SUP, or stand-up paddleboard, is a floating board on which you stand, sit or kneel and paddle with a single long-shafted paddle. It paddles best on calm water: a lake, a lagoon, a lazy river.
Which board and paddle to start with
To begin with, an allround board is the most comfortable choice: wide and roomy, and therefore stable under your feet. Look for a model about 10 to 11 feet long, roughly three metres, and at least 32 inches wide; the wider the board, the more stable it is, while the narrower racing boards and long touring boards are better left for later. Inflatable boards are the most popular: with the air let out they pack into a rucksack and are easy to transport, and once pumped up to the recommended pressure they become stiff and buoyant. Hard, composite boards glide a touch better, but they are harder to store and to move.
The paddle is matched to your height: it should be somewhere between ten-odd and twenty-odd centimetres taller than the person using it - less for easy cruising, more for longer distances. One hand rests on the T-shaped grip, the other on the shaft. It is easy to get the blade the wrong way round: its bend faces forward, away from the paddler, not backward.
Your first outing: how to stand and paddle
The easiest way to start is on your knees, close to the middle of the board, where it is most stable. Once you have your balance, you stand up one stretch at a time and set your feet parallel, about hip width apart, either side of the handle. Keep your eyes on the horizon, not on your feet - the board sits more steadily when you look ahead. Paddle with your whole torso, not just your arms, and switch the paddle to the other side every few strokes to go straight. Falling in is part of learning: fall sideways, into the water, not onto the board, and after a capsize climb back on from the middle.
Staying safe on the board
Put on and adjust your buoyancy aid while you are still on shore. Clip on the leash that connects you to the board too - in an emergency the board acts like an ordinary lifebuoy. On a lake and on calm, still water you use an ankle leash. On a river, and anywhere the water is moving, it is different: the leash must have a quick release and be worn on a waist belt or on the buoyancy aid, within reach of both hands. An ankle leash can trap a person underwater if it snags on a branch or a rock, which is why you do not wear one on moving water.
Watch out for cold water. Below fifteen degrees, a sudden immersion triggers an involuntary, violent gasp you cannot control; with your head underwater it ends in choking. In early spring and autumn, wear a wetsuit. Check the wind too, especially an offshore wind: it pushes you out onto open water, and the further you let yourself be pushed, the harder it is to come back against it. Take a phone in a waterproof case and do not go far from shore on your own.
Do you have to register a SUP
A muscle-powered SUP board does not need to be registered. The requirement applies only to craft longer than 7.5 metres or with a mechanical drive of more than 15 kilowatts, so a recreational board is exempt; you can register it voluntarily, but no one requires it. Nor do you need any certificate. Do, however, keep well away from designated bathing areas and from the shipping channel used by larger vessels, and on lakes inside parks and quiet zones check beforehand whether paddling is allowed there. After dark it is good to carry a white light.
Where to paddle a SUP: calm lakes
I have picked out a few lakes from our atlas that suit this well - from intimate, secluded waters to larger expanses where you have to watch the wind.
- Lake Plusznelake · intimate, no combustion engines, good for a first outingmap →
- Lake Niesłyszlake · clear and wooded, with sheltered baysmap →
- Lake Bachoteklake · intimate, in the Brodnica Landscape Parkmap →
- Neckolake · by Augustów, rentals and easy accessmap →
- Lake Powidzkielake · one of the cleanest in Greater Polandmap →
- Lake Wigrylake · Wigry National Park, clean water; watch the wind on the big expansemap →
- Lake Charzykowskielake · sandy beaches at the edge of the Tuchola Forestmap →
- Lake Drawskolake · large and deep; the middle is exposed to the windmap →
On big, open lakes like Wigry, Drawsko or Charzykowskie the water can be beautiful, but a wind raises a wave and the risk of being blown off course grows - save those waters for a calmer day and keep to the shore.
Calm rivers for SUP
You can also drift down a lazy river on a board, carried by the current itself. The best are slow, wide watercourses without rapids - a few from our atlas are below. Just remember the river leash with a quick release, and that weirs and low footbridges are avoided by portaging the board (or kayak) along a chosen bank.
- Nida96 km · very easy · the lazy, warm current of the Ponidziemap →
- Wkra~206 km · easy · sandy and meandering, north of Warsawmap →
- Bzura~60 km · easy · a gentle river of the Łowicz countrymap →
- Pilica~124 km · easy · a broad, sandy currentmap →
- Wieprz~300 km · easy · lazy and warm, through the middle of the Lublin regionmap →
When to go
The SUP season in Poland runs roughly from May to September, with the warmest water and the calmest mornings at the height of summer. In the morning the wind is usually lighter than in the afternoon, so it is best to head out onto the bigger lakes early. Before you set off, check the wind forecast, and on a river the water level - too low uncovers shallows, too high speeds up the current.