Standup Paddleboarding as therapy

[joebloggs]

Fantastic!!! Now there are three of us!

[cindyj]

Awesome, Cheryl!  I still would love to try it one day...keep inspiring us, you guys (Bob, JB and Cheryl)!  Thanks for sharing, Cheryl...

Cindy

[sunfish]

I'm going to try this.  I'm having post-treatment balance/equilibrium problems.  I'm very active - triathlete (swim/bike/run).  We go boogie boarding all the time, and I've tried surfing a time or two.  Also, lots of canoeing and some kayaking.  I'm going to see a neuro-otologist soon, and hope to learn more about my various issues.  I'm surely thinking I won't need vestibular or balance therapy, since I'm so active.  I've noticed this thread a number of times, but hadn't really thought about it until my balance problems came up. There's a parks/rec place here that does paddleboard lessons.  Will keep you posted.

[stoneaxe]

Very stoked to see the new recruits. Happy to let anyone try if you're in the New England area.

[stoneaxe]

WOW!.....shocked to see this thread has 11,000 views. Now we just need to get some more folks paddling.....

[Keri]

bob,
what happened this year with your annual paddleboarding fundraiser event that you had to miss last year? did you do it? i've been off and on the forum so i might have totally missed your story on it!
keri

[stoneaxe]

Hi Keri,

It was amazingly successful. I did complete it this year. We doubled in size again...42 paddlers and raised in excess of $70,000 (final count still not in). The whole series of events we did this year was were great. I posted some pictures here... http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=13070.0 and am adding a video.


Bob

[stoneaxe]

It's a small world. We have a paddler joining us from Philadelphia for this years Cape Cod Bay Challenge. He'll be the second postie to paddle Cape Cod Bay.

[stoneaxe]

A little bump for this post. I wanted to make sure that any new readers understand just what this can do. First I need to aplogize for not being here very often. So crazy busy with work and planning the 2011 Cape Cod Bay Challenge....75 paddlers are registered for this years crossing. We're ontrack to raise over $100,000 for the kids. SUP is seeing explosive growth here on the east coast this year. Races and other events every weekend. My new life is SO much fun.
I tell folks frequently that a brain tumor was one of the best things that ever happened to me. 4 years ago i thought I was going to live with balance problems forever. These days I have people complementing me on my surfing. I still have a hard time believing what's happened. Standup paddleboarding and the CCBC has brought so much into my life. The balance therapy it offers absolutely blows away anything else you can do, at least thats been my experience. Add to that the great friendships I've found and the overall strengthening and zen like peace of mind it offers...the change in my life is beyond what words can express.
To see what the CCBC is all about...http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/

I hope you all find something that can help you the way SUP has helped me.

[Kaybo]

I was  just thinking about you, Bob!! We are going on a cruise next week & one of the excursions is SUP!!

Hope you are doing well!

K 

[leapyrtwins]

So, Kay, are you going to try it??

Jan

[Kaybo]

I would if it were just us but we will have the kids do have to find something that's a fit for everyone...plus, I don't think Dave would like it.  Probably go sailing instead!

K 

[stoneaxe]

Kids love SUP! I have to bring all my boards with me when I go to my nieces house. ALL the kids want to go and there are sometimes 2 or 3 on a board.
I'd assume a cruise SUP exursion will be on calm waters and will require a PFD.  It will be very safe and kids take to it ridiculously easy. Wear a pair of polarized sunglasses and its like paddling over an aquarium.
It really is amazing the growth of the sport this year. I see boards everywhere.

Go for it Kay!

[stoneaxe]

When i come in here and see folks struggling to get back to normal it brings back some bad memories of the days before I started doing this. I feel somewhat guilty both for not being here as often as I used to and for feeling so normal. It's tough to find enough time these days. I'm working..usually more than a full week...and i spend a couple hours a night on the planning of the CCBC events (labor of love but a lot of work).
Here's a video of last year events and one that will have you understand why we work so hard on the CCBC (fingers crossed that we raise over $100,000 this year for the kids). If you have a couple extra bucks it would be awesome if you could help me help the kids.
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/robert-babcock-1/capecodbaychallenge-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCXWMs7PjVk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6guZQNjTI

[Keri]

Hi Bob,

Great to hear from you and to see you're still at it and the Cape Bay Challenge events are going so well!
We biked the other day to Annapolis ... someone was doing the paddleboarding. One of my cycling friends said, "look - it's kind of like windsurfing without the sail!" I informed them it was called paddleboarding and that one of my brain tumor friends does a lot of that too!

Keri