Why the heck can’t I paddle straight?

You took the step to learn how to paddle board. Congratulations!

Looking on the internet for paddle boarding schools in your area, you chose the paddle boarding school that felt right to you. You contact them and yes…!!! They have a spot in the scheduled lesson the following weekend. You can’t wait and are soooo excited to learn how to paddle board!!!

Finally the time has come and the lesson starts. In no time you are getting more comfortable on your paddleboard. But you can’t seem to get your board going straight and with each stroke of your paddle it keeps turning into the wrong direction.

Don’t forget that in order to paddle correctly, it will take time and practice. You did well with taking a lesson first to learn the basics. Once the foundation is there, you have something to build upon. It will take more practice or maybe even another lesson to learn how to paddle properly.

It is all in the positioning of your hands, legs, feet, full body actually. Placing the paddle vertical into the water and blade in the right angle… All your limbs and muscles are working together to properly make those paddle strokes.
Don’t expect to know and be able to do it all in a 2 hour lesson. As with all things, time, patience and practice will pay off in the end.

Here’s a link to a video of BluePlanetSurf with tips on how to paddle straight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBURA5HvTOM

Happy Paddling!