SUP Gwynn's Island, Va

This weekend we ventured out to a family friend's home on Gwynn's Island for some Sunday paddle-boarding.

It was an exciting day as this would be our first time using our Shubu's since purchasing them from Chesapeake BoardSports.

This would also be MY first time inflating my board. 

I was a little worried that I'd have a hard time with it, but apart from having to take a break in-between pumping, I was able to comfortably pump my board to 11 psi.

With inflated boards in tow, we hit the water on the East side of the Island off of North Bay Haven Rd.

Winds from Hurricane Igor were coming in strong that day so we experienced a heck of a lot of chop on the water.  It was a GREAT workout!

Conditions were fantastic for giving our nephews a few paddleboard rides...

After playing on the boards with our nephews we decided to head out without any destination or plan in mind.

We paddled South and eventually reached a great looking sandbar. 

We decided to walk our boards across the sandbar to the other side of the island to check out the waters on the Millford Haven side.

I do have to confess, carrying a 10'7 board and paddle even a short distance was quite a challenge for me.  Walking the boards across the sand was my least favorite part of the excursion (though I did enjoy the photo opportunities).

Once we got onto the water on the other side of the sandbar I realized how tired I was from paddling the chop and carrying the board.

It was at that point my husband and I realized we had different ideas about what to do next...

He wanted to try paddling around the entire island, I wanted to get back to where we started but without having to carry my board and paddle back across the sandbar.

So I voted for trying to paddle around the island (I was going to do whatever it took to not carry that board again).  The only problem was that we didn't have a map of the island and didn't know how far we'd gotten from where we started or how long it would take to get all the way around.

It was at this point that my husband decided to paddle into the nearest creek and ask for directions.

He jumped onto the nearest dock and startled a woman in her yard.

He explained where we were trying to go, etc. and the next thing we knew she was insisting that we park our boards in her yard and that she drive us back to the house we were visiting so we could get our car and come back for the boards. 

Our new friend Jeanie was incredibly sweet and so we just couldn't say no to her.

She ran back into her house, provided us with cold water bottles and towels and we were on our way.

She asked where we were from because "ya'll are obviously not from around here" and we learned that Jeanie was originally from the Richmond area and purchased her Gwynn's Island home for retirement.

We arrived back at the house and laughed the whole situation off with the family.  My husband followed Jeanie back to her place and picked up our boards.  He deflated the boards to transport them so at that point we decided to pack up the rest of the gear for the day.

The rest of the day was spent eating, laughing and playing with our nephews.

Quite the adventure for a Sunday.

All in all, a fantastic area for paddle-boarding!

Next time we paddle Gwynn's Island....we'll be more prepared....and we'll make it all the way around.  =)