Paddleboard Drafting Behind A Boat

The first boat training is in the books!

On Memorial Day, we got the board, the boat and bodies all in one place. The goal was to get our feet wet and have everyone get a first taste of what their roles are all about.

Captain Scott graciously gave us the morning of Memorial Day. VP of Support, Brandi, brought her clipboard, a cooler of fluids and food and positive attitude. Paddler Brian showed up with his Little Mermaid life vest, paddle and sunscreen.

Right from the dock we realized the boat is much faster than the paddler.

True to form, Captain Scott figured out a quick solution. He killed the 2nd engine and dialed down the boat's speed on the other.

Brandi practiced her Morale Management techniques by not laughing at Paddler Brian getting red in the face trying to catch up.

Like all good things, boat and paddler got paired back up. Then it was a deluge of learning lessons. Where should the paddler be behind the boat? On which side? How close? or far? What speed could we do in the calm? Downwind? Crosswind? Upwind?

Captain Scott and Brian worked out quite a few details that made it conducive to draft behind the boat. Thankfully it was in the quiet waters of the Inner Coastal and not out on the Gulf.

In the meantime, Brandi was figuring out the details of putting together hydration and nutrition. It's no easy task to pour water from an awkward gallon jug into a flimsy Camelback bladder. Much less put energy drink powder into a bicycle water bottle, followed by water. Oh, and do that while the boat is rocking and moving left and right. Did we mention seasickness remedies got put on the equipment list?

Then we had a chance to get 1st Mate Colin onto the boat. We headed back to the dock to get him aboard. Colin is a welcome addition to the team because it isn't reasonable to expect one person to stay awake over 24 hours and safely captain the boat (We will be awake all day Saturday then launch at Midnight for the 18 hours of paddling until 6pm on Sunday night). So having Colin experience driving the boat with Brian drafting behind was important practice.

By this time the wind kicked up a little. So Colin and Scott drove the boat in different directions so we could figure out how the wind effected Brian paddling behind the boat. Or beside it with the darn crosswind!

Brandi then became center stage. She needed to practice handing off hydration and food to Brian. He would paddle up alongside the boat. She and Scott realized an extendable boat hook was going to work great for hanging the Camelback off the side. Once we tried that, we couldn't miss. Food, water bottles and a National Geographic was handed back and forth to Brian. Short of tossing chunks of Snicker bars at Brian like a seal at SeaWorld, this was going to work out just fine.

The last maneuver of the day was simulating an emergency. What would we do if Brian or Javier (our second paddler) became unable to climb aboard? How do we get an incapacitated paddler up onto the boat. (FYI: In seas over 2 feet, it is easy to get flung off the board. I've nearly smashed my face a couple times into the front of the board. And nearly sliced myself open on the paddle blade when flailing into the sea. After 12 hours of paddling, it is possible to be so weak as to have difficulties pulling ourselves up the dive ladder in the stern.)

The emergency drill started off fine. Brian fell off the board. Colin stopped the boat. Brandi and Scott started figuring out the details. But then a voice shouted at us over the water.

"Hey you guys. You can come over to my dock if you need to!" a ladies voice shouted at us. We all immediately froze. Looking up, we realized a poor waterfront home had thought we were actually having a real emergency.

The wonderfully nice lady had quickly come down to the dock and offered to help.

We all smiled. Then let her know we were just practicing. Everyone had a good laugh. With smiles and waves all around, we finished up the drill. (We determined a rope under the armpits and pulling the paddlers' upper body onto the outboard deck would work.)

A successful first outing! With that, we had a short debrief on the way back to the dock. Scott and Colin had a few lessons learned. Brandi jotted down a several necessities for managing all the materials she and Michell (Support Director) would have to keep track of.

Next up, a trial run out on the Gulf. That will be to test ourselves in 1 to 3 foot seas. After that, an excursion at night to "see" how that will be different.

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