SUP, Surf, Wind: A Few Other Things to Leave in the Car

When it's time for that sunset SUP, at some cold and maybe not-so-pretty looking harbor, in a pesky chilly breeze, there are a few things besides the obvious — wetsuit, booties, gloves etc — that you might be glad you didn't "clean out" of the car.

Spouse's Starboard GO -- comes in handy as a 9' SUP, when you left the SUP behind.

Water, half-finished bottles of water, and metal water flask left over from that session last week ... great for washing sand off those booties before you get changed. And some supplemental drinking water.

Check -- old T-shirt left over from that last surf session. Much more comfortable to change into than office clothes. Ditto socks that you only wore one morning before changing out of before that last windsurf session.

Bar Beach Hempstead Harbor Photo < Nice photo by Nestor Designs -- SUPing by Hempstead Harbor is a very Pink Floydesque Animals Album experience, given the Power Plant's resemblance to   Battersea Power station.

Flip-flops — OK it's 48F — not exactly flip-flop weather but they are better to stand on than a parking lot full of busted mussel shells,  before slipping into a pair of comfortable warm Sanuks ... or those workshoes, to make the driving legal. Perma-towel. Doesn't matter which towel, or how good of a towel, but a towel should always be in there. Didn't want to dry off with the dog's blanket, know what I mean?

Fanny pack. This pack even has a loop to clip a key to. I have absolutely nowhere to leave a car key, tonight, in a busy municipal lot. No key pocket, no leash pocket, since I'm SUPing on a leashless Starboard GO 170.

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Wetsuit was insurance and warmth tonight. Had no plans on falling in (not that that's any guarantee of anything)  It's flat water give or take a wind ripple. Time to paddle.

Good going into the wind while I was fresh, but all good things come to an end. Once I reached the apex of the course, I was toast. ... but that's the beauty of downwinder back to the start ... easy sledding even though it feels you're going slower than you actually are.

Really good opportunity to work on the stroke, the torso twist to spread the workload. I'll feel it tomorrow, it's a gentle workout, but an arm blaster nevertheless

Soaked but I didn't fall in. How can that be?

That's why they call a "steamer" suit a steamer. A hint of sun, and you sweat inside the neoprene pressure cooker. I had enough insulation there for a 30F day, and 40kts wind, so I was going to get warm sooner or later.

I loved every bit of that 5/3 neoprene and titanium vest paddling into the wind. I was cold when I started, but when I made the turn at the bar beach fishing pier, I was suddenly as sweaty as a golfer on the 17th hole on an 89 degree humid day.

The girls' rowing crew passed by at not much faster of a pace — damn this is no water to fall in. Hope those kids stay dry, it's truly frigid in the bay. I know. I haven't forgotten two weeks ago, and it hasn't really warmed up that much since.

Row on, paddle on.