Raymi Learns To Stand Up Paddleboard From An Addict

Located in the Bluffer’s Park Marina at the base of the Scarborough Bluffs, Paddleboard Addict SUP Rentals in Toronto is situated in a very scenic spot.  The noise of the city totally disappears behind the sandy cliffs and is replaced by boat motors, seabirds and the sounds of children playing at the nearby Bluffer’s Beach.

The proprietor lives in a floating house and rents the boards off his back porch; the whole marina is his backyard. Here in the Bluffer’s Park marina there are about twenty floating homes, and they are the ONLY structures of their kind in the City of Toronto – this is where your stand up paddle board lessons begin.  Here’s me with Paul Peic the hunky owner / operator and principle Paddleboard Addict.  I’m holding his sleek Persian cat, Bark.

After the briefest training on land I stepped on to a stand – up paddleboard itself which is like a surfboard, except bigger.

The boards are about eight feet long and have one fin on the back end. We didn’t have to wear the life jackets but we had to keep the with us.

I was feeling pretty good about myself after a few strokes; one of the secrets to stand up paddle boarding is to get some forward momentum going to help stabilize the ship.  Although not encouraged, I think its just as good exercise on your knees and its more stable and I could go faster…  The back part of the lagoon is a great place to try new things with the boards and ‘learn by doing’, as nobody is watching.

We went on the circular tour of the marina, in the channels the boats use.  We saw lots of wildlife including fish, ducks, turtles and swans.

That’s Paul Peic the proprietor of Paddleboard Addict sitting on his “back porch”. He’s a hot guy.

 The experience itself feels like a vacation, paddling through the marina, at one point we had to crouch down to go under an old bridge! Then we had another decision to make – stay in the shallow calm water of Bluffer’s Bay or venture and out into the deeper, rougher and more turbulent waters of Lake Ontario. The later is great if you so desire a challenge, and we did. Now I am now addicted to this water sport. 

If you too want to learn how to stand-up paddle board, and believe me you do, none of the other companies in Toronto offer such a scenic and whimsical tour as Paddleboard Addict.