If you see a bridge or island out on the water and your first though is "I want to paddle THERE," you've clicked on the right article. The desire to explore on the water (aka touring or voyaging) is as human as sharing a meal. It has been celebrated by many cultures over 1000's of years. If you are getting into Touring here are some tips to make sure you don't run into issues.
Planning is Everything
Know the conditions: This is so important for a variety of reasons. Some questions to ask yourself: What is the water temperature? Will it be hot or cold out? What are the tides doing? What is the wind doing? We have all this data on our WEATHER Page and we are more than happy to help provide local info.
Plan your route: Google Earth is a great tool to use to measure the distance of your route. Make sure you check out things like: off-limit areas like nature preserves or private marinas, boating or shipping lanes, parking, and the distance from the put in (or take out for one way paddles).
Know your limits: After checking the conditions and planning a route, be open to changing your plans if it doesn't seem safe or fun. The average paddler can do about 2 miles in one hour and over 12kts of wind is much to paddle against for most people. If you are not sure what conditions you are ok with, let us know and we can help figure it out! For 2022 we are offering Advanced Touring Lessons if you want to learn in a safe and supportive environment!
Safety in Numbers
"It's always better to paddle in a group in case of an accident or emergency. If you want to meet more people to paddle with you can check out Ohana Paddle club's social paddle's on Sunday mornings!
