SHORT VERSION: One of my early paddle trips ended with my friend and me at urgent care. We went out on rented boards barefoot, we didn’t know the area or the weather conditions, and our feet were cut up when we had to go to shore unexpectedly. At the very least we should have taken flip flops, or even better, worn some good boots like the NRS Freestyle Wetshoe.
LONG VERSION: Let me tell you a story about being a beginner. My friend and I rented paddleboards in the Seattle area and were given the boards with little instruction or warnings about the wind and current in the area. I was so new I was still sitting on my butt to paddle because I didn’t feel comfortable standing up yet. My friend was a much stronger paddler and standing, but neither of us knew the paddle area very well or what the weather had in store.
After paddling for an hour or so around beautiful Shilshole Bay near Discovery Park in Seattle, the wind began to pick up so we decided to head back to the sandy beach of our launch spot. We both kept paddling with the wind in our face and the current from the Ballard Locks fighting us. Every time I looked at the shore it seemed like I was in the same position I was a few minutes earlier. “This sucks!” was my only thought at the time. My friend and I were separated a bit and I was about 50 yards ahead and getting really tired. With the wind blowing I could barely hear my friend yell out asking me to wait for her because she couldn’t catch up and was exhausted too. We were right next to Discovery Park in Seattle so we thought we would just go land the boards and reassess our situation from the beach. What we didn’t realize, like most Pacific Northwest beaches, the shoreline wasn’t a soft sandy beach. It was nothing but slick, golf ball sized rocks, coated in slime and more importantly, covered with razor-sharp barnacles. We were both barefoot because we didn’t know any better and our feet ended up getting cut up by the barnacles. The situation had just gone from bad to worse and I really didn’t know what to do.
Luckily there was a couple on the beach who let us use their phone. We struggled to find the phone number to the place we rented the boards from but finally found it and called them. (**Tip for rental operators. Laminate your business card and put it in the pocket of all your PFDs). About 20 minutes later the guy paddled up with a leash for a tow rope and towed my friend back to our launch spot. I paddled like a madman along side them, on my butt, fueled by anger and embarrassment. I think I invented a few new four-letter words that day.
With my friend’s feet continuing to bleed, our next stop was urgent care to get all the dirt and who knows what else out of the wounds and get them bandaged up. Golly, what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, wouldn’t you say…smiley face, thumbs up? Wrong. It was awful and I felt like an idiot. Not quite the carefree barefoot, bikini paddling on glassy water we see in the magazines. I didn’t paddle again the rest of that year and was extremely reluctant to try it again the next summer. The experience nearly kept me from discovering the absolute joy I get from stand up paddling now.
I now know the whole ugly experience could have been avoided with proper equipment and proper instruction, or at the very least a word of warning about the wind and current and the barnacle-covered rocks on shore. Why am I telling you this story? Because one of the first pieces of equipment you need to buy as a beginner paddling in the Northwest is a nice pair of booties (I call them boots because in my mind, booties are for babies, not grown adults but I digress). They serve two functions, keeping you warm while also protecting your feet on shore. If it’s a hot day and you’re only worried about the protection part of that equation, I recommend at least taking flip flops or sandals and using a carabiner to attach them to the bungee (hopefully the board has bungee straps of some sort) to keep your footwear on the board.
LONG VERSION: Let me tell you a story about being a beginner. My friend and I rented paddleboards in the Seattle area and were given the boards with little instruction or warnings about the wind and current in the area. I was so new I was still sitting on my butt to paddle because I didn’t feel comfortable standing up yet. My friend was a much stronger paddler and standing, but neither of us knew the paddle area very well or what the weather had in store.
After paddling for an hour or so around beautiful Shilshole Bay near Discovery Park in Seattle, the wind began to pick up so we decided to head back to the sandy beach of our launch spot. We both kept paddling with the wind in our face and the current from the Ballard Locks fighting us. Every time I looked at the shore it seemed like I was in the same position I was a few minutes earlier. “This sucks!” was my only thought at the time. My friend and I were separated a bit and I was about 50 yards ahead and getting really tired. With the wind blowing I could barely hear my friend yell out asking me to wait for her because she couldn’t catch up and was exhausted too. We were right next to Discovery Park in Seattle so we thought we would just go land the boards and reassess our situation from the beach. What we didn’t realize, like most Pacific Northwest beaches, the shoreline wasn’t a soft sandy beach. It was nothing but slick, golf ball sized rocks, coated in slime and more importantly, covered with razor-sharp barnacles. We were both barefoot because we didn’t know any better and our feet ended up getting cut up by the barnacles. The situation had just gone from bad to worse and I really didn’t know what to do.
Luckily there was a couple on the beach who let us use their phone. We struggled to find the phone number to the place we rented the boards from but finally found it and called them. (**Tip for rental operators. Laminate your business card and put it in the pocket of all your PFDs). About 20 minutes later the guy paddled up with a leash for a tow rope and towed my friend back to our launch spot. I paddled like a madman along side them, on my butt, fueled by anger and embarrassment. I think I invented a few new four-letter words that day.
With my friend’s feet continuing to bleed, our next stop was urgent care to get all the dirt and who knows what else out of the wounds and get them bandaged up. Golly, what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, wouldn’t you say…smiley face, thumbs up? Wrong. It was awful and I felt like an idiot. Not quite the carefree barefoot, bikini paddling on glassy water we see in the magazines. I didn’t paddle again the rest of that year and was extremely reluctant to try it again the next summer. The experience nearly kept me from discovering the absolute joy I get from stand up paddling now.
I now know the whole ugly experience could have been avoided with proper equipment and proper instruction, or at the very least a word of warning about the wind and current and the barnacle-covered rocks on shore. Why am I telling you this story? Because one of the first pieces of equipment you need to buy as a beginner paddling in the Northwest is a nice pair of booties (I call them boots because in my mind, booties are for babies, not grown adults but I digress). They serve two functions, keeping you warm while also protecting your feet on shore. If it’s a hot day and you’re only worried about the protection part of that equation, I recommend at least taking flip flops or sandals and using a carabiner to attach them to the bungee (hopefully the board has bungee straps of some sort) to keep your footwear on the board.
There are a couple of different boots I like but for a great combination of warmth and protection from whatever gnarly things await on the shore, the NRS Freestyle Wetshoe is the perfect pair of boots for Pacific Northwest paddling. My rental customers loved them and often commented about how comfortable and warm they were. I attribute that to the fleece lining. That lining also means they dry more quickly than other boots. My favorite part of the boot is the sole, which is thicker than most surf booties and protect the feet better and is more likely to keep your feet level while walking over uneven surfaces. My only criticism of the boot is in the ankle section which I wish was a bit higher like a surf bootie. Because of the NRS Vaporloft design (a bit of a bubble at the ankle) I find my NRS Hydroskin pants or other wetsuits don’t create much of a seal with the top of the boot letting far more water in than a surf boot. I wish the ankle was just a bit higher and flush with the leg to create more of a seal. It’s a minor problem that I really don’t mind because of all the pluses with this boot. This is great gear!
-- Disclaimer: I do have a relationship with NRS as an outfitter and receive pro pricing on their products but I only recommend products I’ve used and really liked. No, really, I mean it!
-- Disclaimer: I do have a relationship with NRS as an outfitter and receive pro pricing on their products but I only recommend products I’ve used and really liked. No, really, I mean it!