, we are able to arrange family sessions to include younger children (we accept accompanied kids of 13+ years old on our scheduled courses, by arrangement) and/or bespoke dates to suit any groups of four people or more: just email lessons@supsect.com
Paddleboarding gift vouchers are now available – redeemable against any of our scheduled 2-hour courses. More at www.supsect.com/paddleboard-gift-voucher
Our 2026 teaching season is now over – we will start to schedule 2027 dates in springtime. To be added to our contact list for next season, please email duncan@supsect.com…
