As if we didn’t get wet enough the previous weekend, this weekend saw us at Tittesworth Reservoir for three hours of paddle boarding. The weather looked grey and grim, but we were told that the water was actually warmer than the air temperature, and so it proved to be.

In the first session our tutor got us to grips with the basics, starting with seated strokes but rapidly moving on to standing up and performing various different balancing techniques to improve our confidence. These included head stands and forward rolls – I think it’s safe to say that we didn’t see any potential Olympic standard gymnasts amongst us.

It wasn’t very long before almost every one of us had fallen in, some of us quite a few times! Crazy games followed where we were paddling away furiously in an attempt to “tag” each other and claim Domination.

Last Man Standing is game that does what it says on the tin. Through a variety of techniques, including rugby tackles on a paddle board (!), the Explorers frantically tried to knock each other into the water.

After a short break we embarked our crafts for the afternoon – 8 man paddle boards called Mega SUPs. While these felt more stable than the individual paddle boards it did require a degree of collaboration and coordination if there was any hope of sending the board in the intended direction!

More crazy games followed, including relay races and speed turning the huge boards. Forward rolls off the side of the board were used in celebration of both victory and defeat alike.

A leisurely paddle to the head of the reservoir and back completed the fun for the afternoon and a close to the term.

KB