If you\u2019re ever on the beach at West Bay and cast your eyes out to sea, the chances are you\u2019ll spot Sally Newman, standing up on a paddle board and skimming along the water.<\/p>\n
Her silhouette is distinctive because, invariably, at the front of the board stands Tally the Jack Russell, riding the waves and wearing her own little lifejacket.<\/p>\n
Sally (53) took up standup paddle boarding (SUP) about five years ago after being introduced to it by a friend.<\/p>\n
\u2018I used to like canoeing but it was hurting my back,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
\u2018A friend had a board and I had a go and I just fell in love with it. On clear days, when I go out, I can see right down to the bottom of the sea bed. In the summer I\u2019ve seen spider crabs between West Bay and Eype. It\u2019s incredibly relaxing, always different and the colours on the cliffs change constantly.<\/p>\n
\u2018There\u2019s something very magical about paddling into the sunset. No-one else around except me and a couple of fish jumping. I think that\u2019s what I love about paddleboarding, the feeling of space, I love the immenseness. \u202fIt\u2019s very Zen. I look at the light on the cliffs and am in awe of the beauty of the natural world. It\u2019s so calming.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sally, a former nurse and a mother to two grown-up sons, moved to Bridport from\u00a0 Somerset over eight years ago, having spent time living and working in London. Her father is from Dorset and she remembers happy childhood holidays on the coast.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019ve always swum in the sea\u2014some years doing it all year round\u2014 now I\u2019ve got my paddle board I try to get out most nights after work. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s raining\u2014I\u2019d rather be out on my board and cheer up than be sitting indoors in the rain.<\/p>\n
\u2018I love the water. Wherever I go, I always take a bathing costume in my hand luggage. Now when ever possible I pack my inflatable board too. I\u2019m taking the boards to Greece this summer and last year it was the Isles of Scilly.\u2019<\/p>\n
She began paddle boarding a few years ago and then, for her 50th, treated herself to a decent board and added a patch of rubber deck grip to the front for Tally to stand on and entered her first eight-mile race, The Exehammer race.<\/p>\n
\u2018I have now entered twice, both times with Tally, and shall be doing it again this September,\u2019 Sally says.<\/p>\n
This year, Sally, who is box office manager at Bridport Electric Palace, is a rider in the UK Naish NISCO Race team, taking part in events in the Veterans category. N1SCO stands for Naish International SUP Class Organisation which is a one-design racing class where all riders compete exclusively on the Naish ONE 12\u20196\u201d board. N1SCO competitions include sprint, intermediate distance and long distance racing, as well as team relays that are accessible for any level rider.<\/p>\n
Says Sally: \u2018I\u2019m not in it because I\u2019m a brilliantly fast rider, because against the youngsters I am not, although I am winning medals as a Veteran. N1SCO is more about getting people involved. It\u2019s about encouraging people to get out onto the water in a friendly way.<\/p>\n
\u2018I have to enter six UK SUP club race events (without Tally). It\u2019s a great way to focus the mind on getting fit and a great way to meet other paddle boarders. They\u2019re a friendly bunch of people and even the best of paddle boarders fall off their boards sometimes for no obvious reason and it always deserves a laugh. Quite slapstick.<\/p>\n
N1SCO is an organisation open to all.<\/p>\n
\u2018There are some really competitive people involved and also complete beginners\u2014everyone gets on.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Paddle boarding as a sport has expanded over the last few years. It looks difficult but it isn\u2019t really. You get a real sense of achievement when you get to stand up on the board and that feels so good.<\/p>\n
\u2018All ages are doing it. Boards can be expensive but once you know what you\u2019re doing you can go anywhere to catch some waves, or go out on the river.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The big appeal as a sport for me is that paddle boarding is so simple. Find some water and go.\u202fAll I need is a board, paddle and a leash (and a picnic). Nothing much goes wrong. I used to cycle race but there was always the hassle\u202fof punctures, gears slipping or chains breaking.\u2019<\/p>\n
As well as giving the participant a feeling of space and being at one with nature, Sally says paddle boarding is also \u2018brilliant\u2019 for core strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s great if you want to get rid of your bingo wings.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sally says if anyone spots her on the shore with her board at West Bay and she\u2019s not in a rush, she\u2019s happy to show people how it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re ever on the beach at West Bay and cast your eyes out to sea, the chances are you\u2019ll spot Sally Newman, standing up on a paddle board and skimming along the water. Her silhouette is distinctive because, invariably, at the front of the board stands Tally the Jack Russell, riding the waves and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-2872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-history-community","tag-margery-hookings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}